Country file · Asia & the Middle East
Cryptids of Pakistan
What cryptids are in Pakistan? The best-known is Barmanou.
Pakistan’s cryptid lore lives in its northern mountains, where the Hindu Kush, Karakoram and Himalaya meet. In Chitral, Kohistan and Gilgit-Baltistan, herders speak of the barmanou, a hairy wild man whose name comes from the Khowar language. The creature sits between the almas of Central Asia and the yeti of the Himalaya, and appears in tales of abduction and encounters on summer pastures.
- 1 cryptid
Cryptids reported in Pakistan
The legends of Pakistan
The modern search is linked to the Spanish-trained zoologist Jordi Magraner, who settled in Chitral in the early 1990s and gathered dozens of accounts before his death in 2002. His research, and the isolated valleys where the Kalash live, keep the story in print, though no physical evidence has been found.
Hotspots
- Chitral valleys
High valleys such as Shishi Kuh, where Magraner reported hearing strange calls in 1994.
- Bumburet (Kalash Valleys)
Kalash valley where Magraner lived and is buried.
- Kohistan and Alai valley
Herding country where shepherds are said to speak of the barmanou as routine.