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Shandur Polo Festival: The World's Highest Polo Ground

📅 Aug 16, 2026⏱ 7 min read
Editorial note: Prepared by the Pakistan Tours local operations team. Visa, permit, safety, access and price information can change; confirm current official requirements and your written quotation before travel.

The Shandur Polo Festival is held each July at Shandur Pass, a high plateau at 3,700m connecting Chitral to Gilgit-Baltistan, officially the highest polo ground in the world, and one of Pakistan's most spectacular sporting and cultural events.

The polo itself: Freestyle polo, a faster, more physical variant than the formal international game, played between Chitral and Gilgit teams in a rivalry with deep historical roots. The high-altitude setting alone makes this unlike watching polo anywhere else in the world.

Beyond the match: The festival is a multi-day event featuring cultural performances, traditional music, and a substantial camping community that gathers at the remote plateau specifically for the occasion, as much a cultural gathering as a sporting fixture.

Getting there: Shandur Pass is remote by design, roughly 6-8 hours by rough mountain road from either Gilgit or Chitral, making the journey itself part of the experience. Camping is the standard way to attend, given the plateau's minimal permanent infrastructure.

Why it matters beyond the spectacle: Shandur represents a genuine historical rivalry and connection between two distinct regions of northern Pakistan, played out annually on a plateau that's otherwise one of the most remote, empty landscapes in the country most of the year.

Practical timing: Held annually in early-to-mid July; exact dates are confirmed closer to the season, we track this and can build a trip around confirmed dates once available.

See our Shandur Polo Festival Tour, or our Shandur Pass destination guide for visiting outside festival dates.

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