Yak polo in Broghil, the Wakhan Corridor

Yak polo is the famous cultural event of the Wakhi community in the Broghil, in the Pamir region of northern Pakistan. The sport has gained popularity amongst the national and international tourists. It is organised from July 17-19 every year by the Wakhi community. It is really an upheal task to mount the beast with mallet in hand and score a goal or two.

It must be noted that tourism has been the mainstay of the economy of the local community in the Wakhan corridor as the region is famous for sensational passes into different valleys such as Yasin and Ishokomon in the Northern Areas.

Aboout CAMAT

CAMAT was established in 1998 by a wide spectrum of tourism stakeholders for the promotion of ecotourism in Chitral and Northern Areas. It is not-for-profit registered tourism company. The objective of the association is to diversify people’s livelihood opportunities by creating off-farm job opportunities so that pressure on land resources will decrease and natural biodiversity and ecology will restore. From 2003-7, CAMAT worked through the financial and technical support of UNESCO with a project titled ‘promotion of ecotourism in the mountainous region of Central and South Asia’. The project had eight partners from Central and South Asia. In Pakistan the project rested with CAMAT, which implemented the activities under the following themes to achieve the project's broader objectives:
1) Protection of traditional culture
2) Protection of natural environment
3) Capacity building
4) Network building
5) Advocacy campaign

Though UNESCO project came to an end, CAMAT is continuing its activities mostly by the voluntary support of its Board of Directors and cultural groups and natural club throughout the Chitral district. We would like the like-minded NGOs around the world to come forward and support CAMAT in its efforts to protect the virgin natural environment and traditional culture of both the Kalash and Khow communities. CAMAT’s BoD and the Kalash and Khow communities in the Hindu Kush are thankful to ECOCLUB for the generous support and guidance that will go a long way to protect the traditional culture and the unspoiled natural environment of the local communities. In the meantime, CAMAT is also thankful to UNESCO for supporting and giving direction and orientaion to our project and its future.