Tourism Potential in Gilgit-Baltistan

Gilgit-Baltistan:

The Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan is the most important Adventure Tourism destination in the World. The region is renowned for its natural beauty, including its rugged villages, high mountains, peaks and massive glaciers, these features attract a significant number of trekking and mountaineering expeditions every years. Other tourism assets include the regions diverse flora and fauna, its rich architectural heritage and its ancient archaeological sites.

The Gilgit-Baltistan have had the remoteness of the region; the inhabitants of the Gilgit-Baltistan have never been completely isolated from the events taking place in central Asia, India or China. Many different peoples and cultures have left their impact on the region, including the “Rock Art People”, who can be traced. Back to the 5th millennium B.C. the white Huns from central Asia, the Turks, the Tibetans and the Dogras rulers of Kashmir.  A trade route connecting India with central Asia and China Silk Route was establish as early as the 4th century B.C Buddhism was introduced to the region in the 1st century A.D, and flourished until the 8th century A.D, when the Tar-khan rulers converted to Islam. Over the next several decades, Islam was increasingly adopted by the population at large, and remains the dominant religion to this day in the Areas.

The Gilgit-Baltistan are dominated by one of the most mountainous landscapes on earth, with in the arm of the Hindu-Kush to the West, the lesser Himalaya to the south, the Karakurum to the east, and the Pamir to the north. In total, 101 Peaks above 7,000 meters are found in the Gilgit-Baltistan including Nanga Parbat and K-2 (the world’s second highest mountain). More than half of the Gilgit-Baltistan is located above 4,500 meters.