The Shigar Valley ( ur, وادی شگر) is a valley in

Gilgit Baltistan Gilgit (; Shina: ; ur, ) is the capital city of Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. The city is located in a broad valley near the confluence of the Gilgit River and the Hunza River. It is a major tourist destination in Pakistan, serving as a h ...

in northern

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

that is watered by the

Shigar River Shigar River ( ur, ) is located in the mountainous Baltistan region of northern Pakistan. The Shigar River is formed from the melted water of the Baltoro Glacier and Biafo Glacier. It flows through the Shigar Valley. The river is tributary to ...

, and centred on the town of Shigar. The valley stretches about 170 km from

Skardu , nickname = , motto = , image_skyline = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Gilgit Baltistan#Pakistan , pushpin_label_position ...

to Askole and is the gateway to the high mountains of the

Karakoram The Karakoram is a mountain range in Kashmir region spanning the borders of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwest extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range falls under the ...

. The town of Shigar is the largest settlement in 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 The Skardu District ( ur, ) is one of the 10 districts of Gilgit-Baltistan territory of Pakistan. The 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 ...

that is now a district in its own right. This valley is a stream of the

Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmi ...

, which is near to the town of

Skardu , nickname = , motto = , image_skyline = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Gilgit Baltistan#Pakistan , pushpin_label_position ...

. It is a popular destination for hiking, trekking and mountaineering, despite the tough conditions there. Also, the valley is an attraction for the tourists as it is a gateway to Karakoram Hills, one of the world's highest peaks is K2. Two ethnic groups exist, which speak

Shina language Shina ( ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Shina people. In Pakistan, Shina is the major language in Gilgit-Baltistan spoken by an estimated 1,146,000 people living mainly in Gilgit-Baltistan and Kohistan.{{Cite book , last1=Saxena ...

and

Gujari language Gojri (, ), also known as Gujari, Gujri, Gojari, or Gojri, is a variety of Rajasthani spoken by the Gurjars and other tribes of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. In India, the language is mainly spoken in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, ...

. The local Balti community´s use of medicinal plants has been surveyed in an ethnobotanical study.

References

External links

*https://gbit.pk/10-beautiful-places-visit-shigar-valley-skardu-baltistan/
Photos from Shigar by Arif A Khan
Baltistan Populated places in Shigar District Valleys of Gilgit-Baltistan Shigar District {{GilgitBaltistan-geo-stub

See also

References

External links