Altit Fort And Baltit Fort ,Legend Of Two princes And Personal Opinion And Query

 

Hello Precious Friends!

Hope having blessed days and enjoying the moments in your hands to fullest!

As you know that since few weeks my posts are mostly about our recent trip to Hunza valley in northern Pakistan. Today i am sharing about the two old forts situated in Hunza valley Altit Fort and Baltit Fort . We could visit only Altit that was not that far from where we stayed . I shared some photos that we captured while exploring Altit Fort. I have taken help from google to share history of both forts though .I hope you will enjoy !

Baltit Fort is a prominent historical site in Pakistan and this place offers a panoramic view of Hunza Valley and the highest mountain peaks in Pakistan. Baltit Fort was the home of Ayashkutz royal family of Hunza for 700 years. Formerly known as Kanjut, Hunza was an independent principality ruled by a hereditary monarch named Mir Tham in the local Burushaski language. In the 19th century, Baltit Fort was part of the Great Game. In 1891, as part of an overall strategy to contain the Russians, British troops invaded Hunza and eventually occupied Baltit Fort and Hunza state. The structure of the fortress has undergone many changes over the years. The fort was abandoned in 1945, and Mir Ghazanfar Ali Khan later donated the fort to Baltit Heritage Trust. The Aga Khan Trust for Culture renovated the Baltit fort and is on the tentative list of UNESCO’s world heritage sites since 2004. The Baltit Fort now stands as a heritage site in Pakistan to be visited by tourists from all over the world. All the information and images are from this site A Brief History of Ancient Baltit Fort.To avoid making post more lengthy i excluded some parts that you can find there if interested .

Baltit Fort History

The Mirs of Hunza knew how hard it was for invaders to attack this region, but that did not mean it was impossible. The clever move was to create a fortress or stronghold to shield the citizens against attack from outsiders and any sieges set upon them.

While the Mir’s of Hunza originally resided in the Altit Fort, later Mir’s of Hunza built Baltit Fort and moved to Baltit Fort placed high above the valley, against the side of the glacier for the best vantage point. Baltit fort age is around 700 years. The foundation of the fort dates back to the 8th century, although the structure itself has undergone many additions and modifications over the years. Carbon dating indicates some of these additions were made in the 13th century.

In the 16th century Mir of Hunza, Ayashoo II wed Princess Shah Khatoon from Baltistan. She brought with her many artisans who influenced the design visitors to the fort see today. Baltistan was heavily influenced by Tibetan culture and architecture, so the face-lift the new Princess ordered resembled the Potala Palace in Lhasa. Additional changes were made to the fort, including the addition of colored glass, a more colonial-style front elevation, and limewashing

Mir Nazeem Khan Picture: SOAS UK

Picture:SOAS UK

Fort Preservation

Baltit Fort was abandoned in 1945 when Mir Jamal Khan and their family moved to the newly built palace in Karimabad, Hunza. Mir Ghazanfar Ali Khan gracefully donated the fort to the Baltit Heritage Trust to restore and preserve it. The donation of the fort went to the Baltit Heritage Trust which was established as a caretaker for the facility. In1985 The Aga Khan Trust for Culture brought on Richard Hughes and Didier Lefort to develop a plan to save the Baltit Fort from further disrepair. Their ideas became a full-scale, complex conservation proposal. Hughes, an English engineer specializing in seismic proof structures and soil buildings, worked with Lefort, a French architect, and designer. Now the restoration could begin, and the current museum was established. Baltit Fort has been on the tentative list of UNESCO’s world heritage sites since 2004. On 29th September 2006, The President of Pakistan, Mr. Farooq Laghari, and Prince Karim Aga Khan inaugurated the restoration of Balti Fort in Karimabad Hunza

                                                            

      image source here , we visited this Altit Fort that was half hour drive from our hotel. This image i chose because it gives idea how high and aloof it stands on the dry mountain peak. All the photos below are taken by us 

                                                              

                 

    you can imagine how harsh weather conditions must be during winter season. This building has survived through time and tough weather conditions. The area is protected and well maintained by authorities Agha Khan Trust  .                                                    

The total area for the fort is 300 to 400 meters,a vertical  drop down straight to the Hunza river , we could not see the houses below except some remnants but river was flowing with all his might and elegance . looking down from such height and seeing such view takes breath away for a moment literally !

