Passu Gojal

Passu Gojal is located with 125 km from Gilgit on the KKH near the border of China and is surrounded by the mountains of the Karakoram range. Its neighbourhood also includes two large glaciers: Batura and Passu Glacier. It is one of the most dangerous places to live in due to the continuous threat of floods and has been flooded four times in the past.

Passu is also one of the most ancient villages in the area. According to Archeologists, the first human settlement in the area dates back to 3000BC or 5000BC. There are many ancient rock carvings of ibex and zebra on several rocks, showing that ibexes have been around in the valley for many millennia, but the area no longer houses zebras. the only other wildlife here are snow leopards and yaks. In the second settlement era, Chinese Buddhists lived here. The buddhists of Gandahara, Swat, Gilgit, and Passu travelled from via this valley to go to China. Records of this settlement and subsequent migration are found in Karga Gilgit and Khurramabad Passu. The third settlement in the history of this valley is the Islamic era. Islam came to this area in the ninth century when Arab soldiers and traders ventured to these parts of the world. Quranic verses were etched in the mountains around the valley during this era. The fourth era was also Islamic, which was settled here in the 18th century. This time, the area boasted a vibrant populace of 315 families. However, this village was destroyed by natural disaster with a landslide and the nearby river was blocked. Only a few families remained safe by the landslide. This village was destroyed once again in 1964 when the population was forced into migration by the flooding of the Shimshal river and erosion around the river bank. This time around too, the village had some 300 houses. The majority of Passu’s native population recognises its ancestor as a man named Quli, who had come from Wakhan in the 15th century. In his memory, the people of Passu are also known as Quli-kuts or kutor.

The quli-kuts tribe has also inhabited Karimabad, Murtazabad and many other villages of central Hunza. The quli-kuts in central Hunza later adopted the Burushu way of life and now speak the Burushaski language. Most of the families migrated to chapurson and Khyber. The latest figures put the population of Passu around 1000.