Ghangche District
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The Ghanche District ( bft, ) is the easternmost district of the 14 districts of Pakistan-administered territory of
Gilgit-Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative territory, and constituting the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region which has been the subject of a dispute bet ...
.
Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the Partition of British India, which occurred as a result ...
's brigade headquarters is located at Goma, Ghanche district. Pakistan Army's Gayari Sector Battalion Headquarters is west of
Siachen Glacier The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas at about , just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends. At long, it is the longest glacier in the Kara ...
. With its administrative headquarters in the historic city of
Khaplu Khaplu ( Urdu: ) and ( Balti: ཁཔ་ལུ།), also spelt Khapalu, is a city that serves as the administrative capital of the Ghanche District of Gilgit-Baltistan, in northern Pakistan. Lying east of the city of Skardu, it was the second-la ...
, the Ghanche District is famous as a tourist destination for its outstanding scenery and high altitude landscapes.


Name

The term Ghanche is a balti/ Tibetan word , The original word was 'gangs chay' where gangs means ' ice ' and chay means ' big'. Now gangschay has become ' ghanche' .


Geography

The Ghanche District is bounded on the north-east by the
Kashgar Prefecture Kashgar Prefecture, also known as Kashi Prefecture, is located in southwestern Xinjiang, China, located in the Tarim Basin region (roughly the southern half of Xinjiang). It has an area of and 4,499,158 inhabitants at the 2015 census with a pop ...
and the
Hotan Prefecture Hotan PrefectureThe official spelling is "Hotan" according to (also known as Gosthana, Gaustana, Godana, Godaniya, Khotan, Hetian, Hotien) is located in the Tarim Basin region of southwestern Xinjiang, China, bordering the Tibet Autonomous Region ...
of China's
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
, to the south-east by the
Leh District Leh district is a district in the union territory of Ladakh, India. With an area of 45,110 ''km'2'', it is the second largest district in the country smaller only to Kutch. It is bounded on the north by Gilgit-Baltistan's Kharmang and Gh ...
of Indian-administered
Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu a ...
, on the south-west by the
Kharmang District The Kharmang District (Urdu:) is one of the 14 districts of Pakistan-administered territory of Gilgit-Baltistan, bounded on the north by the Skardu District, on the north-east by the Ghanche District, on the south by the Kargil District and th ...
, on the west by the
Skardu District The Skardu District ( ur, ) is one of the 10 districts of Gilgit-Baltistan territory of Pakistan. The Skardu District is bounded on the east by the Ghanche District, on the south by the Kharmang District, on the west by the Astore District, on ...
, and on the north-west by the
Shigar District Shigar District ( ur, ) is one of the 14 districts of Pakistani territory of Gilgit-Baltistan. The district is bounded on the north by the Nagar District, the Hunza District, and the Kashgar Prefecture of China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Regi ...
. The
Actual Ground Position Line The Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL) divides current positions of Indian and Pakistani military posts and troops across the entire long front line in the disputed region of Siachen Glacier. AGPL generally runs along the Saltoro Mountains ra ...
(AGPL) is located at the easternmost part of the Ghanche District, across the
Saltoro Ridge The Saltoro Mountains are a subrange of the Karakoram Range. They are located in the southeast Karakoram on the southwest side of the Siachen Glacier, one of the two longest glaciers outside the polar regions. The name given to this range is sh ...
. Territory east of the AGPL, including the entire
Siachen Glacier The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas at about , just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends. At long, it is the longest glacier in the Kara ...
, is currently controlled by
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
. It has been proposed by moderates in both India and Pakistan to turn the entire
Siachen Glacier The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas at about , just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends. At long, it is the longest glacier in the Kara ...
area into a "peace park". The area west of the
Saltoro Ridge The Saltoro Mountains are a subrange of the Karakoram Range. They are located in the southeast Karakoram on the southwest side of the Siachen Glacier, one of the two longest glaciers outside the polar regions. The name given to this range is sh ...
is controlled by Pakistan. The headquarters of the Ghanche District is the town of
Khaplu Khaplu ( Urdu: ) and ( Balti: ཁཔ་ལུ།), also spelt Khapalu, is a city that serves as the administrative capital of the Ghanche District of Gilgit-Baltistan, in northern Pakistan. Lying east of the city of Skardu, it was the second-la ...
. The Ghanche District is the coldest place within
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
and its administered territories and is referred to as the "third pole", with temperatures reaching below -20 °C in the winter. The
Khaplu Valley Khaplu (Urdu: ) and ( Balti: ཁཔ་ལུ།), also spelt Khapalu, is a city that serves as the administrative capital of the Ghanche District of Gilgit-Baltistan, in northern Pakistan. Lying east of the city of Skardu, it was the second-lar ...
and the
Hushe Valley Hushe ( ur, ہوشی) is the last village of the Ghangche District of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. It is the highest village in the once extremely remote and impoverished Hushe Valley. Hushe men began working as cooks and porters for mountainee ...
form the gateway for the great
Baltoro Muztagh Baltoro may refer to: *Baltoro Glacier, a glacier in the Karakoram mountain range northern Pakistan. ''Baltoro'' as single expression without adjunct usually refers to this glacier. * Baltoro Muztagh, a mountain range in the Karakoram mountain rang ...
, the subrange of the
Karakoram Mountains The Karakoram is a mountain range in Kashmir region spanning the borders of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwest extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range falls under ...
that includes the mighty peaks of K2 (8,611 m),
Broad Peak Broad Peak ( ur, ) is a mountain in the Karakoram on the border of Pakistan and China, the twelfth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It was first ascended in June 1957 by Fritz Wintersteller, Marcus Schmuck, Kurt Diemberger, ...
(8,047 m), the Gasherbrums (8,000+ m) and
Masherbrum Masherbrum ( ur, ; formerly known as K1) is a mountain located in the Ghanche District, Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan. At , it is the 22nd highest mountain in the world and the 9th highest in Pakistan. It was the first mapped peak in the Kar ...
(7,821 m),all of which are also included in the
Skardu District The Skardu District ( ur, ) is one of the 10 districts of Gilgit-Baltistan territory of Pakistan. The Skardu District is bounded on the east by the Ghanche District, on the south by the Kharmang District, on the west by the Astore District, on ...
).


