Nauroz in Hunza: Spring New Year Celebrations

Nauroz, also written Navroz or Nowruz, is the spring new year, and in Hunza it is celebrated on 21 March. For Hunza's Ismaili majority it is a religious festival as well as a seasonal one, so the day starts with prayers and continues with family visits, food, music, dancing and old village customs such as breaking painted eggs and swinging from trees. Visitors are welcome to watch, but it is a community day, not a staged event.

This guide covers what happens on the day, where you are likely to see it, what late March is like in Hunza, and the travel problems of going north before the main season opens.

What Nauroz means in Hunza

Nowruz has been celebrated across Iran, Central Asia and South Asia for about 3,000 years. Most people who keep it today treat it as a secular new year, but for Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims it is a religious festival, marked with special prayers and gatherings in Jamatkhanas, special food and the exchange of good wishes.

Most of Hunza's people are Ismaili, which is why Nauroz feels more important here than in most of Pakistan. In the wider country it is kept mainly in parts of Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, and by Parsi, Ismaili and some Shia communities.

The date is fixed to the solar calendar rather than the lunar one, so unlike Eid it does not move. In Gilgit-Baltistan it is kept on 21 March.

How the day is celebrated

Reports from Pamir Times, the community news site for the region, describe the same pattern year after year.

• Morning prayers. In Karimabad the day begins with prayers for health, happiness and prosperity, before the celebrations spread into the streets.
• Music and dancing. In 2017 a local volunteer pipe band played through Karimabad, and residents and tourists danced together.
• Breaking painted eggs. Men and boys try their luck at breaking each other's painted eggs.
• Swings. Girls ride swings tied to the branches of trees in villages across the region.
• The Dada custom. Decorated newborns and infants are rolled over piles of dried fruit and sweets, which are then shared among friends and relatives as a sign of good luck and blessings.
• Food and visits. Families cook traditional dishes and spend the day visiting relatives, so expect homes to be busy and some shops to close early.

Scale varies from year to year. Pamir Times noted that celebrations in 2012 were deliberately subdued after a deadly attack in Kohistan that February, while in other years the whole region has "worn a festive look".

Where to see it

There is no single central event. Celebrations happen in neighbourhoods and villages across Gilgit-Baltistan, with Pamir Times reports from Karimabad, Danyore near Gilgit, Gojal in upper Hunza and Skardu.

For a visitor, Karimabad and Aliabad are the practical bases, with the widest choice of places to stay. Ask your guesthouse a few days ahead what is planned locally that year. Our guide to things to do in Karimabad covers the town itself.

What late March is like in Hunza

Gilgit, at about 1,500 metres, averages a high of about 18 C and a low of about 5 C in March. Karimabad sits roughly 900 to 1,000 metres higher, so days are cool and nights are cold, and you will want a warm jacket, a hat and layers for evenings outdoors.

This is before the main season. Khunjerab Pass is normally closed to all vehicles from 30 December to about 1 April, and to heavy vehicles until about 1 May, so a Nauroz trip is unlikely to include the border. Some hotels and restaurants that serve summer crowds may not have reopened, so book ahead. Fruit blossom follows the warming weather up the valley; our Hunza blossom season guide and Hunza in April cover what comes next.

Getting to Hunza in March

This is the hardest part of a Nauroz trip.

• Babusar is closed. The Naran-Babusar road usually stays shut from November to June, so the summer route north is not available.
• The Karakoram Highway via Besham is the only road. By this route Islamabad to Karimabad is about 670 km, a long two-day drive. The UK government advises against all travel on the Karakoram Highway between Mansehra and Chilas, through Battagram, Besham and Dasu. Pakistani travellers use it, but check current police advice and local news first. If you hold a foreign passport, your own government's advice may say not to go, and travelling against it can void your insurance. Our guide to whether the Karakoram Highway is safe has more.
• Flying to Gilgit avoids that stretch. Flights from Islamabad need clear weather and can be delayed or cancelled when it is poor, so keep a spare day. See our Islamabad to Gilgit flight guide. From Gilgit, Karimabad is about 100 km up the highway.

Pakistan Day on 23 March is a national holiday, which can make a long weekend of Nauroz in some years. Book flights early if so.

Visiting respectfully

• Remember it is a religious day for many families. Dress modestly, and do not enter a Jamatkhana unless you are invited.
• Ask before photographing people, especially women, girls on swings and families with infants during the Dada custom.
• Join in only when asked. Tourists danced alongside residents in Karimabad in 2017, but wait to be invited rather than walking into a circle.
• Expect no fixed schedule. Do not plan your trip around a published programme, because there usually isn't one.

Nauroz or Ginani?

Hunza's other big seasonal festival is Ginani, the harvest celebration held around the summer solstice in June. In Hunza musicians play at Altit Fort for about ten days beforehand, and on the day people gather at the Chattaq at Baltit Fort. Ginani falls in the main season, with open roads and long days, so it is the easier festival to plan a trip around. Our guide to the Ginani festival explains it.

Choose Nauroz if you want to see Hunza quiet, before the crowds, and are ready for cold nights and a harder journey. Choose Ginani, or simply the best time to visit Hunza, if easy travel matters more.

Frequently asked questions