Rama Polo Festival 2018 from 19th August
Eleven team will participate in the three-day long Rama Polo Festival schedule to be held from 19th -21st August in Astore, Gilgit Baltistan (GB).
The Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) government will hold the Rama Polo Festival from 9th -21st August in Rama, Astore valley. Rama is located in 40 minutes’ drive from Astore City.
Polo Festival Commissioner Diamer Division Syed Abdul Waheed Shah announced that 11 polo teams including 2 from Astore and one each from all districts of GB will participate in the polo competitions.
A high-level meeting held in Gilgit with Chief Secretary Babar Hayat Tarar in the chair reviewed the arrangements for the festival. A special donkey polo match will also be played between two local teams in order to entertain the spectators, Stalls will also be installed to display local traditional handicrafts and other local products.
The tourism department of GB has been holding the Rama Festival every year since 2011. The aim of the festival is to promote tourism in Astore valley and all over GB. Astore is situated at an altitude of 2500m and comprises of 6 sub-valleys: Rama, Tarishing/Rupal, Rattu/Dirley, Minimerg, Gudai and Kamari. In addition, a Meena Bazaar will also be set up in Rama, allowing local women to display and exhibit traditional handicraft. Danish believes the turnout will be high and that tourists from G-B and other parts of Pakistan will be attending.
A large number of tourist come to the region to attend the festival which depicts the culture, customs, and heritage of Gilgit-Baltistan before the world. And number of local as well as national games would be played in the festival including volleyball, football, cricket and hockey. All the expenditures of the event would be borne by the tourism department of Gilgit-Baltistan, he added. He appealed the masses to cooperate with the tourism department to make the event successful.
