Shigar Valley

Shigar
وادی شگر
شگر
District Shigar
Shigar وادی شگر is located in Karakoram
Shigar وادی شگر
Shigar
وادی شگر
Hassanabad on Pakistan Map
Coordinates: 35°25′32″N 75°43′59″E / 35.42556°N 75.73306°E / 35.42556; 75.73306
CountryPakistan
Autonomous regionGilgit-Baltistan
DistrictShigar
Time zoneUTC+5 (PST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+6 (GMT+5)

The Shigar Valley (Urdu: وادی شگر) is a valley in Gilgit Baltistan in northern Pakistan that is watered by the Shigar River, and centred on the town of Shigar. The valley stretches about 170 km from Skardu to Askole and is the gateway to the high mountains of the Karakoram. The town of Shigar is the largest settlement in the valley. Even though the Shigar Valley is a remote and largely inaccessible place, there are several villages in the valley. Askole is the last settlement in the Shigar Valley, which is still far from the high mountains. Shigar was an administrative sub-division of Skardu District before it was made a district in its own right.

This valley is a popular destination for hiking, trekking and mountaineering, despite the tough conditions there. Also, the valley is an attraction for the tourists as it is a gateway to Karakoram Hills, one of the world's highest peaks is K2.[1]

Two ethnic groups exist, which speak Shina language and Gujari language.[2] The local Balti community’s use of medicinal plants has been surveyed in an ethnobotanical study.[3]

  1. ^ "Shigar Valley". 31 August 2008.
  2. ^ "Attractions :Gilgit Baltistan".
  3. ^ Abbas, Zaheer; Khan, Shujaul Mulk; Alam, Jan; Khan, Sher Wali; Abbasi, Arshad Mehmood (2017-09-25). "Medicinal plants used by inhabitants of the Shigar Valley, Baltistan region of Karakorum range Pakistan". Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 13 (1): 53. doi:10.1186/s13002-017-0172-9. ISSN 1746-4269. PMC 5613401. PMID 28946889.