SKARDU: The Sarfaranga Cold Desert Rally 2023, held in Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) region, came to an end on Sunday, with over $825,994 in business generated for the local private sector during this year’s festival, tourism officials said.
The fifth edition of the rally took place in Shigar district’s Sarfaranga desert, the highest cold desert in the world, with the aim to promote adventure tourism in Gilgit-Baltistan and boost the local economy of the remote region.
Besides the rally, the festival also featured activities like free-style polo, boating, river rafting, sword dances, musical performances, and rock climbing.
More than 100 jeep racers and bikers participated in the rally, including two local women drivers, out of which 57 drivers qualified for the final round.
Drivers compete during the Sarfaranga Cold Desert Rally in Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) region on October 8, 2023. (Photo courtesy: GB government)
At the closing ceremony of the event on Sunday evening, GB Secretary of Tourism Asif Ullah Khan said business worth $825,994 (Rs230 million) was generated during this year’s festival.
“Events like these will lead to the publicity of this area, and people will know that such events take place in the area,” GB Governor Syed Mehdi Shah said.
“In Pakistan, motorsports have been neglected and known as a rich boy’s game. It’s a multi-billion-dollar industry all over the world and I think in Pakistan it should be done more often,” said Adil Naseem, who runs a sports cars business and was declared “Man of the Desert” after coming first in Category A by completing an 80-km long track in 48 minutes.
Adil Naseem, winner of the Category A race of the Sarfaranga Cold Desert Rally 2023, poses for a picture in Shigar, Pakistan on October 8, 2023. (AN photo)
Gul Naseem, a first-time participant in the rally, won the first position in the women’s category. Her husband also participated in the event, she told Arab News and was the reason she was inspired to take part.
“He would bring us to this track once or twice a week. Seeing him, I developed the interest to participate in the rally with him this time,” Naseem, a mother of five who works as Assistant Director Skardu in the Women Development Office, added.
Syed Alyaan Ahmed, a navigator at the race with his partner Mikaeel Habib, who stood first in the B Category, said such events were “very important to put Pakistan on the map globally.”
Winners of the Category B race, Syed Alyaan Ahmed (left), the navigator, and Mikaeel Habib, the driver, pose for a picture in Shigar, Pakistan on October 8, 2023. (AN Photo)
Suneel Munj, the Chief Executive Officer of PakWheels, Pakistan’s #1 automobile website, said the rally, the second largest in Pakistan after one held in the Cholistan desert in the country’s south, had achieved two goals through its five annual editions:
“One is the well-being of the local community, bringing it into the global landscape of tourism,” Munj told Arab News.
“Second, I think the number of the participants of the rally [has increased].”
