Must-see attractions in Karakoram Highway

  • Baltit Fort

    Karakoram Highway

    The oldest parts of Baltit Fort date from the 13th century. Over the years more houses and towers were added, and it was fortified. To cement an alliance…

  • Ganish Village

    Karakoram Highway

    The restoration of Ganish Village is particularly good and won a Unesco Asia Pacific Heritage Award. While Baltit Fort shows how the cream of society…

  • Petroglyphs

    Karakoram Highway

    Chilas is surrounded by wonderful Petroglyphs, which are easy to access, though be prepared for high temperatures and take plenty of water. There is a…

  • Channel Walk

    Karakoram Highway

    A three- or four-hour walk along the main water channels from Ultar Nala is a good way to see Hunza at its best. Try to avoid the delicate side channels.

  • Karpochu

    Karakoram Highway

    Ali Sher Khan probably built the fort on the east end of this rock in the 17th century, but the Dogras trashed and rebuilt it. It's a half-hour climb to…

  • Ashoka Rocks

    Karakoram Highway

    On the north side of town is Mansehra's tourist attraction, three granite boulders on which 14 edicts were engraved by order of the Mauryan king Ashoka in…

  • Queen Victoria Monument

    Karakoram Highway

    The Queen Victoria Monument at the top of the rock face behind Karimabad can be reached in an hour from Baltit. Take the channel path above the polo…

  • Mir's Palace

    Karakoram Highway

    The Mir's Palace is under restoration. Until the early '70s the mir of Hunza lived here for three months of the year, presiding over local durbars …

  • Fong Khar

    Karakoram Highway

    The main landmark in Shigar village is Fong Khar, the former Raja of Shigar's fort-palace, now a luxury hotel and museum showcasing the impressive rustic…

  • Lake Saiful Mulk

    Karakoram Highway

    At 3200m, surrounded by moody, snowy mountains, Lake Saiful Mulk (or Muluk) is said to be inhabited by fairies. Legend has it that in ancient times a…

  • Altit Fort & Village

    Karakoram Highway

    The picturesque fort overlooking the village of Altit beside the Hunza River was undergoing extensive renovation at the time of research and was closed to…

  • Buddha Relief

    Karakoram Highway

    Across Hargisar Nala from the track is a Buddha Relief carved on a rock in about the 7th century. About 200m beyond the Baltoro resthouse turning and a…

  • Baba Ghundi Ziarat

    Karakoram Highway

    Beyond Zood Khun is the mystical and holy Baba Ghundi Ziarat, a shrine to a Sufi saint said to have miraculous powers, and a popular pilgrimage site. The…

  • Sacred Rocks at Hunza

    Karakoram Highway

    Sacred Rocks at Hunza is about 1.5km east on the KKH at a place called Haldekush are several stony rises. The rocks, with pictures and inscriptions from…

  • Panja Shah Ziarat

    Karakoram Highway

    Just beyond the northern limit of Afiyatabad the winding link road to Chapursan intersects with the KKH. After travelling through crumbling mountains and…

  • Mominabad Village

    Karakoram Highway

    In the Northern Areas there are traces of an ancient caste system, in which musicians and artisans ranked low. In the past they were often segregated in…

  • Sikh Fort

    Karakoram Highway

    Up a laneway 300m past the library is a fort, built in the early 19th century by Sikh governor general Man Singh (after whom Mansehra is named), and…

  • Shimla Peak

    Karakoram Highway

    The hills cradling Abbottabad are Shimla Peak to the northwest and Sarban Peak to the south. Shimla's cool, pine-clad summit is woven with trails and…

  • Qatal Gah

    Karakoram Highway

    The brightly painted complex behind the Baltistan Tourist Cottage includes a mosque, an imam barga (a hall used during Shiite festivals of Ashura and…

  • Cultural Museum

    Karakoram Highway

    A unique collection of Hunza history is packed into the dusty Cultural Museum: utensils, musical instruments, a stuffed snow leopard, gems and firearms,…

  • Choar

    Karakoram Highway

    Choar is a vast alpine meadow area, as big as Alai itself, a long day's walk (one way) up either the Rupkanai or Nogram Khwars. It's accessible only from…

  • Khaplu Palace

    Karakoram Highway

    Uphill from polo ground is the Khaplu Palace, currently under restoration by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture. If you get lost, the local word for it is…

  • Italian K2 Museum

    Karakoram Highway

    The huge tent in the garden of the PTDC K2 Motel was set up in 2004 to commemorate the first successful summiting of K2 by an Italian expedition in 1954…

  • Fort

    Karakoram Highway

    Local police are usually happy to show guests around the Fort, where they are stationed. Your hotel manager may be able to help organise this. The…

  • Petroglyphs

    Karakoram Highway

    Check out the Petroglyphs near the Indus bridge (to Darel). They include a detailed Buddhist tableau and many inscriptions and travellers' names, pecked…

  • Ilyasi Mosque

    Karakoram Highway

    This striking mosque, which includes a complex of spring-fed bathhouses and pools, is 5km east on the Murree road, near Nawan Sheher village. A small…

  • Mosques

    Karakoram Highway

    Visitors should find the time to stroll around the peaceful and attractive village to meet the locals and view the beautiful wooden Mosques: Khilingrong…

  • Mansehra Municipal Library

    Karakoram Highway

    Up Kashmir Rd is the three-storey Gurdwara Siri Guru Singh Saba, a pastiche of colours and styles. Built in 1937 as a gurdwara, it's now the Mansehra…

  • Buddhist Ruins

    Karakoram Highway

    Along the Shigar Valley wall, downriver of Bauma Lungma, are recently excavated Buddhist Ruins, including monastery foundations and rock inscriptions from…

  • Buddhist Ruins

    Karakoram Highway

    Archaeological researchers say there are Buddhist Ruins near Pishora village, 8km north of Batagram, though you would need good local help to find them.

  • Kashmir Bazaar

    Karakoram Highway

    Shinkiari and Kashmir Rds curve round a hill, with Kashmir Bazaar sprawled across the top, its narrow lanes in semipermanent shadow.

  • Bazaar

    Karakoram Highway

    A congested quarter of crumbling colonial architecture, full of noise and traffic and the smells of cooking oil and barbecued meat.

  • Gurdwara

    Karakoram Highway

    In Gurdwara Bazaar, beneath the arch, is a former Gurdwara built in 1943, abandoned at Partition and now used as municipal offices.

  • St Luke's Church

    Karakoram Highway

    St Luke's Church, near the PTDC, is as old as the town. A melancholy Christian cemetery can be found 500m up Circular Rd.

  • Neelam Bazaar

    Karakoram Highway

    Across the bridge along Jaffar Rd is the smaller, older Neelam Bazaar .

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