UKC

a quiet morning in 123 towers. the kids often stray from ceebeebies when unsupervised and just found them watching this. kate humble. stunning footage of the wahkan. whats not to like ? (apologies if posted before).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p018hn8p/Wild_Shepherdess_with_Kate_Hu...

In reply to mike123: I thought extreme sheep-farming with kate humble had more than a whiff of monkey-tennis programming about it, but the mrs was watching it so I sat down and was drawn in almost immediately. Stunning scenery as you say, and the lives of the wakhan people were portrayed with dignity, and a nice lack of 'quaintness' - they reminded me of nomadic people i met when living in iran as a child in the early 70s. I thought the scenes with humble and the old woman, who adopted her as a daughter, were genuinely touching. glad I caught it.

In reply to ripper: hum.... monkey tennis you say ?

In reply to mike123: yeah just the sound of it - I did think 'extreme sheep farming with kate humble' sounded like one of alan partridge's pitch ideas, y'know like youth hostelling with chris eubank, monkey tennis, etc...
happy to admit I was wrong though.

In reply to ripper: I have to agree. Some stunning scenery in a very remote part of the world. Did I hear correctly that the average life expectancy of the local tribes was 38?
Very dignified people in the big Pamir living very harsh lives in very difficult conditions. A programme worth watching made even more so by the, pardon the pun, humbleness and humility, of Kate Humble.

In reply to mike123: I wouldn't go anywhere near that part of the world. She's probably lucky they didn't shoot her or take her hostage.

In reply to PopShot: Another Daily Mail reader.

In reply to PopShot: yep. probably best that you dont .

In reply to Neil R:

The new Godwin law.

In reply to stroppygob:

Absolutely. Gets tedious with people constantly saying Daily Mail reader, Guardian reader etc. Lazy posting.

In reply to PopShot:

You popshot are what the afghanis call "a complete idiot"

You're an incredibly small, closed minded individual. Yes you represent a substantial amount of the UK's population. But they must be idiots too.

Have you ever been to Afghanistan, or anywhere in the Middle East. What we see on the news isn't what these country's are really like. Every country has dangerous area's.

Open you're eyes!

In reply to PopShot: The Wakhan is not at all like the Afghanistan portrayed in the media. The people are some of the friendliest and most hospitable i've met anywhere in the world-they would force their last piece of bread on a stranger who was a guest . There are no local insurgents at all in that area. Adab Shah Gahouri the young fixer helping with the program is an intelligent bright young man who speaks flawless English amongst a number of other languages and who is desperately trying to make a living whilst building a tourism industry for the area. The people are predominantly Ismailis (do some research and find out what that means). Kate Humble would be far more likely to be subject to crime on a British Street than where she was.

In reply to AlH: The Wakhan is a great place to visit and as you say people are really friendly. I trekked for two weeks to Lake Chaqmatin and would love to go back to climb some of the mountains. The guy butchering the sheep on the programme was Ghulam who was the cook on my trek. A great bloke who plays a mean game of buzkashi.

In reply to mike123: I was also very sceptical about this program but also glad I watched it, great footage and depiction of the people and their way of life.

Intersted in how it is possible to get there now. Do you always have to go through Kabul or are there other options?

In reply to blindsign: You can get there via Dushanbe in Tajikistan and a two day drive to the border where you cross from the Tajik taown of Ishkashim to the Afghan Ishkashim. Then there is a well worn path around various offices to get permission to go into the Wakhan corridor. Lots of info around on the web or at the local guesthouses of what you have to do. Or you can get someone lined up to help you before you go.

http://www.adventurewakhan.com/

In reply to AlH: There are insurgents operating in Badahkshan to the West. They abducted British woman Helen Johnston when I was in Afghanistan.

Isolated incident agreed. Northern Afghanistan has some tremendous scenery and would be a mecca for mountaineers if the country wasnt being torn apart by corruption and influence from Pakistan.

In reply to mike123: more Kate Humble: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03694kd/The_Secret_Life_of_the_Sun/

no wonder she ditched Springwatch..

In reply to drunken monkey: The Wakhan benefits by being geographically (and socially) isolated from the rest of Badakhshan. South and West of Ishkashem is not somewhere I'd care to visit at present but at present there have been no incidents east of Ishkashem. It would be very difficult for either insurgents or criminal gangs to operate there given the nature of the terrain- not just the physical difficulty of it but the fact that the only possible routes are very few and highly visible. Its effectively a single massive valley with a few passes in and out. At present it seems there is no local base of support for insurgents or kidnappers (unlike many other areas) and nowhere for them to hide. The area has been seeing approx 100+ tourists/bikers/climbers a year for a while now (give or take a few).
As the OP said Adab's company Adventure Wakhan http://www.adventurewakhan.com/# facilitates visits and most people come in at Ishkashem from Tajikistan (most of us can't afford our own plane from Kabul and the overland journey would be hazardous although I know a few young eastern European/Russian backpackers have been doing it quietly).
This was Kate Humble's second visit to the Wakhan I believe. I believe she went with Wild Frontiers to Lake Chaqmaqtin in 2009. Wild Frontiers http://www.wildfrontierstravel.com/us/world-regions/central-asia/afghanista... and Secret Compass http://www.secretcompass.com/expeditions-2012/afghanistan/ are both offering treks to the region.

In reply to AlH: Fair enough mate. Im pretty sure it was Faizabad area she was taken from so considerably to the West.

I'd love to go back one day - Would certainly enjoy it a lot more that my last visit. Things would need to settle down considerably for me to consider it though.

In reply to mike123: Really well done programme, far better than the usual TV travel/outdoorsy dross. I've a newfound respect for KH, she seems very genuine