Baltit Fort

بلتت قلعہ

A 700-year-old fort overlooking Karimabad. It was once the palace of the Mirs of Hunza and is now a museum.

Baltit Fort sits on the hillside behind the town of Karimabad, with the Ultar Glacier behind it. It is said to be more than 700 years old. It was originally built under the influence of craftsmen who came with a Baltistan princess as part of her dowry, and it shows clear Tibetan-style architecture. For centuries it was the palace of the Mirs of Hunza. In 1945 the royal family moved to a new palace further down the hill, and the fort gradually fell into disrepair. It was restored in the 1990s by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, opened as a museum in 1996, and received a UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation.

Visits are conducted with a guide, usually in English, who takes you through rooms including the throne hall, the kitchen and the lookout tower. You can learn about the history of the Hunza kingdom and its relations with the Qing dynasty of China, to which Hunza once paid tribute. The rooftop terrace overlooks the whole Hunza Valley and the Rakaposhi snow peak opposite. Foreigners pay roughly 1,000–2,000 Pakistani rupees for entry (check on site). The walk uphill from the town centre takes about 10 minutes. Along the way is an old street selling gemstones, dried apricots and handicrafts.

Baltit Fort

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