Old Skardu 1800
For centuries, Baltistan consisted of small, independent valley states connected by the blood relationships of its rulers (rajas) trade, common beliefs and cultural and linguistic bonds.The states were subjugated by the Dogra rulers of Kashmir during the 19th century. On 29 August 2009 the government of Pakistan announced the creation of Gilgit–Baltistan, a provincial autonomous region with Gilgit as its capital and Skardu its largest city.
Baltistan was known as Little Tibet, and the name was extended to include Ladakh Ladakh later became known as Great Tibet. Locally, Baltistan is known as Baltiyul and Ladakh and Baltistan are known as Maryul (“red country”)
Geography:
The 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica characterises Baltistan as the western extremity of Tibet, whose natural limits are the Indus river from its abrupt southward bend around the map point 35.86°N 74.72°E and the mountains to the north and west. These features separate a comparatively peaceful Tibetan population from the fiercer Indo-Aryan tribes to the west. Muslim writers around the 16th century speak of Baltistan as the “Little Tibet,” and of Ladakh as the “Great Tibet,” emphasising their ethnological similarity. According to Ahmad Hassan Dani, Baltistan spreads upwards from the Indus river and is separated from Ladakh by the Siachen glacier. It includes the Indus valley and the lower valley of the Shyok river.
Baltistan is a rocky mass of lofty mountains, the prevailing formation being gneiss. In the north is the Baltoro Glacier, the largest out of the arctic regions, 35 miles (56 km) long, contained between two ridges whose highest peaks to the south are 25,000 ft (7,600 m) and to the north 28,265 ft (8,615 m).
The Indus river runs in a narrow gorge, widening after receiving the Shyok river at 35.23°N 75.92°E. It then forms a 20-mile crescent-shaped plain varying between 1 mile and 5 miles wide.The main inhabitable valleys of Khaplu, Skardu and Roundu are along the routes of these rivers.
Valleys and districts :
| Valley | District | Area (km²) | population (1998) | Capital |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Khaplu | Ghanche | 9,400 | 88,366 | Khaplu |
| Skardu | Skardu | 18,000 | 219,209 | Skardu |
| Shigar | Shigar | 6,450 | 60,295 | Center Shigar |
| Kharmang | Kharmang | 5,520 | 62,522 | Tolti |
| Roundu | Skardu | 80,000 | Thowar | |
| Gultari | Skardu |
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Baltistan Beauty 