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Rattu is a small village town of the Astore district in Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan. Rattu has been traditionally used as a route for traders going to Kashmir from Astore, Gilgit and others parts of present-day Gilgit Baltistan. [1]
Rattu lies at an elevation of approximately 2,650 meters (8,700 feet) above sea level, surrounded by lush green valleys and snow-capped peaks. Its cool summers and harsh winters define the region's distinct climate. During winter, the village is often blanketed in snow, making it an ideal location for winter sports. The area’s geography includes alpine pastures, dense forests, and glacial streams that contribute to its biodiversity.
Rattu has gained prominence as a destination for adventure sports and ecotourism. The village boasts a natural skiing slope, making it a key location for winter sports training in Pakistan. The Pakistan Army’s High Altitude School is located in Rattu Cantonment offers specialized training for high-altitude survival and winter sports. [2]
Baltistan also known as Baltiyul or Little Tibet, is a mountainous region in the Pakistani-administered territory of Gilgit-Baltistan and constitutes a northern portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947. It is located near the Karakoram and borders Gilgit to the west, China's Xinjiang to the north, Indian-administered Ladakh to the southeast, and the Indian-administered Kashmir Valley to the southwest. The average altitude of the region is over 3,350 metres (10,990 ft). Baltistan is largely administered under the Baltistan Division.
The Karakoram Highway, also known as the KKH, National Highway 35, N-35, and the China–Pakistan Friendship Highway, is a 1,300 km (810 mi) national highway which extends from Hasan Abdal in the Punjab province of Pakistan to the Khunjerab Pass in Gilgit-Baltistan, where it crosses into China and becomes China National Highway 314. The highway connects the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa plus Gilgit-Baltistan with China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The highway is a popular tourist attraction and is one of the highest paved roads in the world, passing through the Karakoram mountain range, at 36°51′00″N75°25′40″E at maximum elevation of 4,714 m (15,466 ft) near Khunjerab Pass. Due to its high elevation and the difficult conditions under which it was constructed, it is often referred to as the Eighth Wonder of the World. The highway is also a part of the Asian Highway AH4.
Skardu is a city located in Pakistan administered Gilgit-Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region. Skardu serves as the capital of Skardu District and the Baltistan Division. It is situated at an average elevation of nearly 2,500 metres above sea level in the Skardu Valley, at the confluence of the Indus and Shigar rivers. It is an important gateway to the eight-thousanders of the nearby Karakoram mountain range. The Indus River running through the region separates the Karakoram from the Ladakh Range.
The Northern Light Infantry Regiment (NLI) is a light infantry regiment in the Pakistan Army, based and currently headquartered in Gilgit, Pakistan. Along with other forces of the Pakistani military, the NLI has the primary responsibility of conducting ground operations in the interest of defending the strategically-important territory of Gilgit−Baltistan, a Pakistani-controlled region that constitutes part of Kashmir, which has been disputed between Pakistan and India since 1947. The NLI draws a majority of its recruits from native tribes present in the nearby mountainous areas who are reportedly less prone to altitude sickness and the cold temperatures that characterize high-altitude mountain warfare, allowing the regiment to conduct its duties optimally.
Northern Pakistan is a tourism region in northern and north-western parts of Pakistan, comprising the administrative units of Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad Capital Territory and the Rawalpindi Division in Punjab. The first two territories are a part of the wider Kashmir region. It is a mountainous region straddling the Himalayas, Karakoram and the Hindu Kush mountain ranges, containing many of the highest peaks in the world and some of the longest glaciers outside polar regions. Northern Pakistan accounts for a high level of Pakistan's tourism industry.
Balawaristan, is a term coined by Nawaz Khan Naji, founder of the Pakistani political party Balawaristan National Front (BNF), for a proposed autonomous province or a sovereign state consisting of Gilgit-Baltistan, Chitral and Kohistan regions in Pakistan as well as Indian-controlled Ladakh. Although the name, first used in 1989, does not have any historical basis, it sounds similar to Baloristan, which has been documented in Chinese sources to describe Baltistan and Gilgit Valley from the 8th century CE.
Deosai National Park is a high-altitude alpine plain and national park located between the Skardu District and Astore District in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. Lying in the east of Nanga Parbat and in the western side of the Himalayas, closer to the central Karakoram Range surrounded by Deosai Mountains, the national park is in the tentative list under World Heritage Site of Pakistan.
