The Naltar Valley is a valley situated about from the city of

Gilgit Gilgit (; Shina language, Shina: ; ) is a city in Pakistani-administered Gilgit-Baltistan, Gilgit–Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kas ...

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 ...

, Pakistan. It is a forested area distinguished by its three lakes, Strangi Lake, Blue Lake, and Bodlok Lake, as well as by the mountainous landscape. En Route Naltar

Geography

The Naltar Valley is situated near the city of

, with the settlements of Naltar Bala (upper) and Naltar Paain (lower) in the valley about and from Gilgit, respectively. The Naltar Expressway connects Naltar with Gilgit via Nomal and Faizabad. A road from Nomal goes through the 'Silk Route' to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Naltar Hydropower Projects (I, II, IV)

In addition to the existing three smaller

hydropower Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, ...

generating facilities (Naltar I, II, and IV, totaling 3.02 MW), the government built an 18 MW hydropower plant, known as Naltar Hydropower Plant-IV, close to Naltar Pine to meet the region's energy needs. It has been in operation since October 2007. The 16 MW and 14 MW Naltar-III and Naltar-V hydropower projects, respectively, were under construction as of 2019.

Naltar Wildlife Sanctuary

The

Naltar Wildlife Sanctuary The Naltar Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area located in the Naltar Valley near Nomal Valley, Nomal, in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. The sanctuary was created on 22 November 1975 and consists of a steep-sided forested valley with high mountains ...

is a protected area in the valley that was established on 22 November 1975. The sanctuary is covered with trees, with montane coniferous forests higher up and mixed montane, broadleaf, and coniferous forests at lower elevations. Picea and Juniperus are two examples of the conifer species that are present. Fraxinus, Olea, Pistacia, Sageretia, Betula, Salix, Populus, and Krascheninnikovia ceratoides are among the trees that are found. Artemisia, Haloxylon, and Stipa are a few herbs that grow in the area. A few Astor markhor and an endangered species of

wild goat The wild goat (''Capra aegagrus'') is a wild goat species, inhabiting forests, shrublands and rocky areas ranging from Turkey and the Caucasus in the west to Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east. It has been listed as near threaten ...

lives in the reserve. Other large mammals present include the Alpine ibex,

snow leopard The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia'') is a species of large cat in the genus ''Panthera'' of the family Felidae. The species is native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because ...

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear native to Eurasia and North America. Of the land carnivorans, it is rivaled in size only by its closest relative, the polar bear, which is much less variable in size and slightly bigger on av ...

grey wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus ...

, beech marten and

leopard cat The leopard cat (''Prionailurus bengalensis'') is a Felinae, small wild cat native to continental South Asia, South, Southeast Asia, Southeast, and East Asia. Since 2002 it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List as it is widely di ...

. Almost 35 species of birds have been recorded in the valley, including Brooks's leaf warbler.

Naltar Lakes

The Naltar Lakes in the Naltar valley are Satrangi Lake, Halima Lake, Bodo Lake, Dhudia Lake, Pari Lake, and Blue Lake, at a distance of from Naltar Bala. The road from the village to the lakes is nonmetallic and narrow alongside a stream throughout this road coming from the mountains. It is almost impossible to reach the lake through any vehicle in winter due to the snow (10 to 15 feet high) on the road.

Tourism facilities

The valley offers a variety of flora, fauna as well as natural scenery. There is a natural green garden known as "Halima garden". The government has established some rest houses in the valley. GBPWD Resthouse is the oldest rest house in the valley. FCNA, GB Scouts & PAF had their own rest houses to serve the purpose. There are also several private accommodation facilities and hotels in the valley. Ski competitions are held at Naltar ski resort.

Notable people

* Muhammad Abbas - Participant of Vancouver Olympic * Amina Wali- South Asian Winter Games Silver medalist * Ifrah Wali - South Asian Winter Games gold medalist

References

{{coord missing, Gilgit-Baltistan Valleys of Gilgit-Baltistan Gilgit District