from the lush front yard with grazing sheep here and there few staircase lead to the main old fort building . A guide is provided once we buy tickets who leads his group towards the small entrance of the tower like timber palace. We saw two other guides who were leading their groups too. Our guide called people so they can gather and he can tell the story of  this Fort and a family of younger prince who lived here. If you have checked the link given above or read the the paragraphs written about Baltit palace (one we could not visit) you know that Baltit palace was home to royal family where two brother lived together with their families . 

image source here, according to legends the dispute over power between two brothers made younger brother move here in other palace where he tried to form his own army and was buried alive in this standing grave by his elder brother .Although story does not have documented proof but stories travels from generation to generation over the centuries as we know . I was so disheart to listen this part of the story as i wanted to leave the room but i stayed anyway. Throughout my life i have read and the watched in shows and movies how power seekers shed their own blood for something truly trivial and i could never grasp such mindset nor ever i will that how this can happen ! i could not take the photo of this standing grave but hubby and sons did .

tourists standing front of the office for buying tickets which was close to the main entrance of the palace yard. from the languages spoken by people we noticed that tourists  from all corners of Pakistan have come to visit , we spotted many foreigners within and outside the building on different places  

when our group was moving to second floor this couple appeared ,the man called the guide man if he is free .Guide man replied that it will take some time because he has group to guide already, he said they can join the group if they want to .but man said quite loudly "o no we don't like groups " that sounded bit ill mannered to me and i think to all . whatever he liked or not it was his personal business and he should not have said this front of many people who were a group at that moment ( this is my personal opinion . but i would like to listen what you think about it .

That is it dear friends , many thanks for your incredible support and love ! It gives me strength to speak my heart and share my thoughts with you all !

Sending heeartfelt best wishes ,love and prayers on your way blessed souls! God Bless You All!

Ice Bridge The Coolest Experience Ever And Happy Birthday

 Hello Amazing Hearts !

Hope and pray that beating wisely on the rythem of life!

I am fine and trying to deal with after affects of my medication . Yes thankfully ,i got my medicine course ended finally . But strangely i am experiencing bit more heavy head and upset stomach :(  I don't know why . Hubby says taking pill immediately for upset stomach isn't good so i waited for two days and then started . Feeling relieved thank goodness ! But still waiting for my old version i sued to be before starting medication😒

I believe like i do ,you too will keep me in your prayers dear friends!

Recent highly destructive earthquake in Colombia made my heart very heavy! And brought back memories of Venezuela!!!

Being human sense of vulnerability and helplessness dominates my heart sometimes🥺😞

On bright side ,we are getting lots of rains throughout the country :) Rainy season makes hilly areas more beautiful😍

Though rains like other aspects of the weather have become unpredictable in a way that sometimes an area receives rain in a day two to ten times more than it used to  get in a month before .Sounds scary to me. 

I am feeling sad because we are leaving Islamabad at the end of August and i will be missing this weather and scenery greatly😞

But living here for three months are gift given by eldest son by the grace of God! and we are happy and grateful to have this opportunity!🙏🥹❤️

Today is the Happy 79th birthday of my homeland Pakistan! Despite all the odds it feels nice to have a homeland that one can call "ours"🙏❤️May God enlighten authorities and inhabitants to play their significant role in the well being of this gifted piece of land!

Sharing some more glimpse from our recent tour to higher northern pakistan Hunza valley dear friends .Hope you will enjoy them as we did .

sorry i couldn't locate video of the history told by guide as it is tough to locate one video among hundreds , i promise i will asap . This is backyard of the fort area or room .below river was flowing joyously singing wild songs ,everything was unbelievably beautiful . Walls of the fort did not last but area is protected with wooden fence . The wide spread yard around the fort is lush and has many pretty flowering plants along with old and new trees . Wooden stair curing along upwrds leads to the top floor room that is still standing and maintained by local authority with funding and income from tourism.This was taken by kind guide man.

Hubby is standing beside the river called "Ice Bridge" formed by melting glacier behind. It took our breath away when we saw it in first trip there .I thing it was best thing ever we encountered . As after getting down from the car we felt a powerful sense of joy and excitement as the rushing water was producing such a high therapeutic and healing voice and we could feel it's cool fog in the air from many meters 😍😊

           Mountain HinduKush was laying behind us while soaking timely appearance of sunlight 

   I stayed with very cold rising fog of water for long while everyone felt cold and wandered around , i wanted to bring all my people from the hot city here to experience that cold as i had missed it bitterly for ages 🥹It gave me flue later lol but no regret and i can do it ever and ever as i miss cool weather badly in our sindh 'hot weather :(

     youngest son crossed fenced area and got close to the river ,his elder brother took this photo and when i realised i was scared and called him back in protected area with seats of restaurant beside this awesome water 

we visited this place on my insistence second time and i was happy that family agreed too ,i knew i won't be able to revisit soon so i wanted to live these cool moments once again  🥹❤️

Heartfelt thanks for your incredible support and love precious friends! I truly appreciate your kindness . It strengthen me to keep sharing! 

