Where the Indus Is Young: Walking to Baltistan

by Dervla Murphy

One winter, Dervla Murphy and her six-year-old daughter Rachel walked into the Karakoram mountains in the frozen heart of the Western Himalayas and along the perilous Indus Gorge. Accompanied only by a gallant polo pony, they encountered conditions that tested the limits of their ingenuity, endurance, and courage. Hair-raising, gloriously subjective, and with the quirky vitality of fiction, the resulting book is a classic of travel writing

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Pakistan, Asia, India, Memoir, Travelogue

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Dervla Murphy’s first book, Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle, was published in 1965. Over twenty travel books followed including her highly acclaimed autobiography, Wheels Within Wheels.

Dervla won worldwide praise for her writing and many awards, including the Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize, the Edward Stanford Award for Outstanding Contribution to Travel Writing and the Royal Geographical Award for the popularisation of geography.

Few of the epithets used to describe her – ‘travel legend’, ‘intrepid’ or ‘the first lady of Irish cycling’ – quite do justice to her extraordinary achievement.

She was born in 1931 and remained passionate about travel, writing, politics, Palestine, conservation, bicycling and beer until her death in 2022.

Reviews

[Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

10 OUT OF 5 STARS - BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR (SO FAR)!!

If you enjoy any sort of travel books but haven't yet discovered Dervla Murphy, PLEASE do so - she is just the most admirable, delightful and indestructible travel companion you could possibly imagine.

Have had this one on my shelf for a good while now, and would have read earlier except - and I hate to admit this, as I generally take pride in my geographic knowledge - I apparently didn't realize just where the Indus and Baltistan were, (maybe…India?). But then the minute I opened it up, I realized it was exactly that area of northern Pakistan that has fascinated me ever since first reading about the local travels of Francis Younghusband (1887) and Peter Fleming (1935) in such exotic sounding areas as Gilgit, Hunza and Chitral. (In fact, Murphy begins Chapter Two with a lengthy quote from Younghusband.)

Have to put this up front: bought this from Amazon as "Like New," and indeed it was obviously unread - yet came with the inscription "Happy Birthday to Bart - Dervla Murphy" on the first page. Who the hell would get a personally autographed copy of a book like this - and then never read it?? Shame on you Bart, whoever you are - but also thanks for at least reselling this online!

Anyway - just wonderful, but so many thoughts that I don't have the time or energy to put them together in a coherent narrative…so am just going to list a number of the things that really hit me here, which are hopefully enough to encourage you to READ IT YOURSELF, because you really, really should.

* Baltistan and the Karakoram mountains are some of the most remote and desolate areas on earth. So who better for Murphy to travel with than…her six-year-old daughter? But turns out young Rachel is just as tough as her mom, and provides an excellent counterpuntal voice to the narrative, with such gleeful comments as "here's another obstacle!" and "I don't think ANYONE could survive if they slipped HERE!" That said, I did Google "Rachel Murphy" just to confirm that she in fact survived into adulthood, (she did, but otherwise - and perhaps understandably - has virtually zero internet presence).

* Apparently, the region played a more important role back in the heyday of the Silk Road. However, since "Partition" and Baltistan becoming a part of Pakistan, it has been cut off from it's traditional eastern trading partners in Ladakh and Kashmir, and so become both a political and economic backwater/cul-de-sac.

* One always needs to have Google handy when reading Murphy, both to look up places on the map and to translate her local terms - nullah, chowdikar, dhobi, chota, bungo, chenar. Took me forever to figure out that her "dula" wasn't a local word at all, but a reference to the walking stick she'd brought back from an earlier trip to Ethiopia.

* Some interesting if depressing religious stuff here. I was surprised that the Shia-Sunni hostilities extended to this remote region, noted in the form of deadly riots in Gilgit during a major festival. Also, I had never heard of the Nurbashi sect of Islam, but seems like they are the most moderate version out there - and so of course are the least followed. And finally, considering this was written mid-'70s, Murphy makes some apt (if also depressing) comparisons between the Sunni-Shia struggles in Asia and the Catholic-Protestant unrest in Ireland.

This was Murphy's sixth book. I thoroughly enjoyed her first three (which all focused on India/Nepal), and then skipped ahead three decades to read One Foot in Laos (her only book set in Southeast Asia). And now Indus of course, since it also focuses on the Karakoram which - while technically not the Himalaya - are close enough, (and are in fact even more desolate and hard to reach than their more famous neighbors). But since there are now only two books between this and her first three - In Ethiopia with a Mule and On a Shoestring to Coorg: An experience of southern India - I've already added them to my TBR list, because (A) after reading The Blue Nile and Flashman on the March, Ethiopia sounds pretty darn interesting, and (B)…well, my OCD side would go nuts if I then left out just one book of her first six.

