Balti is a Tibetic language natively spoken by the ethnic Balti people in the Baltistan region of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, Nubra Valley of the Leh district and in the Kargil district of Ladakh, India. The language differs from Standard Tibetan; many sounds of Old Tibetan that were lost in Standard Tibetan are retained in the Balti language. It also has a simple pitch accent system only in multi-syllabic words while Standard Tibetan has a complex and distinct pitch system that includes tone contour. Due to effects of dominant languages in Pakistani media like Urdu, Punjabi and English and religious impact of Arabic and Persian languages, Balti, like other regional languages of Pakistan, is continuously expanding its vocabulary base with loanwords.
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. The city 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.
Shigar River is located in the mountainous Baltistan region of northern Pakistan. The Shigar is formed from the melted water of the Baltoro Glacier and Biafo Glacier. It flows through the Shigar Valley. The river is a tributary to the Indus River and meets the Indus in Skardu Valley. The Shigar is the main right-bank tributary of the Indus River Valley in the Skardu Valley.
The Kachora Tso Lakes (Urdu: کچورہ جھیل) are three lakes in the Skardu District of Gilgit-Baltistan, northern Pakistan. The lakes, at 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) in elevation, are Foroq Tso (Upper Kachura Lake) and Lower Kachura Lake. The latter is also known as Shangrila Lake and is within a tourist resort named Shangrila Resort outside the town of Skardu. Another lake called Zambakha Tso (Lake) is situated in the small village Zambakha adjacent to Shangri-la. The lakes are in the Karakoram mountain range of the western Himalayas, the greater Baltistan Region, and in the Indus River basin.
The Skardu District is a district of Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region. Skardu District is bounded on the east by the Ghanche District, on the south by the Kharmang District, on the west by the Astore District, on the north-west by the Rondu District and on the north by the Shigar district. The district headquarters is the town of Skardu, which is also the division headquarters.
The Gilgit District is one of the 14 districts of Pakistan-administered territory of Gilgit-Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region. The headquarters of the district is the town of Gilgit. At the 1998 census, the Gilgit District had a population of 243,324. The district includes Gilgit, the Bagrot Valley, Juglot, Danyore, Sultanabad, Naltar Peak, and the Nomal Valley. The highest peak in the district is Distaghil Sar 7,885 metres (25,869 ft), which is the seventh-highest peak in Pakistan and 19th highest in the world.
Shigar is the headquarter of its namesake district and tehsil in the Baltistan division of Gilgit-Baltistan region in northern Pakistan. It is located on the bank of the Shigar River in the most remote part of the region. It is a popular site for tourists and trekkers and contains many historical buildings of architectural significance associated with several different communities.
The Shigar Valley is a valley in Gilgit Baltistan in northern Pakistan that is watered by the Shigar River, and centred on the town of Shigar. The valley stretches about 170 km from Skardu to Askole and is the gateway to the high mountains of the Karakoram. The town of Shigar is the largest settlement in the valley. Even though the Shigar Valley is a remote and largely inaccessible place, there are several villages in the valley. Askole is the last settlement in the Shigar Valley, which is still far from the high mountains. Shigar was an administrative sub-division of Skardu District before it was made a district in its own right.
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.
The Shingo River is a tributary of the Indus River, and flows through Gilgit-Baltistan and Kargil regions. The river originates in Pakistan's Gilgit-Batistan region and flows into the Kargil district where it joins the Dras River. The combined river receives the waters of the Suru River and flows into Baltistan again, joining the Indus River near Marol.
Khaplu, also spelt Khapalu, is a city that serves as the administrative capital of the Ghanche District in Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan, within the disputed Kashmir region. Located 103 km (64 mi) east of Skardu, Khaplu was historically the second-largest kingdom in Baltistan under the Yabgo dynasty and played a key role in guarding the trade route to Ladakh along the Shyok River, near its confluence with the Indus.
The Skardu Valley is located in Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan. The valley is about 10 km wide and 40 km long. It is at the confluence of the Shigar River and Indus River. Surrounded by the giagantic Karakoram and Himalayas ranges and with its nearby lakes, it is an important tourist destination in Pakistan. Skardu is the main town of Baltistan along the wide bank of the river Indus. Skardu is the largest district of the Northern Areas. Baltistan is home to some of the highest peaks in the world, the Karakoram Range, Skardu is very popular with Mountaineering Expeditions. It is equally popular with high altitude trekkers, who treks to Baltoro Glacier, K2 Base Camp and Concordia. Skardu by road, lies approximately 5 hours away from Gilgit and 10 hours drive from Besham.
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.
The Braldu River flows in the Shigar District of Gilgit Baltistan in Pakistan. The Braldu River joins the Basha Basna River, and together they form the Shigar River, which is a tributary of the Indus River.
Gultari Valley, located west of Kargil town with Skardu 288 km to its north and Dras in south, is amongst the biggest valleys of Pakistan-administered Baltistan on the disputed India Pakistan Line of Control (LoC) in Himalaya. It comprises three sub-valleys, Shingo, Saigar and Phultukus, with the majority people speaking the Shina language. Galtari is a district subdivision in Skardu District of Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region, with 10,000 population spread across 16 revenue estate villages, some of which have several isolated hamlets.
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.
Kutiah Lungma Glacier is a glacier that stretches for approximately 12 km in length and has a width of about 3 km. It is situated within the Karakoram mountain range in the Stak Valley of District Skardu, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. This glacier is located in the Stak Valley, which is sometimes referred to as Staq, and it falls within the subdivision of Roundu in district Skardu, Gilgit-Baltistan.
