I enjoyed this book!

A lot of people write about Hunza, but few people have ever been there. John Tobe is one of the few authors that visited and actually wrote a detailed, non-sensationalized account.

Hunza are still today regarded as one of, if not THE healthiest populations on earth. While Tobe agrees, he also challenges some of the legends about them.

Tobe visited in 1959, and already things were changing for the Hunzans. They did have remarkable health, but health problems were creeping in from some of the changes they had been making (such as importing salt and sugar). People today still report that they “have absolutely no health problems”, which wasn’t true in 1959 and is less true today.

While it is useful to understand the habits and diets of these people, it is not useful to exaggerate their situation. Tobe has given the most realistic account I have found so far.

While the book does focus on Hunza in the middle, it is flanked by hundreds of pages of the journey to and from their remote location. The account is charming and interesting but if you are strictly interested in the Hunza diet and lifestyle, you may be disappointed by the rest of it.

For those interested in Hunza, this is a must read. Since things were already changing at this time, newer accounts will not be as useful, and older accounts are generally less detailed and more fanciful.