I sadly - if coincidentally - finished this book on the one-year anniversary of Murphy's death, (she passed at 90, although considering her life choices I'm frankly amazed she lasted that long). She will be sorely missed.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

She knew she wasn’t at home as the slightly ominous sign over the desk read ‘Visitors are requested to leave their weapons at the desk before entering the restaurant’… The man she spoke to in Pindi could not believe that she wanted to go to Baltistan, as he tells her, even Balti’s don’t want to spend the winter in Baltistan as it is so cold. She was not to be dissuaded and paid for the flights to Gilgit.

Following on from her successful trip to South India, Derval Murphy was keen to see more of the subcontinent with her daughter, Rachel. They chose to explore, “Little Tibet,” a place in the Karakoram Mountains, high up in the Himalayas. They finally arrive in Gilgit on the 19th December 1974 after surviving what was once one of the most dangerous flights in the world. On the way there she had pointed out some of the routes she had cycled a few years before; Rachel thought she was dotty. They start to get an idea of just how cold it is going to be as fresh snow often falls overnight.

There was enchantment there, in the brilliance and silence of that noon hour, with golden light pouring in from a dark blue mountain sky and the lake a steady mirror full of the beauty of glittering peaks.

On dawn on Christmas Day, the band plays Auld Land Syne for 30 minutes without a pause, and then 30 or so riders on ponies rushed past and disappeared into the foggy morning. They would be travelling high into the mountains on a packed jeep to the place where they would begin their trek. Soon after they arrived in the region, Murphy acquired a pony that they christened Hallam as she intended to walk and trek her chosen route. They would be off as soon as the blizzards relented.

Their route alongside the would take them from village to village, enjoying the hospitality of the locals and marvelling at the magnificent views, though Rachel did say that the landscape was untidy. Both she and her daughter are tough, they survive on meagre rations all the way on their trip, are quite often chilled to the bone as they traverse the passes and mountains. They find companionship and hardship in equal measure, and her six-year-old daughter takes all of it in her stride, she is a natural traveller like her mother.

Here, Hallam and I waited for Rachel – a tiny red figure toiling gallantly up the steep white slope, with frequent pauses to lean on my dula and regain breath, for the air was exhaustingly thin.

I liked this a lot. It is written in a diary format so even reading this today, it feels that you are with her every step of the way. Murphy manages to get across just how tough life is for the people of Baltistan, partly because of their location in the Himalayas and partly because of the way that the land has degraded over time. It seems fairly safe compared to some of her other trips where she has been robbed, but the landscape is another factor, there are some heart-stopping moments as they cross the remnants of an avalanche or teeter at the top of a narrow path with the river hundreds of feet below.

[ALLEN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who travels better than Dervla Murphy? In 1975 the accomplished Irish travel writer compiled an extensive packing list (an appendix to this book), bought tickets, gathered up her young daughter Rachel, and set out upon an extended trek to Baltistan in mountainous northern Pakistan. Accompanied by a sure-footed pony named Hallam, the duo went through wintry adventures on a shoestring that were challenging (occasionally hair-raising), culturally broadening, and generally enthralling.

This 1977 book, Where the Indus is Young, is the result of Murphy's travel diary, and it's one of the most engrossing travel accounts I've ever read. Murphy's challenges were numerous, but they focused just as much on people than mountaineering, perhaps more so. The author has a real gift for encompassing the whole of the travel experience, be it scenery, local culture, food, or just getting on with the locals. Even Hallam the pony takes on a personality all his own.

Usually my reviews include one quotation from the subject book to give a feel for the material. But Murphy's book is so wide-ranging and so well-written that just this once, I'm going to add three quotations:

from the book:
Balti is a language without a script, nor do the people have many reliable oral traditions about their own past. In Thowar our Head Constable friend assured me that "before the conversion to Islam, 1,200 years ago [sic], all Baltis were Hindus or Sikhs." There is a hazy racial recollection of the language once having had a script and presumably this dates from Buddhist times. Then the Tibetan script would have been used, at least by the lamas and probably by all educated lay-folk. (p. 110)

There was I, rather fancying myself as the hardy traveler roving through remote Baltistan -- but the first touch of real pain has revealed in me my true colours as a degenerate product of twentieth-century over-civilization, accustomed to having the best possible medical treatment the moment anything goes wrong. Now I am in such hellish agony that I cannot write any more. (p. 127)

It was snowing lightly and pale clouds were low on the mountains; but I love this Himalayan world seen through a flimsy, mobile curtain of falling snow. The great gaunt peaks appear and disappear through drifting cloud, while the nearer crags and precipices and gullies and cliffs and ravines all have a new sort of mysterious, softened beauty. (p. 169)

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[Vanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

such a formidable and blatantly honest lady. she can bring me places where I would probably never will get to, a book (like her other books) impossible to put down.