I will be visiting you all asap! Health <peace and Happiness to you and yours❤️🙏

When Both Sons Crossed The Dangerous Suspension Bridge In Hunza

Hello Sweet Hearts!

 Hope beating beautifully on the rhythm of life !

Thank you for your kind and sweet words on my previous post about Hunza trip .It makes me happy dear friends that i could share my joy and adventure with you and you guys enjoyed it :)

Since we are back and has joined our daily walks and normal routine but we still feel spellbound by our trip :)

We dropped our elder son to bus station on the night of 30th of July. Being a mother it was truly a deep sense of peace and happiness to have him for more than three months with us after long time but saying goodbuye was still difficult :( It was quite more than 20 hours long journey so we booked his ticket in sleeper bus which is fresh addition to national transportation thankfully . He told his journey was comfortable . Actually Trains have become very late and many are cancelled once in a while due to different reason which makes people to take alternative and buses are best option after expensive flights. 

My final test has been taken and we have got the result .According to reports my stomach 's wall (part of it has scratch like stain) and lower  part of small intestine has signs of mild erosion . Lats time doctor asked me to take new medications for two weeks and then visit again. My head feels heavy because of medicines these days but hubby stays extra alert so i don't skip any dose :(

Just want to say that reading you regularly is my personal pleasure because it makes me feel connected to my friends ! 

Sharing some more highlights of our trip to Hunza today.hope you will find them interesting . Despite all the path hurdle we faced i believe that   northern parts of Pakistan are worth visiting as their natural beauty and amazing geological  layout has power to grip your mind  for so long ! 

next day to our arrival we booked a ride for main tourist destinations ,driver plus guide took us to two famous forts ,sacred stones of buddha times ,two lacks and and at the last to the suspension bridge .it is beginning of the way which gets slopy and leads to the suspension bridge .This path is laced with different  restaurants and souvenir shops  

Husaini Suspension Bridge (only this  image is from google ) is counted among most dangerous bridges throughout the world ,when we arrived it was 5 :30pm and we were very exhausted because we have spent whole day in visiting different places . bridge was quite crowded with people ,mostly youngsters . a man was providing jackets for visitors who wanted to cross on the bridge ,we noticed that many mischievous boys were shaking the side ropes of the bridge with both hands  to frighten their friends and they might found it fun but actually it was very  dangerous as river flow below was very fast and there was obvious chance of falling down because side ropes of the bridge were very thin and gap between side ropes for holding was as two people can pass through and fall down easily 

both of our sons got ready to cross the bridge . i was pretty scared at heart but i hold myself from stopping them . they both wore jackets and walked away as it was nothing . and me and hubby despite the worries kept taking shots of them even if it was difficult to spot them because of much people on the bridge . I noticed not all of the visitors were crossing the bridge .many were returning from half way or more or less of it. at the beginning i felt it was so easy and fun to cross the bridge and me and hubby started to walk over but soon i was afraid because i realised that we were very tired and our minds were not as attentive as they should be to do such a challenging task. So i decided to return after walking 50 steps hardly . part of me regretted but i was satisfied with my decision . Total length of the bridge is 196 meters .here in this photo  Youngest son is returned after crossing the bridge safely by the grace of God!

elder son returned first even though he had to stop near the end of other side  while  returning and wait for his younger brother.Actually  he realised that his brother has got slow .he told that he was bit concerned because his little brother got slow before reaching the end and reason was that gap between steps was getting wider with each step close to the end. Younger son told that he got slow because gap was getting hard to step and that made him look at  the water rushing below .he felt numb for a while .but when he looked for his brother who was returning smoothly he found out his brother was  standing there for him and waiting for him to start walking again . He told it brought him back to his norm and he started walking back. we kissed both son's forehead and congratulated them as they have completed not just their walk over the dangerous bridge but has showed great support and affection towards each other at the time it was need badly .because we were very far from them unable to see or do anything! i was so emotional that later i gave big tip for this (a showing gratitude to God) at a restaurant on the way back to our car! 🥹

while kids got away on the bridge ,hubby asked me to sit he took this shot ,can you notice sign o worries in my eyes as a mother 

taken by hubby when kids got to the other end of the bridge .i felt like time has slowed down and it will take ages to children to get back to us ! 

