Hunza-Nagar District

Understand

Gilgit, now the administrative center of this region, was an important city on the Silk Road through which Buddhism was spread from India to the rest of Asia. A large number of Sanskrit Buddhist texts, including the long version of the Heart Sutra have been unearthed in Gilgit. The Dards and Cizinas also appear in many of the old Pauranic lists of peoples, with the former finding mention in Ptolemy's accounts of the region. Two famous travellers, Faxian and Hsuan Tsang, are known to have traversed Gilgit as per their accounts. The old Silk Road route through Gilgit is now the Karakoram Highway (KKH). Gilgit was ruled for centuries by the local Trakane Dynasty, which came to an end in about 1810. The area descended into internecine turmoil before being occupied by the Sikhs in 1842. It was ceded to Jammu in 1846. Gilgit's inhabitants drove their new rulers out in an uprising in 1852. The Khushwakhte Dynasty of Yasin and Gulapure led the people of Gilgit to drive out the Dogra rulers. After Yasin was conquered by the Katur Dynasty of Chitral, the power of the Khushwakhte was crushed. The rule of Jammu was restored in 1860. Gilgit came under British rule in 1889, when it was unified with neighboring Hunza and Nagar in the Gilgit Agency. When British rule came to an end in 1947, the region was briefly handed back to the maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir. Subsequently, it came under Pakistani control. To this day, Gilgit-Baltistan remains part of the Kashmir dispute and India considers it a Pakistani-occupied part of the Indian union territory of Ladakh. Much of the population of wants to be merged into Pakistan as a separate province and opposes integration with the rest of Kashmir, which the Pakistani government has consistently denied on the grounds that it would jeopardise its position in the Kashmir dispute. However, as of November 2020, the Pakistani government seems to be making moves towards converting it into a full-fledged province. To what extent this will play ou

Getting there

By plane Pakistan International Airlines offers daily flights on Boeing 737s between Islamabad and Gilgit. The flying time is approximately 50 minutes, and the flight is one of the most scenic in the world, as its route passes over Nanga Parbat and the peak of the mountain is higher than the aircraft's cruising altitude. Lahore and Islamabad also has flights to Gilgit and Skardu (KDU IATA). All flights, however, are subject to weather clearance, and, in winters, flights are often delayed by several days. A flight delay generally means it'll fly out the next day - so it's often faster and more certain to travel by road.

By road

The Karakoram Highway, once a minor Silk Road route, connects Islamabad to Gilgit and Skardu, which are the two major hubs for mountaineering expeditions in the Northern Areas. The bus journey from Islamabad to Gilgit takes approximately 20-24 hours, costs between Rs.3020 and Rs.4180 and departs three times a day from the Pirwadhai Bus Terminal in Rawalpindi. The official government bus company (which also allows foreigners for passengers) operating between Islamabad/Rawalpindi to Gilgit is NATCO (Northern Areas Transport Corporation). For foreign passengers on the NATCO bus journey from Islamabad/Rawalpindi to Gilgit it is advised to bring 10 passport copies for the bus driver, which they need to present at every police checkpoint on the highway. Landslides on the Karakoram Highway are not uncommon, but bulldozers usually clear the road in a short time. The KKH connects Gilgit to Taxkorgan and Kashgar in Xinjiang, China, via Sust (the customs and health inspection post on the Pakistan side of the border) and the Khunjerab Pass, the highest paved international border crossing in the world at 4,693 m (15,397 feet). If you are a group, you can book a van or a car from the Islamabad airport, or a rental car company from the central markets. It is dangerous to go to the territory during the winter, when landslides and snow block roads, some

Getting around

By bus NATCO (Northern Areas Transport Corporation), Silk Route Transport Corporation and several other transport companies offer bus and jeep transport service to the two hubs and to several other popular destinations, lakes, and glaciers in the area.

By car or motorbike You could also think about renting a car, or for the more adventurous, a motorbike to discover the wonders of Gilgit-Baltistan. Inform yourself which roads and sections are safe to drive and keep the weather conditions in mind. Petrol is available in most parts of the roads in Gilgit-Baltistan, and motorbike mechanics are usually plenty around and very cheap.

See

Gilgit-Baltistan is home to some of the highest mountains in the world, and offers incredible trekking opportunities. In an area of about 500 km in width and 350 km in depth are more than 700 peaks above 6000 m, and more than 160 peaks above 7000 m. K2 is considered more technically challenging to climb than Mount Everest despite its shorter height.

Fairy Meadows is a point where three famous mountain ranges meet: the Himalayas, the Karakorams and the Hindukush Rock carvings Dating back to 8th century AD, a huge Buddha figure surrounded by small Buddhisatvas is carved on a rock, 3 km from Skardu across Sadpara Nullah on Skardu-Sadpara Road. Pre-historic men and animal figures are carved on rocks along Kachura Lake. Some rock carvings and a diagram of a monastery near Perkuta (Mehdi Abad) Nalah are also found. Singal This spot in the Punial valley offers ideal trout fishing opportunities.

Mountains

Eighteen of the fifty highest peaks in the world are located in Gilgit-Baltistan. With their rank, they are:

1MISSING WIKILINK K2 (Mount Godwin-Austen), 2nd 8,611 m. 2 Nanga Parbat, 9th, 8,125 m (28,250 feet) 3 Gasherbrum I, 11th, at 8,080 m. 4 Broad Peak , 12th, 8,047 m. 5 Gasherbrum II , 13th, 8,035 m 6 Gasherbrum III , 15th, 7,946 m. 7 Gasherbrum VI, 17th, 7,932 m. 8 Distaghil Sar , 19th, 7,884 m. 9 Khunyang Chhish , 21st, 7823 m. 10 Masherbrum , 22nd, 7,821 m. 11 Batura Sar , 25th, 7,795 m. 12 Kanjut Sar , 26th, 7,788 m. 13 Rakaposhi , 27th, 7,760 m. 14 Saltoro Kangri , 31st, 7,742 m. 15 Chogolisa , 36th, 7,498 m. 16 Shispare , 38th, 7,611 m. 17 Trivor , 39th, 7,577 m. 18 Skyang Kangri , 44th 7,545 m. For comparison, Mont Blanc, the tallest mountain in Western Europe, is less than 5,000 m and Mount Whitney, the highest point in the 48 contiguous United States, less than 4,500 . This region has literally dozens of peaks higher than either of those. Other mountains include the majestic 19 Nameless Tower.

Glaciers Three of the world's seven longest glaciers outsi

Do

Karakoram Air Safari is the most scenic air journey starting from Islamabad by Pakistan International Airlines. Mountaineering, trekking and hiking. The area is ideal for these. One popular trek is the K2 base camp trek. Permission for mountaineering and trekking in the restricted zone is issued by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of Pakistan, Pakistan Spo