Sheosar Lake is an alpine lake situated at the western end of Deosai National Park, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. Located at an elevation of 4,250 metres (13,940 ft), the lake is regarded as one of the highest altitude lakes in the world.
Astore District is a district of Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region. It is one of the 14 districts of the Pakistani-administered territory of Gilgit−Baltistan. Its administrative headquarters are located at Eidgah in the Astore Valley. Astore District is bounded by Gilgit District to the north, Roundu District to the northeast, Skardu District to the east, Kharmang District to the southeast, Diamer District to the west, the Neelum District of Azad Jammu and Kashmir to the southwest, and the Bandipore District of Indian-administered disputed Kashmir region to the south.
Gilgit-Baltistan is an administrative territory of Pakistan in the northern part of the country. It was given self-governing status on August 29, 2009. Gilgit-Baltistan comprises 14 districts within three divisions. The four districts of Skardu Kharmang Shigar and Ghanche are in the Baltistan Division, four districts of Gilgit Ghizer Hunza and Nagar districts which were carved out of Gilgit District are in the Gilgit Division and the third division is Diamir, comprising Chilas and Astore. The main political centres are the towns of Gilgit and Skardu.
Gilgit-Baltistan, formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative territory and consists of the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has been the subject of a dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 and between India and China since 1959. It borders Azad Kashmir to the south, the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the west, the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan to the north, the Xinjiang region of China to the east and northeast, and the Indian-administered union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to the southeast.
Astor River, in Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan region, is a tributary of the Indus River and one of the rivers draining the Deosai Plateau, running through Astore Valley. The river originates on the western slopes of Burzil Pass and flows through the eastern slope of Nanga Parbat of the western Himalaya Range.
Mirza Hassan Khan , of Majini Mohallah Gilgit, was a captain of the 6th Infantry of the Jammu and Kashmir State Forces. Placed at Bunji in the Gilgit wazarat, Khan rebelled against the Maharaja's regime after his accession to India and participated in the overthrow of the governor of Gilgit in November 1947. He later fought in the First Kashmir War as part of Gilgit rebel forces under the command of Colonel Aslam Khan and rose to become a colonel in the Pakistan Army. After leaving the army, he founded the Gilgit League to protest against the Pakistan's ad-hoc administration of Gilgit-Baltistan.
Tourism in Gilgit-Baltistan, an administered territory of Pakistan, focuses on its access to various mountain ranges and alpine terrain. Various tourist destinations attract millions of travelers from within Pakistan. On the other hand, tourists from other countries also routinely visit GB. An estimated 1.72 million tourists visited the region in 2017 according to the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC). Travelers had contributed Rs.300 million to the local economy in 2017. The authorities were expecting 2.5 million tourists in 2018 which would have meant an additional Rs.450 million to the economy.
Minimerg is the untouched valley of Azad Kashmir in the Pakistani region. Due to close proximity to the LOC, limited civilian tourists are allowed.
Minimarg is a village in the Astore District of Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan. It is situated on the bank of the Burzil Nala, approximately 36 kilometres (22 mi) south of the Chilam Chowki checkpost and to the north of a border village named Kamri. The village, located south of Astore via the Burzil Pass, has an average elevation of 2,844 metres (9,331 ft) above sea level.
Rattu Cantonment is a century plus old cantonment located at Rattu in Astore district of Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan. It is located at an altitude of 9,000 ft above sea level. During summer, the weather remains pleasant but winters are harsh and temperatures range between ~20 °C to -35 °C. Rattu receives three to six feet of snow during winter.
Bunji Bridge is a suspension bridge on the Indus River near Bunji, a town in the Astore District of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. It was first built in the 19th century by the Maharaja Pratap Singh's government of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. Its wooden girders were burnt down during the 1947 Gilgit Rebellion and subsequently repaired. It fell into disuse and neglect in recent decades. It was restored by the recently established Government of Gilgit-Baltistan in 2012 after the 2010 Indus floods highlighted its value. The bridge is said to serve as a vital link between the town of Gilgit and the locations in the Astore District.
The Pakistan Army High Altitude School is a military training school that provides special skills training to its soldiers in the mountain and cold-weather environment.
Muhammad Khalid Khurshid Khan is a politician who served as the President of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Gilgit-Baltistan from May 2022 to December 2023 and as the Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, a territory in Northern Pakistan until he was disqualified from his post on 4 July 2023 by the Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Court. He was also a member of the Gilgit Baltistan Assembly from 25 November 2020 until his disqualification.
35°09′N74°48′E / 35.150°N 74.800°E
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