कराकुरुम Hihgway

The Karakoram Highway

The Karakoram Highway, or KKH, is the greatest wonder of modern Pakistan and one of the most spectacular roads in the world। Connecting Pakistan to China, it twists through three great mountain ranges - the Himalaya, Karakoram and Pamir - following one of the ancient silk routes along the valleys of the Indus, Gilgit and Nagar rivers to the Chinese border at the Khunjerab Pass। It then crosses the high Central Asian plateau before winding down through the Pamirs to Kashgar, at the western edge of the Taklamakan Desert. By this route, Chinese silks, ceramics, lacquer-work, bronze, iron, furs and spices travelled West, while the wool, linen, ivory, gold, silver, precious and semi-precious stones, asbestos and glass of South Asia and the West travelled East. For much of its 1,284 kms (905 miles), the Karakoram Highway is overshadowed by towering, barren mountains, a high altitude desert enjoying less than 100 millimeters (four inches) of rain a year. In many of the gorges through which it passes, it rides a shelf cut into a sheer cliff face as high as 500 meters (1,600 feet) above the river. The KKH has opened up remote villages where little has changed in hundreds of years, where farmers irrigate tiny terraces to grow small patches of wheat, barely or maize that stand out like emeralds against the grey, stony mountains. The highway is an incredible feat of engineering and an enduring monuments to the 810 Pakistanis and 82 Chinese who died forcing it through what is probably the world's most difficult and unstable terrain. (The unofficial death toll is somewhat higher, coming to nearly one life for each kilometer of road). The Karakoram and the Himalaya, the newest mountain ranges in the world, began to form some 5 million years ago when the Indian sub-continent drifted northwards and rammed into the Asian land mass. By this time the dinosaurs were already extinct. India is still trundling northwards at the geologically reckless rate of five centimeters (two inches) a year, and the mountains are still growing by about seven millimeters (1/4 of an inch), annually. the KKH runs through the middle of this collision belt, where there is an earth tremor, on average, every three minutes. Karakoram is Turkish for 'crumbling rock', an apt description for the giant, grey, snow-capped slag heaps that tower above the gorges cut between them. The Indus River flows northwest, dividing the Himalaya from the Karakoram, before being knocked south by the Hindu Kush. the KKH hugs the banks of the Indus for 310 kilometres of its climb north, winding around the foot of Nanga Parbat, the ninth highest mountain in the world and the western anchor of the Himalaya. The highway then leaves the Indus for the Gilgit, Nagar and Khunjerab rivers to take on the Karakoram Range, which boat 12 of the 30 highest mountains in the world. By the time the road reaches the 4,733 mere (15,528 foot). Khunjerab Pass, it has earned the name of the highest metalled border crossing in the world.


Gilgit
At an elevation of 1453।90 meter lies the Gilgit valley, offers spectacular scenic beauty। It is surrounded by lakes, rivers, glaciers and high mountains ranges. Some of them world's largest peaks, such as Nanga Parbat, 8125 meter and Raka Poshi, 7788 meter are located here. The best season to visit is from May to mid October. The local dialect is Shina, however, Urdu and English are also spoken and understood. Places of Interest Buddhist Rock Carvings carved out of the mountain side are worth paying a visit. It is about 10 kms away from Gilgit and the distance is covered in about 20 minutes in a jeep.


The Victory Monument of Taj Mughal was built about 700 years ago and lies at a distance of 11 kms from Gilgit and it takes about 25 minutes by jeep to get there.
Chaprote
Miles and miles of terraced fields and fruit orchards mark Chaprote, the earlier capital of Nagar Valley। It offers a panoramic view of the Rakaposhi, and other peaks surrounding Nagar Valley. It is about 70 kms from Gilgit and it takes a jeep about 1:15 hours to cover the distance.

Chalt
Chalt is the main village of the picturesque Nagarl valley. The distance is 65 kms and time required to reach there is about 1 hour.

Bar
This spot in the Nagarl valley offers ideal hunting ibex opportunities. It is about 80 kms away and takes2:40 hours to get there.

Nagar
Nagar, the large kingdom across the river from Hunza, was possibly first settled by people from Baltistan who arrived over the mountains by walking along the Biafo and Hispar glaciers. It was settled again in about the 14th century by Hunzakuts who crossed the river. A man called Borosh from Hunza supposedly founded the first village of Boroshal, and married a Balti girl he found there. The legend says the girl and her grandmother were the sole survivors of a landslide that killed all the early Balti settlers.
Nagar is entered by the jeep road that leaves the KKH just beyond the Ganesh
bridge across the Hunza River. The first five kilometres (three miles) of this road are dry and barren, then the road divides. Once branch of crosses the Hispar River on a bridge and climbs up into the fertile villages of central Nagar, where many kilometres of irrigation channels provide pleasant walks through fields and villages right up to the last village of Hoper. You can get here by public transport from Aliabad in Hunza, which leaves most days for Nagar, and occasionally continues to Hopar.

Baltistan
Baltistan, 26,000 square kilometres in area is right below the serrated, jagged and glaciated ramparts of the Karakoram. Once part of Ladkah, it was known as Tibet-i-Khurd - Little Tibet. Archaeological exploration has proven that it was encompassed by the Silk Trade Route. Rock carvings have been discovered along the road between Gol and Khapulu, and Skardu and Satpara Lake. the trade routes here split in Skardu with one leading to Satpara over the Deosai and Burzil Pass (5000 meters high) into Kashmir and another leading to Gol. At Gol it forks again with one trail leading to Khapulu, the other to Kharmang into Leh.

