Muneer Alam has been guiding in the Karakoram for 35 years. Before most of today’s adventure companies existed, before Pakistan appeared on any “best of” travel list, before the world discovered that these mountains hold some of the most extraordinary trekking on earth, Muneer was already here. Walking the same trails, crossing the same glaciers, showing visitors what this landscape is capable of doing to a person who pays attention.
He grew up in Hunza. He earned an MBA. He was a fast bowler with genuine pace. None of those facts explain why he chose to spend his life in the mountains, but all of them explain the kind of guide he became: strategic, physically commanding, competitive about getting things right.
What the World Has Said About Him
National Geographic described Muneer as “a kind-eyed force of nature with a can-do grin.” Travel + Leisure called him “ever-joyful.” The i Paper used the word “beatific.” These are not words journalists use lightly, and they did not come from press releases. They came from spending time with the man in the field, at altitude, where pretence falls apart quickly and character is the only thing that holds.
Adventure.com ran a full profile on his career in October 2024, where Muneer put it simply: “I hope that tourists will share the message that this country is safe, especially the mountains.”
That sentence carries 35 years of experience behind it. Not optimism. Evidence.
More Than a Guide
Muneer is our Lead Guide, but he is also our Sustainability Lead. He holds a Travelife Sustainability Manager certification, earned in March 2023. For those unfamiliar with the framework, Travelife is one of the most rigorous sustainability certification programmes in the global tourism industry. It is not a badge you purchase. It is a standard you earn through documented practice.
His philosophy on tourism is grounded in the economic reality of Gilgit-Baltistan. “Agriculture is the main source of income in Gilgit-Baltistan,” he told Adventure.com, “but tourism will help to diversify that income.” For communities where farming and herding have been the only options for generations, responsible tourism creates an alternative that does not require people to leave their homes for cities. Muneer sees every group that passes through as an opportunity for the valley, not just for himself.
This is the difference between a guide who shows you the mountains and a guide who understands what the mountains mean to the people who live among them.
Why It Matters to Us
At Beyond the Valley, we built the company around a principle: the guide defines the experience. You can have the most stunning landscape on earth, the most detailed itinerary, the best logistics, and all of it means nothing if the person leading you through it does not care about the place they are showing you.
Muneer cares. Not in the promotional sense. In the operational sense. He reviews safety protocols. He trains junior guides. He builds relationships with communities along every route we operate. He is the reason clients write to us months after their trek. Not because of the views, though those are extraordinary. Because of the person who showed them the way.
He has been with Intrepid Travel as their first Pakistan trekking guide since 2022. He works with us because what we are building aligns with what he has believed for three decades: tourism should serve the place, not extract from it.
Trek With Muneer
Muneer leads our treks across Hunza, Nangma Valley, and the wider Karakoram. If you are considering a trek in Pakistan and you want to be guided by someone who has spent 35 years earning the trust of these mountains and the communities within them, get in touch.
You can reach us at [email protected] or send us a message on WhatsApp.