This was taken by me while wandering in the territory of the ancient fort .The area is spread on few acres and brilliantly managed by the authorities . tickets were pricy but worth it . i will share about it in next post dear friends! 

Thank you for being with me till here!

God Bless you all and all you love!  ❤️🙏

Our First Tour To Upper Northern Hunza Valley

 Hello Dear Friends !

I know i am behind visiting my friends blog but i have a reason .A good thankfully. Actually we whole family (except our precious eldest son) went to visit Hunza valley for four days. You can say it was my lifetime dream since a i had read about it in my urdu book of sixth grade in school. Long wait yes but God made it happen finally at this part of my age and i am grateful for that! First our plan was to visit Kashmir once again as in our first tour we have fallen in love with it's natural beauty filled with serenity and elegance .But we postponed because of the political hype in the area these days. I suggested Hunza valley and family agreed immediately. We started to read online videos and set our plan in the light of  what was available online ,specially youtube videos made in 2025 by regular viloggers. We chose tourist bus one of the most trusted company and left for the valley on 21st of the July . Route time mentioned on the ticket was 16 hours but  we encountered to a bad surprise on the way sadly . After 4 hours smooth and beautiful journey road appeared was horribly bumpy and it stayed this way for 12 hours can you imagine? 

Me and elder son  felt sick and nausea but compare to others it was nothing . When bus stopped for the break we noticed many people were looking for the pharmacy as they were vomiting and having stomach discomfort. We had few medication for the stomach which we use sometimes so it proved quite helpful  thankfully!

After the first four hours when bus entered to the giant , dry and extremely dangerous range of mountains from lush and beautiful towns laced with sparkling Indus river and it's varying songs and tunes changing with land escape ,it was drastic and honestly speaking quite irritating change for us. At the beginning i thought that it will last for a while and the green views will return .But it sustained for the whole next journey and i felt so disappointed because no video has shown this reality check :(

As road wrapped around the mountains like slithering snake i felt like our bus got stuck in deep well and running round and round in hope of the way out :( Yet i could have enjoyed it if wasn't feeling sick due to constant bumps ,twists and turns that would shake whole body like a string after each few moment . I am saying this because on the return i enjoyed same journey even i felt sick again but this time surprise element was eliminated. 

Anyway bus reached in Hunza valley in 20 hours . It was 12pm almost so we decided to rest as we needed it pretty badly. In the evening when we woke up we felt better enough to get ready and have tea in the hotel lounge .It was single story hotel though it had what we value ,quiet environment ,nice service and beautiful view of famous mountain Raka Poshi . Most of the peaks of mountains around the valley were snow covered but Raka Poshi was most majestic and it's spiky peaks hidden below thick snow were looking breathtakingly beautiful ! I can't believe we enjoyed this view for four days :) Hunza valley is surrounded by dry mountains though but snow adds charm to their appearance no doubt which captivates your senses for long! Weather was so nice and cozy . Temperature remains below 20 and drops to single digits at night. But such friendly weather lasts for few summer months only and valley go to sleep under the heavy snow cover from December to to Feburary. According to one of our taxi driver there most of the people migrate  to lower parts of the country during these months and return in March or April when tourist season begins . 

I will share more about our magical trip in next post dear friends . Now sharing some photos so you can be part of this awesome experience ! Hope they will give you idea of what we experienced there .

Hunza valley is one of most visited tourist attraction in Pakistan because of it's favorable weather and having many interesting tourist points . We visited almost all of them .Here we are standing on the roof of one of the two old forts dating back around 1100 years .Hunza has two royal forts Altit and Baltit ,we are on Altit , This photo is taken by the Guide who told us the story of two brothers who lived here which i will share next time hopefully.

stunning raka poshi mountain , i just wish i had some really powerful camera to capture it's beauty ,but i wonder if it too can catch it's true magic 

This lovely shot is taken by elder son ,he adjusted it so beautifully i think :) i love his smile so much!

There was abundance of water in the valley because of glaciers on the mountains were melting .seeing water streams here and there was truly special and joyful experience ,we visited three lacks ,here sitting beside one of them , it was windy and cold but we enjoyed coffee as it was fresh and rare experience for us 

before above came this lake ,smaller than that but really beautiful ,driver took us there and we stopped for a while to take snaps ,sunlight appeared for a short while and clouds took over the sky again afterwards immediately 

our first evening on the hotel lounge ,you can see we were bit down because of exhaustion.

that is it for now my precious friends , now i am back i will be visiting to you asap inshallah!!!

Blessings toy you all ,please stay safe ,blessed and positive!