Here a few statistics of the time spent in Pakistan. We spent roughly 63 days in Pakistan. Of these, 25 were flyable and on 23 of them we actually flew which makes that we flew on roughly every third day. It rained or was not flyable on 21 days which makes for 30 percent of our time in Pakistan We lost 4 days to time needed to travel back from our XC flights and used 7 days to get to the different flying sites, not including our return to Islamabad. Finally, I was sick on 5 days. Our total expenses once in Pakistan were 1000 dollars US, about 15 dollars per day.
We had very few days with a cloud base exceeding 6000 metres, something you need in this area to be able to fly big XC.
Longest flight; 140Km
Longest time in the air; 7 hours
Fastest climb; 11.7 M/S
Highest altitude; 7544 metres
Total flying time; 75 hours

Things I would do differently next time. I would travel with a bigger budget to pay for a higher standard of accommodation and food to try and keep my body in better shape. Although I only lost 5 days to sickness there were many days that I did not feel one hundred percent. The flying environment asks for a hundred percent commitment, with less, you risk making mistakes which you can not afford. There is no helicopter rescue and medical facilities are few and ill equipped.

The interaction we had with the people of Pakistan in the places we visited was outstanding. The people are genuine in their desire to help and it was rarely that I felt taken advantage of. Never did I feel threatened or unsafe, whether during the day or in the dark walking back to the hotel during a power cut, something I cant say I feel comfortable doing anywhere else I have been. History hasn’t been very kind to this part of the world, it being a play ground for the big powers to play their great game. On top of that, as I write this, 14 million people in Pakistan are dealing with one of the biggest natural disasters that the world has seen. The monsoon rains are destroying everything, infrastructure, crops, houses, food stores, and livestock. It takes a faire bid of resilience to deal with so much drama. It is a country with a hopeless political situation where corruption is everywhere but also a country with the most beautiful mountains and an exceptional playground for Para gliding pilots. I hope it will stay accessible for foreigners in the years to come both for the benefit of the Pakistanis and the visitors. Fly high, Rob