Shandur Pass is a pass located in the Chitral District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which connects it to the Ghizer District of Gilgit Baltistan in Pakistan. It is often called 'Roof of the World'. Shandur top is a flat plateau and can be crossed between late April and early November. The grade is very gradual, and the area is crossed by plentiful small streams during summer. During the annual 'Shandur Polo Festival,' there are polo matches played in Shandur Polo Ground on Shandur Top, between the local teams of Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan. Approximately seven matches are played in the three days of the festival usually held on July 7th to 9th every year. The final match is played on July 9th between Teams A of Gilgit and Chitral.
History
In 1935, Raja Hussain Ali Khan (Mehtar of Gopis, District Ghizer, established a huge polo ground in Shandur. The polo ground was named "Mas Junali", because in the Khowar language ‘mas’ is the word for ‘moon’ and ‘junali’ is the word for ‘polo-ground’. So Mas Junali became a source of relation between the people of Chitral District and Ghizer District. The Shandur Polo Festival opens a door step to the people of the world to enjoy their selves. Many of the people from entire world come here to watch polo match played between Chitral and Ghizer. At first it was a training game for cavalry units or other Elite troops. To the warlike tribesmen who played polo with as many as 100 players to a side, it was a miniature battle. It became a Persian national game in the 6th century AD. From Persia, the game spread to Arabia, then to Tibet, China and Japan. In China, in the year 910, death of a favourite relative in a game prompted Emperor Apaochi to order beheading of all players. Ali Sher Khan Anchan Maqpoun used to play Polo at Shandoor when Chitral was briefly occupied by Sher Ali Anchan. The Princes and political agents of Chitral also enjoyed playing Polo in Shandur. Historically, polo being the king of games was played between small kingdoms, villages and rival groups of Chitral and Gilgit. From 1936 onwards polo tournaments were held annually at Shandur at the patronage of the British. The three-day Shandur Polo Festival has developed steadily in recent years into the massive celebration of mountain polo that it is today.
