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| 0045 Rakaposhi mountain |
Eric Shipton, the distinguished British Himalayan mountaineer (1907-1977), called the Hunza valley "the ultimate manifestation of mountain grandeur". Rakaposhi (7,768m) is valley's most famous peak, not necessarily because is the 27th highest in the world and 12th highest in Pakistan, but for its directly, uninterrupted rise over local terrain (5800m in only an 11.5 km horizontal distance) and also for its unearthly beauty. The peak is located in the Rakaposhi-Haramosh range which forms the south-western corner of the Karakorum and is part of Central Karakorum National Park.
Rakaposhi (means "Shining Wall" in Burushaski language; also known as Dumani - Mother of Mist) isn't easy to climb from in any direction. Western routes are very long, northern routes are very high and technically difficult, and southern and eastern routes are plain dangerous due to extreme avalanche risk. After six failed expeditions the peak was first climbed by a british expedition in 1958 via the SW Spur. Since then there have been 20 attempts, of which only 7 successful, the last in 1997, belonging to an Iranian team.
The Central Karakoram is an extreme mountain area between Skardu and Gilgit. It was declared as national park in 1993 and today it is the largest protected area in Pakistan, and also the highest park in the world (60 peaks over 7,000m, and 4 peaks more than 8000m, including K2). The Park encompasses the longest glaciers outside the Polar Regions, making up 40% of the park area. Within the park there is a variety of ecosystems, from rock cliffs to juniper shrub land, conifer and broadleaf forests and alpine pastures, home to a very high level of biodiversity.
About the stamps
The first stamp belongs to the Muhammad Ali Jinnah definitive stamps set, issued in 1998 (6 denomination, the same image, different culours - 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 Rs.). Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1876-1948) was the founder of Pakistan, the country's first Governor-General from August 15, 1947 until his death on September 11, 1948, and he is popularly and officially known in this country as Quaid-e-Azam (Great Leader) or Baba-e-Qaum (Father of the Nation).
The second stamp, depicting the national flag and insignia of Pakistan Navy Rifle Association, is a commemorative postage stamp issued on February 13, 2010 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of PNRA.
In the lower right corner is also a stamp with Jinnah, with the denomination of 28 Rs. I found on the Internet two stamp identical with that, but with the denomination of 10 and 30 Rs, not 28. I don’t know what to say about it.
References
Central Karakorum National Park - Wikipedia
Central Karakorum National Park - Official website
Sender: Imran Siddique / imransiddique (postcrossing)
Sent from Lahore (Punjab / Pakistan), on 09.10.2011
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