[Sudipto Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read her Full Tilt in one go. That was way back in 1989 when there was no distraction of the internet or mobile phone and I had all the time in the world to read peacefully in a small Himalayan kingdom called Bhutan in the light of a kerosene lamp. I have not read a more fascinating adventure travel story. But this is not about Full Tilt. This is about Where the Indus is Young (not so young if you have been to Ladakh) - a very remote part in the Pakistan side of Kashmir where she travels with her six year old daughter. Apart from her spirit of adventure, her sense of ethics and human values stand out all packed in a wonderfully humorous way. I will never get a chance to visit these places that she describes, which is sad. And they probably don't exist any more as they did during her travel in the early 70s. But this is not a tourist brochure. It is a travelogue. It is about what she saw, what she heard, what she understood and what she felt. It's brilliant.
However, it is also a vivid description of the abject poverty of the people, their wretchedness, poor health and hygiene. Except their good natured acceptance of their fate, dictated largely by their geography, politics and religion, and their intention to be good hospitable hosts there is nothing to feel good about the people of Baltistan as Murphy saw it. She repeatedly says she wants to come back as she is in love with the place. It is not clear why. Is it just the natural beauty of the place? I do not know.
Rachel is a sweety. She must be a little younger than me. I wonder if she became an adventurer too later in her life.

[Anurag Dwivedi · Rating 4 out of 5]

If one is looking for a good travel book to read, this is certainly one of those. Walking through the very little explored Baltististan Region in PoK, she has, in my opinion, done justice to her experience while writing about it.

[Pam Boardman · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book. A friend lent me this book, because I had just come back from trekking in Kashmir in an area near to the area in the book. The description of her journey was fascinating. It was interesting to see how different the area was when she was there. She was very determined to visit this area in winter and for a long period of time.
I didn't think it was a good idea to take her 6 year old daughter with her. Also she didn't take much food with her, and therefore had to depend on the locals. These people were poor.

[Aparna Bhat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a riveting account of a winter spent by the author and her six-year-old daughter, in the wilds of Baltistan in the Karakoram Himalayas. Written around 50 years ago, the book offers a fascinating glimpse of the lives of the people residing in this faraway region of 'Little Tibet', as it is widely known. The clearest thread running through the entire book is Dervla's passionate love for the Himalayas, which enables her to endure all sorts of dangers and hardships associated with traveling in these parts during the harsh winter. The book contains vivid descriptions of hamlets and towns like Gilgit and Skardu (which were far more primitive during the 1970s) and the people encountered during the sojourn. Since proper hotels were unheard of in these remote regions, the Misses Murphy stayed at British-built Rest Houses, wherever available, but more frequently, in the homes of the local Balti folk. Dervla can thus be regarded as a pioneer of homestays, long before this term entered the lexicon of the modern tourist. She dispassionately describes the poverty, deprivation, and squalor all around her but is unstinting in her admiration of the simple, honest, good-natured, hard-working, fatalistic Balti folk, who cheerfully try to eke out a living in the harshest of conditions amidst these forbidding mountain ranges. While extolling the Balti virtue of making the most of the available meagre resources, Dervla upbraids the consumerist mindset and the wastefulness of modern Western civilization. She was a staunch advocate of minimalism, much before Marie Kondo made it fashionable. She also laments the deleterious effect of mountaineering expeditions on the mindset and lifestyle of the local inhabitants. Dervla's skillful penmanship brings alive the lofty, Karakoram ranges and the valleys of Baltistan through the pages of this book. This book is a must-read for all those who love the Himalayas!

[Morag Forbes · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 1977 Murphy and her six year old daughter travel through the Indus Valley in Pakistan. Accompanied by their trusty pony Hallam who is picked up early on to join this epic example of female solo travel. The stories brought back very happy memories of holidays from my younger years. The descriptions of the people and landscape fascinating as it’s a part of the world and a period of history I know very little about. I will say that it does reflect the times it was written and some of the descriptions of the local people didn’t sit right with me and the diary format meant the amount of detail given to certain events varied wildly. But still I enjoyed it.