Etymology

The word "gang" in the
Balti language Balti ( Nastaʿlīq script: , Tibetan script: སྦལ་ཏི།, ) is a Tibetic language natively spoken by the ethnic Balti people in the Baltistan region of Gilgit−Baltistan, Pakistan, Nubra Valley of the Leh district and in the K ...
means "glacier", and '"che" is used as a superlative term to indicate "an abundance". The word is used by the residents of the
Khaplu Valley Khaplu (Urdu: ) and ( Balti: ཁཔ་ལུ།), also spelt Khapalu, is a city that serves as the administrative capital of the Ghanche District of Gilgit-Baltistan, in northern Pakistan. Lying east of the city of Skardu, it was the second-lar ...
in the name of the Ghanche Nallah, a seasonal stream which flows through the town of
Khaplu Khaplu ( Urdu: ) and ( Balti: ཁཔ་ལུ།), also spelt Khapalu, is a city that serves as the administrative capital of the Ghanche District of Gilgit-Baltistan, in northern Pakistan. Lying east of the city of Skardu, it was the second-la ...
during the summer season. When the Pakistani government elevated the status of the Ghanche Tehsil to that of a district, the people of the valley willingly selected the name "Ghanche".


Administration

The Ghanche District is divided into three tehsils: * Khaplu Tehsil * Daghoni Tehsil * Masherbrum Tehsil The three tehsils are divided into 56 union councils, with each council containing many villages. Four villages of the
Chorbat Valley Chorbat Valley ( ur, , Balti: ) is a section of the Shyok river valley divided between Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan and Indian-administered Ladakh. The Pakistan-administered portion is in the Khaplu tehsil, Ghanche District of Gilgit ...
were lost in the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decem ...
. Those were the villages of Chalunka, Thang,
Turtuk Turtuk ཏུར་ཏུཀ་ is a village and the headquarters of an eponymous community development block in the Indian union territory of Ladakh. It is a small village sandwiched between Karakorum Range and Himalayas. and one of the north ...
, and Tyakshi. . Some of them are given in the chart below.


Religion

The majority of the people living in the Ghanche District belongs to Noorbakhshi sect, with the rest belonging to the Shia, Sunni, and Wahabi sects. A religious leader locally called a "bowa" has a very important place in Ghanche society.


Tourism

Ghanche is one of the most visited tourist destination in Pakistan. Famous places to visit in Ghanche are: * Haldi Cones View Point * Thaley Broq * Daghoni Valley * Balghar ranga * Dongsa Rock Kuroo * Hushe Valley * Nangma Valley * Chaqchan Mosque * Khaplu Fort * Thoqsi Khar * Hot Spring Kondus * Gyari Yadgar e Shuhada Saltoro


Education

According to the Alif Ailaan Pakistan District Education Rankings 2017, Ghanche is ranked 29th out of 141 districts in terms of education. For facilities and infrastructure, the district is ranked 118th out of 155.


See also

*
Districts of Gilgit–Baltistan The number rose from seven to ten in 2016 after the addition of 2 districts in Baltistan Valley and the bifurcation of the Hunza-Nagar district. , there are 14 districts in Gilgit Baltistan, 5 in the Baltistan Division, 5 in the Gilgit Division ...
*
Constituency GBLA-24 GBLA-24 (Ghanche-III) is a constituency of Gilgit Baltistan Legislative Assembly which is currently represented by Engr Muhammad Ismail of Pakistan Peoples Party. Members Election results 1994 Engr Muhammad Ismail Independent became member of ...
*
2012 Gayari Sector avalanche On 7 April 2012, an avalanche hit a Pakistan Army base in Gayari Sector, near the Siachen Glacier region, trapping 140 soldiers and civilian contractors under deep snow. The incident occurred at an altitude of about 4,000 meters and 300 km ...
* Noorbakhshia *
Saltoro Ridge The Saltoro Mountains are a subrange of the Karakoram Range. They are located in the southeast Karakoram on the southwest side of the Siachen Glacier, one of the two longest glaciers outside the polar regions. The name given to this range is sh ...


References

{{coord missing, Gilgit-Baltistan Districts of Gilgit-Baltistan