ISLAMABAD: A group of five Germans will be the first foreigners to climb the over 6,500-meter-high peak in Shimshal Valley of Gilgit-Baltistan, after Pakistan lifted its anti-coronavirus restrictions last week and reopened its mountains for the trekking season.
“A five-member German team led by climber Felix Berg arrived in Pakistan as the country has seen a significant drop in COVID-19 cases and is gradually returning to normalcy,” Karrar Haidri, Secretary Alpine Club of Pakistan told Arab News on Monday.
Home to five of the world’s 14 tallest mountains, Pakistan had shut down its tourism sector in March this year to limit the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, which has killed 6,175 and infected 289,214 people thus far, out of a population of 220 million.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan, the two main hubs for domestic and international tourism, were the worst affected by the lockdown imposed five months ago.
Haidri said that while nearly 40 expeditions had been conducted and more than 100 foreign climbers and trekking groups had visited the country last year, the pandemic had dealt a severe blow to the tourism sector this year. He was, however, hopeful that the trend would pick up soon.
“More foreigners are expected to arrive in the country in the coming days,” he said, without divulging more details.