Skardu
Amidst a landscape of towering mountains, deep gorges, crashing waterfalls and quiet lakes, Skardu, the district headquarters of Baltistan, is situated on the banks of the mighty river Indus, just 8 km (5 miles) above its confluence with the river Shigar. Perched at a height of 2286 meters (7,500 ft), Skardu offers a cool and bracing climate. On the eastern boundary of the district lies Ladakh, in the west Gilgit, in the south Indian-held Kashmir and to the north is the Chinese province of Sinkiang. During the summer, Skardu attracts a large number of trekkers and mountaineers from all parts of the world. In fact, the entire region is known as a mountaineers' paradise. Nowhere in the world does one find such a large collection of lofty peaks, including K-2 the world's second highest peak, and huge glaciers like Baltoro, Biafo and Siachen, some of the largest in the world outside the Polar region, as in this 16,283 square km (10,118 square miles) of wonderland.
There are five main valleys in the district Skardu, Shigar, Khaplu, Rondu and Kharmang. All of them produce apricots, peaches, pears and apples in such profusion that this region is known as the land of apricots and apples.
Kharfocho Fort
The construction of Kharfocho fort of the King of forts at Skardu has been attributed to the famous ruler of Skardu - Maqpon Bugha (1490 - 1515 AD), the great grand father of Ali Sher Khan Anchan (1560 - 1625 AD) by Hishatullah. But Moghal historians are of the view that the great fort was built by Ali Sher Khan Anchan himself. This view is upheld by European writers such as Cunningham, Foso Marine, G.T. Vagne etc. Some observations about this fort shave been made in the Imperial Gazetteer of British India. It states that one of the most famous of the Gralpos (Monarchs of Skardu), Ali Sher Khan, who ruled till the end of the 16th century, conquered Ladakh and built a fort at Skardu.

Mindoq Khar
This palace was built by Gul Khatoon or Mindoq Gialmo on the hill where now stands the Kharfocho fort only. The palace was named after the queen as 'Mindoq Khar' meaning the 'Flower Palace'. The Palace was destroyed by the troops of the Sikh ruler of Kashmir, Maharaja Gulab Singh, when he invaded Skardu in 1840 AD.

Hilal Bagh and Chahar Bagh
Just below the Mindoq Khar or Flower Palace, there was a terraced garden with fountains built in marble. This royal garden covered the areas from Mindoq Khan to the present bazaar at Skardu where the newly constructed road crosses the channel. A palace built in marble with towers also stood in the middle of the garden, above the Polo Ground which is called Ghudi Changra. The palace was destroyed during the great floods in the area after the death of Ali Sher Khan Anchan and a marble Baradari was later constructed at this palace. This royal garden was named Hilal Bagh (Crescent Garden). Another garden was also laid which was named Chhar Bagh on the site where a Girls College stands now. The said garden was laid on the orders of the Queen while her husband was away to Gilgit and then to Chitral. As the mother tongue of the Queen was Persian, she gave Persian name to these gardens.

Buddhist Rock
There is only one surviving Buddhist Rock with rock carvings in the Skardu Valley located on Satpara road. Probably the rock carvings and images of Buddha date back to the period of Great Tibetan Empire. When the Buddhist people of Gandhara migrated and passed through the present northern areas of Pakistan, they settled at some places temporarily and carved drawings of Stupas, scenes of their experiences and images of Buddha with texts in Kharoshti language. There were a number of such Buddhist rock carvings in the Skardu Valley. Probably those rocks were used either by Ali Sher Khan Anchan as building material or submerged in the Satpara lake. Scholars and researchers like Dr. A.H. Dani from Pakistan and some from other countries have done lot of research work on these rock carvings and have since deciphered the text of the carvings in Kharoshti language.

Satpara Lake
8 km (5 miles) south of Skardu, 20 minutes by jeep, lies the Satpara Lake. Surrounded by high glacial mountains, this lake has an island in the middle of its clear waters, which can be reached by boat. The lake is considered ideal for fishing.

Kachura Lake
About 32 kms (20 miles) from Skardu, 2 hours by jeep, lie the shimmering waters of the Kachura Lake. In the springtime its banks are adorned by a multitude of colorful flowers, while the trees are laden with peach, apricot and apple blossoms. The lake offers great opportunities for trout fishing.

Shigar Valley
The Shigar Valley, 32 kms (20 miles) from Skardu and 2 hours by jeep, is watered by the Shigar River. It forms the gateway to the great mountain peaks of the Karakoram, including Mount K-2. The valley has an extremely picturesque landscape, and abounds in fruit such as grapes, peaches, pears, walnuts and apricots.

Khaplu Valley
This beautiful valley of the Shyok River is 103 kms (64 miles) from Skardu and 6 hours by jeep. There is a sprawling village perched on the slopes of the steep mountains that hem in the river. Many famous mountains, such as Masherbrum, K-6, K-7, Sherpi Kangh, Sia Kangri, Saltoro Kangri etc. are located here.