Kharmang hosts 7th National Suspolo Festival to celebrate Gilgit-Baltistan’s fragrant indigenous apple

KHARMANG: The seventh National Suspolo Festival turned Pari Valley in Gilgit-Baltistan’s Kharmang district into a showcase for the region’s most fragrant fruit this week, as growers, officials and tourists gathered to celebrate an apple that grows nowhere else on earth.

Organised by the Kharmang district administration with support from the Gilgit-Baltistan Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Department, the festival drew GB Governor Mehdi Shah, Forests Minister Raja Nasir Ali Khan, local residents and domestic and foreign tourists, according to Dawn and ADN News.

One apple fills a room with fragrance

Suspolo is an indigenous apple variety grown only in Pari Valley. Locals prize it for its juicy sweetness, vibrant colour and a fragrance so strong they say a single apple can fill a whole room with its aroma. The fruit keeps until March, long after most local varieties are gone. Deputy Commissioner Kharmang Nisar Ahmed Khan said the festival has been held every harvest season for seven years to promote the indigenous apple, showcase local culture and help farmers reach better markets.

Stalls, food and a market plea

The festival grounds held stalls selling Suspolo apples, homemade delicacies, traditional foods and locally produced goods. Students performed cultural items, while women and local entrepreneurs displayed their products. But beneath the celebration ran a familiar complaint: stallholder Akbar Ali said getting apples out of remote villages is hard because some lack even proper road access. Growers say improved transport, market access and government incentives could expand production and open international markets for the variety.