gems, Pakistan, Gilgit, pegmatites, aquamarine, tourmaline

The deposits near the small village of Alchuri in the Shigar Valley, Pakistan, have produced attractive specimens of zoisite (the finest outside of Tanzania), the world's best clinozoisite crystals, epidote to rival the specimens from Untersulzbachtal in Austria, fine green to butterscotch titanite, green chromium-rich diopside and other highly collectible species. It also seems to be the faden capital of the mineral world, yielding faden crystals of quartz, fluorapatite, clinozoisite, orthoclase, titanite, zoisite and diopside. Thus it was a tempting target for a personal visit, the first by any Westerner, as recounted in this article.