[Saadullah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the best Gilgit-Baltistan travelogue. Dervla Murphy is a blunt writer, and I constantly felt sorry for her 6 year old daughter travelling with her (I really hope she grew up fine!). But that also makes this a very funny read, sometimes unintentionally so. This is all from 1974 or 1975 I think, so she often does have some really bitchy things to say. I appreciated that a lot though, and otherwise felt she was mostly ahead of her time in terms of her politics and outlooks. Definitely an awe-inspiring traveller and journey.

[Liz Logan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beautifully described book, but sometimes overly long and sometimes the narrator was distinctly unlikeable due to the treatment of her own child. I also went back and forth on her description of the various peoples of the ranges - sometimes very flatteringly and sometimes almost sub-human.

[Jodie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written. I would love to meet Dervla - she is so pragmatic in her adventures and shows such an amazing strength of character in the ways she manages to overcome any difficulties with such verve. What an inspiring lady!

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

The blurb on the cover of my copy says "Altogether the most appallingly fascinating travel book I have ever read" The Times. And that's entirely accurate.

[MJ Brodie · Rating 3 out of 5]

An absorbing read but not one of Murphy's best. Her entire trip through Baltistan is beset by obstacles such as avalanches, snow melt, rapid river currents, freezing temperatures, food shortages and an injured pony, to name but a few. Unlike her other books where such hardships might just be interludes between fascinating travel narrative, most of the book is made up of hardships and obstacles. The travel narrative is not that fascinating as it mostly consists of Murphy noticing amazing mountain peaks, glistening snow and deep ravines. Unsurprisingly, Baltistan in winter doesn't offer much variety or what variety it offers is hard to describe in words.

Mostly though, I was troubled reading about Rachel, Murphy's 6 year old daughter, who is exposed to unnecessary hunger, cold and hardships for a trip that doesn't seem worth it. 1970s parenting standards were a little different, I suppose, but it seems like a terrible idea to take a child trekking through such high altitudes without having adequate food and shelter. The child comes close to death at least twice in the story. It's only by a miracle or sheer luck that mother and daughter arrive safely back to Islamabad. One particular incident when a creepy dentist tries to assault Dervla Murphy in front of her daughter and comes close to assaulting her daughter too was particularly unsettling. That experience would have been enough to get me to turn right around and return home but, again, maybe 1970s parenting standards were different.

It all seems unnecessarily painful and arduous with very little gain at the end. I will continue to read Murphy's writing but for my next book, I think I will choose to read one where she travels solo. It's one thing to read about an adult willingly exposing herself to high risk situations and hardship but another thing entirely to read about a child being exposed to hardships and danger for no good reason.

[Romano Cassar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I seem to read a Dervla Murphy book every time I am going somewhere she's travelled to. I read South from the Limpopo before going to South Africa. And Muddling Through In Madagascar before going to Madagascar. She went to Madagascar accompanied by her daughter Rachel, then sixteen years old. And to Gilgit-Baltistan (then part of the Northern Territories, with a then six-year old Rachel, in the winter of 1974-75. That's two years before I was in the area, in the Kaghan Valley, Chitral and Swat. These are in the North West Frontier Province, now called Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, adjoining Baltistan. So I could relate to her descriptions, if not to her mode of travel.
She is a good author; or, more precisely, I enjoy her writing and her style (although I still have to read her classic, "Full Tilt"). I thoroughly enjoyed this one on Baltistan, especially her descriptions of the incidents along the way, the local people, and her insight. I gave it four stars (not five) because I found it a bit heavy on details towards the end. I would still recommend it as a good example of travel-writing, with Murphy's unique descriptive slant.

PS 1: My book version is "Winter In Baltistan", not "Walking to Baltistan"
PS 2: On the way from Skardu to Khapalu, she lists the name of a mountain pass as Khardung La. Khardung La is actually a pass north of Leh, Ladakh, in the Indian part of Kashmir, touted as the highest motorable road that is kept open all year (by the BRO-Border Roads Organisation). And it's almost 200 km away from Khapalu. She was using a US Air Force map, so it might have been misidentified.

[Ciaran Monaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not ideal to read a book like this after accepting a new job as it has sparked my wanderlust. Murphy is a narrator that definitely grew on me over the course of the book. I was (and sometimes continued to be) uncomfortable with how she described the poverty of local people and local conditions, and that she was a Western explorer looking down on people in lower income countries. However, I grew to feel that it was just her straightforward mode of description, without any sugarcoating or much strong emotion, rather than any reflection of her attitude. In fact, the warmth she felt for Baltistan and its people came through very strongly by the end. I also enjoyed her humour which came through more as the book went on, particularly in the descriptions of her daughter and the exasperation Murphy clearly felt at times, when her daughter refused to respect the peace and quiet of the landscape. I would like to read other works by her, especially Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a BicycleFull Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle.

