The Gilgit District ( ur, ) is one of the 14 districts of Pakistan-administered territory of

Gilgit-Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative territory, and constituting the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region which has been the subject of a dispute bet ...

. The headquarters of the district is the town of

Gilgit 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 ...

. According to the 1998 census, the Gilgit District had a population of 243,324. The district includes

(the capital city), the

Bagrot Valley Bagrote Valley ( ur, وادی بگروٹ) is a valley in the Karakoram Mountain range in the Gilgit–Baltistan region of northern Pakistan. River Bagrote flows through the valley from the north towards the southwest of the valley, supplies water ...

Juglot Juglot or Jaglot (formerly Sai) is a town located in the Gilgit District of Gilgit−Baltistan, Pakistan. It is situated southeast of the capital city of Gilgit on the Karakoram Highway. The town is situated at the junction of three major moun ...

Danyor ''Dayyor'' , native_name_lang = ur , other_name = , nickname = , image_skyline = File:Bridge Danyor.jpg , settlement_type = City , image_caption ...

e, Sultanabad, Naltar Peak, and the Nomal Valley. The highest peak in the district is

Distaghil Sar Disteghil Sar or Distaghil Sar ( ur, ) is the highest mountain in the Shimshal Valley, part of the Karakoram mountain range in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. It is the 19th-highest mountain on Earth and the 7th-highest in Pakistan. ''Disteghil ...

, which is the seventh-highest peak in Pakistan and 19th highest in the world.

Administration

The Gilgit District is divided into three tehsils: * Danyor Tehsil * Gilgit Tehsil * Juglot Tehsil

Education

According to the Alif Ailaan Pakistan District Education Rankings 2015, the Gilgit District was ranked 35th out of 148 districts in terms of education. In terms of facilities and infrastructure, the district was ranked 67th out of 148.

Geography

The Gilgit District is bounded on the north by the

Nagar District The Nagar District ( ur, ) is one of the 14 districts of Pakistan-administered territory of Gilgit-Baltistan. The Nagar District was established in 2015 by the division of the Hunza–Nagar District into two districts: the Hunza District and th ...

, on the east by the

Shigar District Shigar District ( ur, ) is one of the 14 districts of Pakistani territory of Gilgit-Baltistan. The district is bounded on the north by the Nagar District, the Hunza District, and the Kashgar Prefecture of China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Reg ...

and the

Rondu District The Rondu District ( ur, ), also spelled Roundu District, is one of the 14 districts of Pakistan-administered territory of Gilgit-Baltistan. The district encompasses the entire Roundu Valley, which is the fourth-largest valley in Gilgit-Baltist ...

, on the south by the

Tangir District The Tangir District (Urdu: ) is a district in Gilgit-Baltistan territory of Pakistan. It is located at a distance of 67 km from Chilas. Its population lives mainly in the valley of the Tangir River, a right tributary of the Indus River.

, the

Diamer District The Diamer District ( ur, ), also spelled Diamir District,) is a district in Gilgit-Baltistan territory of Pakistan. The headquarters of the district is the town of Chilas. The district is bounded by on the north by the Tangir and the Gilgit ...

, and the

Astore District Astore District ( ur, ) 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. The Astore District is bounded by Gilgit District to ...

, and on the west by the Ghizer District.

Rivers

The main rivers in the district are: *

Astore River Astor River ( ur, ), in Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan administrative region, is a tributary of the Indus River and one of the rivers draining the Deosai Plateau, running through Astore Valley. The river originates from western slopes of Burzil Pa ...

Gilgit River The Gilgit River () is a tributary of the Indus River, and flows through the Gupis-Yasin, Ghizer and Gilgit districts of Gilgit-Baltistan. The Gilgit River starts from Shandur Lake, and joins the Indus River at near towns of Juglot and Bunji ...

- enters the Gilgit District from the west, south of the Bichhar Pass (

Naltar Valley The Naltar Valley () is a valley situated about from the city of Gilgit in Gilgit-Baltistan, Gilgit−Baltistan, Pakistan. It is a forested region known for its dramatic mountain scenery and for its three lakes: Strangi Lake, Blue Lake, and Bo ...

) and flows west through the town of

Hunza River Hunza River ( ur, ) is the principal river of Hunza in Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan It is formed by the confluence of the Chapursan and Khunjerab ''nalas'' (gorges) which are fed by glaciers. It is joined by the Gilgit River and the Naltar ...

- flows further south and joins the

northeast of the town of

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 Kashmir, ...

- enters the Gilgit District from the

about six kilometers north of

Jaglot Juglot or Jaglot (formerly Sai) is a town located in the Gilgit District of Gilgit−Baltistan, Pakistan. It is situated southeast of the capital city of Gilgit on the Karakoram Highway. The town is situated at the junction of three major moun ...

, where the

joins the

and flows south along the Karakoram Highway. *

Khunjerab River ''Khunjerab'' may refer to: *Khunjerab Pass, the highest paved road crossing of an international border in the world, between China and Pakistan * Khunjerab Valley * Khunjerab River *Khunjerab National Park Khunjerab National Park () is a nat ...

- flows south along the

Karakoram Highway The Karakoram Highway ( ur, , translit=śāhirāh qarāquram; known by its initials KKH, also known as N-35 or National Highway 35 ( ur, ) or the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway) is a national highway which extends from Hasan Abdal in ...

from the

Khunjerab Valley ''Khunjerab'' may refer to: *Khunjerab Pass, the highest paved road crossing of an international border in the world, between China and Pakistan * Khunjerab Valley * Khunjerab River *Khunjerab National Park Khunjerab National Park () is a nati ...

and is known as the

south of Sost There are many tributaries of the main rivers, some of which are the Ghujerab River, the

Hispar River The Hispar River ( ur, ) forms from the melt water of the Hispar Glacier - a 49 kilometer-long glacier in the Karakoram mountains of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. The Hispar Glacier and river both flow northwest, passing through Hispar, Hopar and N ...

, the Naltar River, the Shimshal River, and the Yaheen River.

Lakes

* Borit Lake * Naltar Lake * Nomal Lake * Pahote Lake * Rush Lake

Demographics

In the 1941 census, the Gilgit District (then a tehsil) had a population of 22,495, distributed in 46 villages divided into 12 subdivisions. Roughly 50% of the population followed

Shia Islam Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, m ...

and 49% other forms of Islam (

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

and

Ismaili Isma'ilism ( ar, الإسماعيلية, al-ʾIsmāʿīlīyah) is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-Sa ...

). According to scholar Martin Sökefeld, the Sunni missionaries came from the south, Shia from the east and Ismaili from the north.

References

{{Coord, 35.9167, N, 74.3000, E, source:wikidata, display=title Districts of Gilgit-Baltistan