Volunteer in Pakistan – Explore Pakistani Kashmir & Overland to China!
Want to get off the beaten path and come volunteering in Pakistan? How about an overland journey from Pakistani Kashmir to China too? This is going to be your trip of a lifetime – explore the untouched nature, meet one of the friendliest people on earth, and learn about the traditional life along the borders. Mudita Adventures is partnering with a local NGO in the city of Sialkot where we will help install water pumps and toilets for the villagers to live in hygienic conditions and maintain a healthier lifestyle.
For the adventure lovers, this is the trip you will not want to miss! We only have 18 spots available (and 4 of them were already taken on the very first day).
Pakistan 2020
ABOUT THE PROJECT – WHAT’S VOLUNTEERING IN PAKISTAN LIKE?
Our partner community in Pakistan is about 5 hours south of Islamabad, in an impoverished region of Sialkot. After discussing with their leaders and elders due to various outbreaks, they’ve decided both water pumps and toilets in the village areas are their pressing concern.
We’re aware that perhaps this isn’t the attractive prospect of a classroom but it’s absolutely vital to the progress of the community on so many levels, hygiene first of foremost, but also to allow women to wash safely and in private and of course to enable families to maintain a certain level of dignity.
With that in mind, we are building 10 public toilets in different villages in the city of Sialkot, along with 10 villages obtaining new water pumps. Around the world, children from infancy to five years of age have the highest mortality rate due to water-borne diseases, with the equivalent of nine busloads of kindergarten children dying everyday. It doesn’t need to happen. It shouldn’t happen anymore. When people don’t have access to clean, potable water, they experience a lack of education, jobs, and opportunities. This forms a vicious cycle that perpetuates poverty. So our GBGA team have stepped in to volunteer in Pakistan and raise the funds for water pumps in 10 different locations.
Finally, the community asked to help at the local school. There are a group of kids who study every day but are struggling with the means of education. No school bags, no pencils, no pens, so our volunteers will spend the morning at the school, replenishing the school and the kids with everything they need to continue their studies.
TRIP HIGHLIGHTS:
ISLAMABAD
The 9th largest city and the capital of Pakistan with just over a million people in the population, Islamabad is known for its beautiful setting among the mountain range and abundant greenery. The city is full of stories to be told as you wander through small streets for delicious local food, visit the iconic Faisal Mosque, and take a fresh deep breath from the scenic lookout point of Daman-e-Koh. Only a few days here, you will find this place safe and calm with a warm welcome by the local people. To make your volunteer in Pakistan smooth and easy, we will have this place as a base before and after our project.
Faisal Mosque, Islamabad
PAKISTANI KASHMIR
We’re proud to be the only company in the world to offer these crazy adventure tours with a social conscience and to have the opportunity to visit Kashmir is one of those exclusive benefits of volunteering in Pakistan. We’ll fly into the heart of Gilgit Baltistan, and get lost amidst the snow-capped Himalayas as we hike, and drive through the Skardu and Hunza Valleys, just off the Karakoram highway.
We’ll explore the Gilgit area, checking out the Kargah Buddha, the Gilgit bridge (hope you’re not scared of heights, the largest suspension bridge in Asia!) over the fast flowing Gilgit river, at the end of its traditional bazaar and the Monument of Taj Mughal. Moving onto Skardu, the capital of Baltistan. Perched 2,438 meters above sea level in the backdrop of the great peaks of the Karakorams. Balti people are a mixture of Tibetan and Caucasian stock and speak Balti, an ancient form of Tibetan. Due to the similarity of its culture, lifestyle, and architecture with Tibet, Baltistan is also known as the “Tibet-e-Khurd” (Little Tibet).
Onto the mountainous area of Hunza, where the fair-skinned and light-eyed Hunzakuts claim to be descendants of soldiers lost from Alexander’s army as he invaded India. Hunza Valley is the inspiration for the mythical valley of Shangri-la in James Hilton’s 1933 novel Lost Horizon and time permitting, we’ll get to see spectacular Rakaposhi pass and the ancient Baltit fort. The landscape is just so breathtaking you won’t want to leave!
Hunza Valley, Pakistani Kashmir
OVERLAND JOURNEY TO CHINA (Optional)
As the Mudita team designs the itineraries, certain places crop up that just cannot be missed. So our whole team will be joining this one as a reward to our volunteering in Pakistan. While the rest of the volunteers jet back to Islamabad, we have more the adventure to end all adventures ahead. We’ll make our way north on the Karakoram Highway, the highest paved international road in the world, to Sost via Karimabad and lunch spot at the Eagles nest with views unmatched around the world. Then we’ll visit the Alti fort, and maybe even pick up some a cheap ruby from the nearby ruby mines. The following day, we will be reaching the Khunjerab pass and it is here where you will complete your world’s highest border crossing at 4700m. After completing the extensive border formalities, getting stamped out of Pakistan, and into China we finally move north. Karakol lake is awaiting us, via the Stone Fort of Tashkurgan where we’ll sleep in a nomadic yurt for the night. Finally, you are back to the civilization in Kashgar and get ready to explore the fascinating Uyghur culture and hop on the train to finish this route in Urumqi, the heart of Asia. Now, this is a trip to write home about. True, true adventure travel!
Khunjerab Pass, Northern border of Pakistan
We all know that volunteering in Pakistan is not a common choice for typical tourists and that is what will make this trip challenging and memorable! This is the adventure we all are waiting for – the unforgettable one. We guarantee you will get to experience the country as no one else does and, of course, with the best group of like-minded people. APPLY TODAY to secure your spot & see you in Pakistan!
