Hunza — Where the Karakoram opens. — Pakistan Tourism Awards

The Hunza Valley from Eagle's Nest: poplars and terraced villages along the river beneath snow-capped Karakoram peaks

Gilgit-Baltistan

Where the Karakoram opens.

Photo: Alllexxxis / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Hunza sits along the Karakoram Highway in the far north of Gilgit-Baltistan. From the terraces of Karimabad, the Lady Finger and Ultar peaks stand directly overhead, and the valley floor runs green with apricot and poplar against brown rock.

Two forts anchor its history. Baltit Fort, restored by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and reopened in 1996, is on Pakistan's UNESCO Tentative List. Altit Fort, older still, received a UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award of Distinction in 2011. Up the valley, Attabad Lake was created in January 2010 when a landslide dammed the Hunza River.

District area: 11,695 sq km
Baltit Fort: UNESCO Tentative List, 2004
Attabad Lake: Formed 2010
Altit Fort: UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award, 2011
Generally visited: April to October
Coordinates: 36.333° N, 74.666° E

Seasons are general guidance. Mountain roads and passes open and close with the weather; check locally before travelling.

Attabad Lake with the Passu ConesFateen Younis, CC BY-SA 4.0

What draws people here

01Baltit and Altit forts
02Attabad Lake
03Passu and the Passu Cones
04Spring blossom and autumn colour
05Karakoram Highway journeys

Sources

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