The claim that the Hunza people routinely live to 100 or beyond, kept healthy by apricots and mountain air, is one of the most repeated stories about northern Pakistan. No reliable record of ages supports it, and the one doctor who treated thousands of Hunza patients in the 1950s found a population dealing with malaria, dysentery and worms like anywhere else in the region. The valley is well worth visiting for its own reasons; the longevity claim is not one of them.
This post looks at where the claims about the Hunza people's lifespan came from, who made them, what was found when they were checked, and what is genuinely true about diet and daily life in Hunza today.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| The claim | Hunza people routinely live to 100, 120 or even 140 |
| Main sources of the claim | Outsider writing, 1930s to 1950s, especially J. I. Rodale's The Healthy Hunzas (1948) |
| Evidence for it | None: no birth records existed to check ages |
| Evidence against it | John Clark's clinic records, 5,684 patients on his first two trips |
| Estimated Burusho life expectancy | 53 for men and 52 for women, with a wide spread |
| Pakistan today | 67.8 years at birth (World Bank, 2024) |
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Where the "world's healthiest people" story started
When the story began, Hunza was a small, isolated princely state of about 15,000 people (the 1941 census counted 15,341), reached from Gilgit only on foot or by pony. Few outsiders went. The valley also became attached to James Hilton's 1933 novel Lost Horizon: Hunza is popularly believed to be one of the inspirations for its hidden valley of Shangri-La, where nobody ages.
The health claims came in layers:
- Robert McCarrison, a British doctor whose research in Gilgit and Chitral began in 1902, later reported that certain diseases were absent among the Hunza people, and his praise of their diet was widely quoted.
- Guy Wrench, another doctor, built a book on that idea in 1938, The Wheel of Health: A Study of the Hunza People and the Keys to Health.
- J. I. Rodale, the American organic-farming publisher, followed with The Healthy Hunzas in 1948, crediting organic food, fresh air and exercise for exceptional lifespans.
Retellings since then have quoted ages of 100, 120 or even 140. According to later researchers, the early figures rested mainly on statements by Hunza's ruler, the Mir. None came from birth records, because none existed to check them against.
What was actually found
John Clark, an American who ran a small clinic in Hunza in the early 1950s, told a very different story in his 1956 book Hunza: Lost Kingdom of the Himalayas. Over his first two trips he treated 5,684 patients, and most had malaria, dysentery, worms or trachoma, an eye infection that can cause blindness. He wrote that he wished "to express my regrets to those travelers whose impressions have been contradicted by my experience."
Researchers who later estimated life expectancy for the Burusho population, rather than repeating stories about individuals, came up with figures of about 53 years for men and 52 for women, with a high standard deviation. That is ordinary for a poor, isolated mountain community before modern healthcare, and far below what the legend claims.
For comparison, Pakistan's national life expectancy at birth was 67.8 years in 2024, according to World Bank data. There is no verified figure showing Hunza sitting meaningfully above the national average, and no reliable documentation of a single Hunza supercentenarian.
Why the myth survived
A few reasons, none of them medical:
- There was nothing to check against. Without birth registration, a claimed age of 110 could be neither proved nor disproved, so it was repeated.
- It suited the times. Mid-century readers in America and Britain wanted a remote valley untouched by modern disease, and health publishers wanted proof that natural food worked.
- Nobody has a reason to drop it. The story is good for tourism, and it costs nothing to repeat.
What is true about the diet
The exaggeration shouldn't hide what is genuinely distinctive. Traditional Hunza food leans on apricots (fresh and sun-dried), walnuts, mulberries, wholewheat and buckwheat breads, and dairy, with meat eaten less often than in the plains. Apricot kernel oil is used for cooking, and dried apricots carry households through the long winter. It is a diet shaped by altitude, a short growing season and historic isolation, not by a health philosophy. Our guide to Hunza's traditional food covers what you will actually be served.
One caution: apricot kernels are promoted online with claims that they prevent or cure cancer. The kernels contain amygdalin, which releases cyanide in the body. A 2015 Cochrane review warned of a considerable risk of serious cyanide poisoning from amygdalin or laetrile, and Europe's food safety agency has warned that websites promoting kernels expose people to unsafe amounts. Enjoy the dried fruit, and treat the kernel cures as a myth of their own.
Who the Hunza people are
The people usually meant by "the Hunza people" are the Burusho, about 126,000 people (2018) who speak Burushaski, a language isolate with no confirmed relation to any other language in the world. They live mainly in central and lower Hunza, around Karimabad and Aliabad, and in Nagar and Yasin. Upper Hunza, known as Gojal, is home to a different community, the Wakhi, with their own language and history; our post on the Wakhi people of Gojal covers that distinction.
Most Hunza residents are Ismaili Muslims, who regard the Aga Khan as their spiritual leader, and the community's long investment in schools and healthcare is credited for Hunza's high literacy, especially among girls. Hunza acceded to Pakistan on 3 November 1947 and the princely state was abolished on 24 September 1974, the last in Pakistan to go. Our history of Hunza has more.
What to make of it as a visitor
You will still hear the "100 years old" claim from guides and in shops, because it has been repeated for nearly 80 years. There is no need to argue with anyone. What is worth knowing is that Hunza's real appeal has nothing to do with the legend: the scenery, Baltit and Altit forts, the orchards in spring blossom, the food, and a community known for its schools. Our guide to Gilgit and Hunza has more on planning a visit, and the Gilgit, Hunza and Khunjerab tour covers the valley over several days.
Frequently asked questions
Do Hunza people really live to 100 or more?
There is no verified documentation for this. Estimates of Burusho life expectancy are about 53 for men and 52 for women, and no birth records exist from the era the claims are based on.
Where did the Hunza longevity myth come from?
From outsider writing between the 1930s and 1950s: Robert McCarrison's reports, Guy Wrench's 1938 book and especially J. I. Rodale's 1948 The Healthy Hunzas, none of which had verified ages.
What did doctors find when they treated people in Hunza?
John Clark treated 5,684 patients on his first two trips in the early 1950s and found mostly malaria, dysentery, worms and trachoma.
Is the Hunza diet actually healthy?
It is largely plant-based, built around apricots, walnuts, wholegrain bread and dairy. That is a reasonable diet, but there is no evidence it produces unusual longevity, and apricot kernels sold as cures carry a cyanide risk.
Are the Hunza people and the Wakhi people the same?
No. The Burusho of central and lower Hunza speak Burushaski. The Wakhi of upper Hunza (Gojal) speak a different, Iranian-family language and have a distinct history and culture.
Is Hunza linked to Shangri-La?
Hunza is popularly believed to be one inspiration for Shangri-La in James Hilton's 1933 novel Lost Horizon, which helped fix the idea of an ageless hidden valley.
