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For the Indian-controlled part of the northern region of Kashmir, see Ladakh. Gilgit-Baltistan (Urdu : گلگت بلتستان), formerly known as the Northern Areas is the northernmost political entity under the administrative control of Pakistan. According to Pakistan's constitution, Gilgit-Baltistan is an autonomous region separate from Pakistan, and its inhabitants have never had any representation in Pakistan's parliament. Four mountain ranges meet here — the Karakoram, Pamir, Himalaya, and the Hindu Kush — and the area is a "mountain paradise" for mountaineers, trekkers, and tourists. The region has some of the world's highest mountains, including five peaks over 8,000 meters, many over 7,000, and the largest glaciers outside the polar region. For comparison, neither Western Europe nor the lower 48 US states have anything that reaches 5,000 m, nothing anywhere in Russia or North America is over 6250, and the highest peak of the Andes is just under 7000 m.
By road
The Karakoram Highway, once a minor Silk Road route, connects Islamabad to Gilgit and Skardu, which are the two major hubs for mountaineering expeditions in the Northern Areas.
By car or motorbike
You could also think about renting a car, or for the more adventurous, a motorbike to discover the wonders of Gilgit-Baltistan.
Choose an airport to see hotels, stations, taxi ranks and car rental desks around it.
Skardu · International · KDU
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the capital of the territory
largest city in Gilgit-Baltistan
The blooming Deosai National Park or the Land of Giants is a spectacular tourist attraction in the second highest plateau in the world, Deosai Plateau.
Much of Khunjerab National Park in Gilgit-Baltistan tops 4,500m (15,000 ft) and is known for its elusive and endangered snow leopards. As in much of Pakistan, the military is complicit in profiting from the trade in endangered species.
The Kharmang Valley is a region in Baltistan in North-western Pakistan, an agricultural area with many small villages and a total population around 95,000. Olding is the largest and the most important village.
along the Karakoram Highway before entering China
Articles and travel topics about Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan.
ItinerariesThe Karakoram Highway (often abbreviated to KKH and sometimes transliterated as Karakorum) is the highest paved international road in the world; it connects Western China and Pakistan.
Wikivoyage
Nature & adventureHill stations are towns at a higher altitude than the nearby plains or valleys. While rulers in precolonial times also used to escape the heat and humidity of summer by venturing to higher ground, most hill stations…
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Nature & adventureWhen snow accumulates over many years, it compacts into dense ice. Glaciers form as this ice slowly but steadily slides downhill.
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Food & drinkTea is a drink made from either fresh or dried leaves of Camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub native to Asia. Because it normally requires very hot water to steep, it is a healthy way to drink water contaminated with…
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