Gilgit

About Gilgit

Gilgit is the capital and most-populous city in Pakistani-administered territory of Gilgit-Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region. It is located in the broad Gilgit Valley near the confluence of the Gilgit and the Hunza rivers. Gilgit is a major tourist destination in Pakistan, serving as a hub for trekking and mountaineering expeditions in the Karakoram mountain range of northern Pakistan.

Gilgit was once a major centre for Buddhism; it was an important stop on the ancient Silk Road, and today serves as a major junction along the Karakoram Highway with road connections to China as well as the Pakistani cities of Skardu, Chitral, Peshawar, and Islamabad. The economic activity is mainly focused on agriculture, with wheat, maize, and barley as the main crops.

The ancient name of the city was Sargin, later to be known as Gilit, and it is still referred to as Gilit or Sargin-Gilit, literally meaning the happy land of Gilgit in Shina. The name Gilit was corrupted to Gilgit during the Dogra regime. The local people refer to the city as Gilt, and in Burushaski, it is called Geelt.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.