Culture & Beauty of Hunza Valley Didicated To our Grand Grand Fathers & Mother

Hunza Valley Languages

The languages that are spoken in the Hunza valley usually known as Brusho is Brushaski. It is written as Persian and Urdu script but no one is still able to determine the origin of the language. The common structure of the language consists of words from Balti, Pashtu, Persian, English, Wakhi, Chineses and central Asian states. The people of the three main areas Nagar, Hunza and Yasin have same languages apart from some of the few terms. The other two languages that are also spoken and written in these areas are Wakhi that is used in the upper Hunza and Shina that is used in the lower Hunza.

People of Hunza

Hunza is a fairy tale land and a lot of myth and reality has been associated to it. One thing is true of all that Hunza people are probably the most friendly people in the region. In the past it was quite common to see people crossing 100 and more years this indeed is true and can still be seen to some extent however the modern civilization has changed a lot in this valley of the longativity

The Hunza people, or Hunzakuts are people who have lived centuries in their very own isolated valleys. They speak Wakhi and the Shina. The Wakhi reside in the upper part of Hunza locally called Gojal. Wakhis also inhabit the bordering regions of China, Tajikstan and Afghanistan and also live in Gizar and Chitral district of Pakistan. The Shina-speaking people live in the southern part of Hunza. They could have come from Chilas, Gilgit, and other Shina-speaking areas of Pakistan many centuries ago.

The Hunzakuts and the region of Hunza have one of the highest literacy rates as compared to other similar districts in Pakistan due to the interest of His Higness Karim Aga Khan whom most of the Hunzakuts follow as their spritual leader.

Local legend states that Hunza may have been associated with the lost kingdom of Shangri La which was mentioned in the Novel of James Hilton "The Lost Horizon". The people of Hunza are by some noted for their exceptionally long life expectancy, others describe this as a longevity myth and cite a life expectancy of 53 years for men and 52 for women, although with a high standard deviation.

The Broshuski or Burusho or Brusho people live in the Hunza, Nagar, and Yasin valleys of northern Pakistan. There are also over 300 Burusho living in Srinagar, India. They are predominantly Muslims. Their language, Burushaski, has not been shown to be related to any other. They have an East Asian genetic contribution, suggesting that at least some of their ancestry originates north of the Himalayas.