Polo is a ball game that is played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ball through the opposing team's goal. Each team has four mounted riders, and the game usually lasts one to two hours, divided into periods called chukkas or "chukkers".
Buzkashi is the national sport of Afghanistan. It is a traditional sport in which horse-mounted players attempt to place a goat or calf carcass in a goal. Similar games are known as kokpar, kupkari, and ulak tartysh in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
A dzo is a hybrid between the yak and domestic cattle. The word dzo technically refers to a male hybrid, while a female is known as a dzomo or zhom. In Mongolian, it is called a khainag (хайнаг). There is also the English language portmanteau term of yattle, a combination of the words yak and cattle, as well as yakow, a combination of the words yak and cow.
The yak, also known as the Tartary ox, grunting ox, or hairy cattle, is a species of long-haired domesticated cattle found throughout the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, the Tibetan Plateau, Gilgit-Baltistan (Kashmir), Tajikistan and as far north as Mongolia and Siberia. It is descended from the wild yak.
Baltistan also known as Baltiyul or Little Tibet, is a mountainous region in the Pakistani-administered territory of Gilgit–Baltistan. It is located near the Karakoram and borders Gilgit to the west, China's Xinjiang to the north, Indian-administered Ladakh to the southeast, and the Indian-administered Kashmir Valley to the southwest. The average altitude of the region is over 3,350 metres (10,990 ft). Baltistan is largely administered under the Baltistan Division.
Khövsgöl is the northernmost of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia. The name is derived from Lake Khövsgöl.
Khunjerab National Park is a national park in Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan. Khunjerab National Park is Pakistan's third largest national park, and is adjacent to the Taxkorgan Natural Reserve in China.
Sport in Pakistan is a significant part of Pakistani culture. Cricket is the most popular sport in Pakistan, while field hockey, polo, and squash are also popular. Traditional sports like kabaddi and other well-known games are also played.
Karimabad, formerly known as Baltit, is the capital of the Hunza District in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan.
Yak skiing is a sport practiced in the Indian hill resort of Manali, Himachal Pradesh, as a tourist attraction. The sport involves a skier waiting at the bottom of a slope and a yak at the top of the hill; yak and skier are connected by means of a rope going around a pulley at the top of the hill. To engage the yak, the skier must shake a bucket of pony nuts. This attracts the yak, which charges downhill and pulls the skier upward by means of the rope.
Shigar is the headquarter of its namesake district and tehsil in the Baltistan division of Gilgit–Baltistan in northern Pakistan. It is located at the bank of Shigar River in the most remote and dramatic part of the region. It is a popular site for tourists and trekkers and contains many historical buildings of architectural significance associated with several different communities.
Gorkhi-Terelj National Park is one of the national parks of Mongolia. The Terelj tourist zone has a number of "tourist camps". It is connected with Ulaanbaatar by a paved road. The road comes to the Gorkhiin Davaa pass. Most of the tourist camps and tourist attractions are before this pass. The road then ends at the settlement of Terelj, which features small shops and restaurants. The Terelj settlement is located in the valley of the Terelj River, approximately 66 km from the Ulaanbaatar city center. The national park tourist zone is formally in Nalaikh düüreg (district) part of Ulaanbaatar municipality, the rest of the protected zone beginning to the north of the Terelj River, is located in Mongolia's Töv Province.
Yak racing is a spectator sport held at many traditional festivals of Tibet, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Gilgit-Baltistan, Ladakh and Mongolia, in gatherings which integrate popular dances and songs with traditional physical games. For Tibetans in particular it is a very special festive occasion.
Tourism in Mongolia was extremely limited by the Socialist Government, but has been expanding following the 1990 Democratic Revolution in Mongolia in the wake of the collapse of the USSR and the Revolutions of 1989. Mongolia is a unique and relatively unexplored travel destination that offers a great combination of scenic natural features, a wide variety of untouched landscapes, nomadic life style and culture. Travel organizations in Mongolia date back to half a century ago, but the private sector-based tourism is barely twenty years old. Now Mongolia boasts 403 travel companies, 320 hotels, 647 resorts and tourist camps, all employing the graduates from over 56 educational establishments. Mongolia takes an active part in United Nations World Tourism Organization, of which it is a member party.
The following lists of tourist attractions include tourist attractions in various countries.
Yak butter is butter made from the milk of the domestic yak. Many herder communities in China, India, Mongolia, Nepal, Gilgit-Baltistan Pakistan and Tibet produce and consume dairy products made from yak's milk, including butter. Whole yak's milk has about twice the fat content of whole cow's milk, producing a butter with a texture closer to cheese. It is a staple food product and trade item for herder communities in south Central Asia and the Tibetan Plateau.
Shandur Polo Festival is a sports festival held annually from 7 to 9 July in the Shandur Top in Pakistan. The polo tournament is played between the teams of Gilgit District and Chitral District, under freestyle rules.
Arkhi is a liquor made from airag, fermented milk brandy, or isgelen tarag which then gets distilled. Isgelen tarag often uses the milk of a mare, donkeys, sheep, cows, the yak, camels (specifically, khormog or of reindeer, depending on local traditions or availability. It holds special status in Mongolia and Inner Mongolia, both as the prime spirit of choice among pastoral units and served to esteemed guests.
Tibet has many traditional games with origins dating up to 5,000 years ago.
