Kharfaq is a small village with a population of about 2,000 people in

Ghanche District The Ghanche District ( bft, ) is the easternmost district of the 14 districts of Pakistan-administered territory of Gilgit-Baltistan. Pakistan Army's brigade headquarters is located at Goma, Ghanche district. Pakistan Army's Gayari Sector Battal ...

, Gilgit-Baltistan,

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

. The village is located 3 hours away from Kharfaq Lake, a lake famous for its large

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', '' Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salm ...

population.

Geography

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 ...

, which is Ghanche District's administrative capital, is 24 km away. The average altitude of the area is around 4600m above sea level. The main attraction of the area is beautiful valleys, wild animals, lakes and rare birds. The village is located 3 hours away from Kharfaq Lake, a lake famous for its large

population. The village is located on the

Shyok River The Shyok River is a tributary of the Indus River that flows through northern Ladakh and enters Gilgit–Baltistan, spanning some . The Shyok River originates at the Rimo Glacier, one of the tongues of Siachen Glacier. Its alignment is very ...

Language

Balti, a

Tibetic language The Tibetic languages form a well-defined group of languages descended from Old Tibetan (7th to 9th centuries).Tournadre, Nicolas. 2014. "The Tibetic languages and their classification." In ''Trans-Himalayan linguistics, historical and descriptiv ...

, is spoken in Kharfaq and adjoining parts of

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 ...

. It is mutually intelligible with the

Ladakhi language The Ladakhi language is a Tibetic language spoken in the Indian union territory of Ladakh. It is the predominant language in the Buddhist-dominated district of Leh. Though a member of the Tibetic family, Ladakhi is not mutually intelligible w ...

and the

Purgi language Purgi, Purigi or Puriki (Tibetan script: , Nastaʿlīq script: ) is a Tibetic language closely related to the Balti language. Purgi is natively spoken by the Purigpa people in Ladakh region of India and Baltistan region of Pakistan. Most of ...

. Many of the written consonants that are silent in Standard Tibetan are pronounced in the Balti language.

Gallery

File:Kharfaq Village.jpg, A view of the village from the hillside File:Kharfaq masjid.jpg Populated places in Ghanche District Villages in Pakistan {{Pakistan-geo-stub