[Prayash Giria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where the Indus is Young is an immensely readable diary-style travelogue of Dervla Murphy’s (and her 6 year old daughter, Rachel’s, and their hardy if slow donkey, Hallam’s) mid-winter traverse through Baltistan in the 1970s. Her way of recording all that she experiences in rich (but not boring) detail makes the book far more immersive than others, and there’s genuine novelty in reading about the experiences of not just a female traveller, but one travelling as a single mother through a time and region thoroughly unaccustomed to either. It also helps that the book is a rare piece of modern writing on Baltistan.

My only - slightest - criticism would be for the noticeable lack of introspection (or maybe we’re far too accustomed to travel writing set in the high mountains where the author lapses into bouts of philosophising?) as it would have been interesting to read about the motivations that prompted Murphy to take such a tough journey in the first place.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this, but it's quite unconventional. At first I thought that the author is quite a harsh observor - everything is stinking or grubby - but in fairness, having visited Pakistan, that's probably just the nature of the villages she passes through. I later realised ghagy she just observes in a very descriptive way - as sometimes the people are described as (essentially) pretty, or the landscapes stunning.

The poverty of the area is also very eye-opening.

The author doesn't seem to hold back in any areas. One thing that surprised me a bit was how she treated her daughter (who was doing something pretty extreme for a six year old!). Often it almost felt like she was often an inconvenience or afterthought. A lot of it was fairly good natured, except the bit about wanting to push her off a cliff.

[Johan Olausson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dervla’s amazing winter-journey in Baltistan certainly meets her motto to ‘never want your travelling to be easy’. Together with her young daughter Rachel, by foot or horse, along the deep gorges of the wild and freezing Indus River, in sub-zero temperatures and staying in the simplest and most modest of lodgings. What comes across most strongly in her books is her consistent honesty about places she visits and her ability to get under the skin of ordinary people. And “Where the Indus is Young” does do her justice. I felt particularly strongly about this book as Dervla passed away earlier this year. May she Rest In Peace on her onwards forever journey.

[Steven Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read Murphy's 'The Waiting Land', not long before this, for the majority of the reading, I wasn't particularly impressed. It didn't grab me the way that book had (which I rated 3-star). But then, probably about 2/3rds of the way through or thereabouts, it finally did begin to. I'm not sure it's a book I'll re-read (which is my normal rationale for a 4-star review), but it definitely - for me - is better than 'The Waiting Land'. It's a shame the ending feels rushed - but the anticlimactic nature of returning to "the real world" is something I recognise and its well portrayed here, if not lingered over.

[K So · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know the exact dates I read this, I estimate 6 years ago. I picked up this book in a resale store possibly a charity opportunity shop can’t quite recall. I put it on my self and didn’t read for a year or so after finding it and adding to my collection. Looking back this book left an imprint in my mind. I think about the author and her daughter often if I see mention of apricots, potty training, books in backpacks and the mountains and Kyrgyzstan. I plan to read this book again if I find another copy.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. Found her writing style very readable, always like having maps & pictures in travel books, &, since I had never read anything by her before, if was a pleasant discovery. Have to admit, I often found myself wondering how life has changed for the people of Baltistan in the years since she wrote this as both the modern world & the Taliban have both found their way into the area -she may have been among the last outsiders to enjoy the natural beauty she found there. Will have to look for more of her books

[Preethi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved reading this book. It felt like I was there with Murphy, Rachel and Hallam walking amidst the rocks, by the ravines and the mighty Indus. Loved Murphy’s observations of the Balti people too.
The one thing I wish could’ve been better is the format of the book - maybe essays instead of daily dairy entries.

[Sandy Tatham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as interesting as I'd hoped, but that's because I'm more interested in people than mountains or scenery. However Ms Murphy does have a lovely writing style where people and culture are concerned. She is quite cynical and also very funny at times. I'm also a traveller but not as crazy as this Irish woman!

[Shantesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best travel writers make you feel like you were with them on every step of the journey. Dervla is certainly this and more. Her descriptions of places and people are unfettered and honest. This particular journey was undertaken with her six year old daughter in town. Simply remarkable.

[Simon Jones · Rating 1 out of 5]

monotonous reading

I found her style of writing difficult to follow at times. With descriptions of events being cut short and terms and phrases leaving me bewildered as to what she was trying to convey.
A very monotonous and dreary read.

[Ahsan Abbas Ansari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing and Excellent book.worth reading.I would recommended to all travel lovers.😍

[Arvind · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read!

[Sarah F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing lady. I love her sense of humor too.

[Carole · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting review of a mother and her daughter's journey in winter through baltisan.