Misgar () is both a village and a valley located in the northernmost region of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. It lies on the northern edge of the

Hunza District Hunza District (, ) is a district of Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan in the Kashmir#Dispute, disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is suppo ...

within

Gilgit-Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative units of Pakistan, administrative territory and consists of the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has b ...

, where Pakistan shares its borders with China and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. In recent years, Misgar has gained prominence as a starting point for a captivating trek to two Silk Road passes:

Kilik Pass The Kilik Pass (elevation ; ; ) to the west of Mintaka Pass is a high mountain pass in the Karakorum Mountains between Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan and Xinjiang in China. The two passes were, in ancient times, the two main access points into ...

and

Mintaka Pass The Mintaka Pass or Mingteke Pass or Mintika Pass() is a mountain pass in the Karakorum Mountains, between northern Pakistan and Xinjiang in China. In ancient times, the Mintaka Pass and the nearby Kilik Pass, to the west, were the two main ac ...

, both of which lead to the

Tarim Basin The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Xinjiang, Northwestern China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, Ch ...

in China.

History

Kilik Pass and Mintaka Pass, located to the north of Misgar, have a deep historical significance as they were integral parts of the ancient

Silk Road The Silk Road was a network of Asian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over , it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between the ...

. These passes served as the customary caravan routes connecting Pakistan and India to Tashkurgan

Tashkurgan Tashkurgan, historically known as Sarikol and Shitoucheng, is a town in the far west of China, close to the country's border with Tajikistan. It is seat of Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County, in the autonomous region of Xinjiang. Tajiksethnic ...

before the

Karakoram Highway The Karakoram Highway (, ), also known as the KKH, National Highway 35 (), N-35, and the ChinaPakistan Friendship Highway, is a National Highways of Pakistan, national highway which extends from Hasan Abdal in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab p ...

was established. The present-day settlements in the Misgar valley date back to at least 1844. During that period, Misgar was established by people from four different tribes who migrated from Hunza.

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

took control of the area in 1892 as part of their efforts during

the Great Game The Great Game was a rivalry between the 19th-century British and Russian empires over influence in Central Asia, primarily in Afghanistan, Persia, and Tibet. The two colonial empires used military interventions and diplomatic negotiations t ...

. They constructed a fort in Misgar in 1930s to control the

Wakhan Corridor The Wakhan Corridor (; ) is a narrow strip of territory in the Badakhshan province of Afghanistan. This corridor stretches eastward, connecting Afghanistan to Xinjiang, China. It also separates the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajiki ...

—Qalandarchi Fort. It is now a local landmark. Misgar remained part of Hunza until independence of Pakistan in 1947.

References

External links

{{Commons category-inline, Misgar village
The Misgar Community - The Information Junction of Misgar
Populated places in Hunza District Valleys of Gilgit-Baltistan Villages in Pakistan