After about 17 hours of driving, you come to the town of Skardu, in the NWFP (NorthWest Frontier Province). Skardu guards the start of the long and narrow Shigar Valley, which is where so many of Pakistan's beautiful aquamarines come from. I have always wanted to visit! Most mineral dealers, even those from Pakistan, do not come here to buy specimens. They prefer to wait until the stones reach Peshawar. But when I can I try to get as close to the source as possible. You may have bought specimens labeled Shigar or Hashupi or Alchori, etc. Often the label refers more to the town the miner lived in, which may or may not be the closest town to the mining area.