Gilgit

Being the main city, Gilgit is linked by road with Hunza, Nagar, Astore, Yasin and Ishkomen valleys. With Gilgit as a base, one can visit Kargah, Naltar or any of the aforesaid valleys.

Gilgit is a small picturesque town situated in the midst of the world highest mountain range. It offers the tourist a plethora of activities. Other ranging from extreme sports such as mountaineering and white water rafting to enjoying a spectacular front row view of the historic Shandur polo tournament. Few towns in the world can boast such a scenic backdrop, set in a fertile bowl beneath the spectacle of Rakaposhi's snow capped peaks at one end of the wide valley, and mount Duboni at the other, with countless and possibly nameless other peaks in between.
At an elevation of 1,454 meters (4,770 feet) lies the Gilgit valley. The quaint little town of Gilgit has spectacular sceenic beauty. It�s a heaven for seekers of solitude and peace. The peak tourism season is from May to mid-October through the tourist season is round the year. The maximum temperature in May is 33.33�C (92�F) and the minimum 16.11�C (61�F) and in September: maximum 28.33�C (83�F) and minimum 10.55�C (51�F).
For the adventure-loving tourist, there are a few places in the world that can compare to the valley of Gilgit. Gilgit is an ancient trading post, whose bustling bazaar has been a caravanserai for many of the traders of the silk road.

With the opening of the Karakoram Highway leading to China, the population of Gilgit has increased manifold; however, its dusty, old-world ambience remains largely unaffected by the large numbers of fortune seekers, traders, ambassadors, and tourists that seasonally swell the town. Dominated by the 6134m Domani Peak, the city is encircled by featureless, brown and black coloured `hills' ranging up to 4500m high. The local population has made an effort to turn this dusty bowl of a city into an oasis, and one will see patches of green, terraced fields, interspersed with orchards of apricot, cherry and apple.

Its inhabitants have the reputation of being excellent mountaineers. They are also greatly renowned for their polo matches, which is their popular sport. In fact, Polo is said to have originated in the northern areas.
People of many different races live here: Kashgharis, Tshins, and Chitralis. Pathans, Hunza people (Hunzakuts) as well as the exotic Kirghiz refugees. The Gilgitis themselves are pale- skinned, and a few do look undeniably Grecian.
Gilgit has inherited traditions from all the surrounding areas, absorbed them within its own life style and built a cultural pattern that is suited to the genius of the local people and remoulded in response to local environments. Situated on the Right Bank of Gilgit River it is in a position to control the whole area. But control has not been uniform throughout. Historically the region is dissected into smaller valleys such as Yasin, Ishkomen, Ghizer, Chitrai and Punyal on the north, Hunza and Nagir on the east, Astor on the south, Chilas, Darel' Tanger and Harban on west.