Shangri-La
Shangri-La is a fictional place described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by British author James Hilton. In the book, "Shangri-La" is a mystical, harmonious valley, gently guided from a lamasery, enclosed in the western end of the Kunlun Mountains. Shangri-La has become synonymous with any earthly paradise but particularly a mythical Himalayan utopia — a permanently happy land, isolated from the outside world. In the novel Lost Horizon, the people who live at Shangri-La are almost immortal, living years beyond the normal lifespan and only very slowly aging in appearance. The word also evokes the imagery of exoticism of the Orient. In the ancient Tibetan scriptures, existence of 7 such places is mentioned as Nghe-Beyul Khimpalung. One of such places is mentioned to be situated somewhere in the Makalu-Barun region.
The phrase Shangri-La most probably comes from the Tibetan "Shang a district of Tsang, north of Tashilhunpo, pronounced Mountain Shang Mountain. Mountain Pass, which suggests that the area is accessed to, or is named by, "Shang Mountain Pass.
A popularly believed inspiration for Hilton's Shangri-La is the Hunza Valley in northern Pakistan, close to the Tibetan border, which Hilton visited a few years before Lost Horizon was published.[3] Being an isolated green valley surrounded by mountains, enclosed on the western end of the Himalayas, it closely matches the description in the novel. A Shangri-La resort in the nearby Skardu valley is a popular tourist attraction.
Today, various places claim the title, such as parts of southern Kham in southwestern Yunnan province, including the tourist destinations of Lijiang and Zhongdian. Places like Sichuan and Tibet also claim the real Shangri-La was in its territory. In 2001, Tibet Autonomous Region put forward a proposal that the three regions optimise all Shangri-la tourism resources and promote them as one. After failed attempts to establish a China Shangri-la Ecological Tourism Zone in 2002 and 2003, government representatives of Sichuan and Yunnan provinces and Tibet Autonomous Region signed a declaration of cooperation in 2004. Also in 2001, Zhongdian County in northwestern Yunnan officially renamed itself Shangri-La County.
HOTEL DESCRIPTION: Shangrila Resort Skardu, also known as "Heaven on Earth", is nestled amongst some of the world's highest peaks. It encircles the heart shaped "Kachura Lake" and is surrou-nded by fruit laden orchards and flower filled gardens.A vacation spent at Shangrila Resort is a once in a lifetime experience that one would want to relive again and again. Located at a height of 2500 meters, this area is more commonly known as "The Roof of the World". Due to its natural beauty, the first impression of Shangrila is of a Fairyland.
