Khaplu Palace ( ur, ; bft, ), locally known as Yabgo Khar, is an old fort and palace located in

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 ...

, a city in 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 palace, considered an architectural heritage site and a significant tourist attraction, was built in the mid-19th century to replace an earlier-dated fort located nearby. It served as a royal residence for the ''

Raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...

'' of Khaplu. From 2005 to 2011, Khaplu Palace underwent a restoration project carried out by the

Aga Khan Trust for Culture The Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) is an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), a family of institutions created by Aga Khan IV with distinct but complementary mandates to improve the welfare and prospects of people in the developin ...

under the

Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme The Historic Cities Programme (HCP) of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) promotes the conservation and re-use of buildings and public spaces in historic cities of the Muslim world. HCP undertakes the restoration and rehabilitation of histori ...

. The palace now houses a hotel operated by

Serena Hotels Serena Hotels is a hospitality company which operates up-scale hotels and resorts in East Africa, Southern Africa and South Asia. Serena comprises a collection of 36 luxury resorts, safari lodges, and hotels, which are located in East Africa (K ...

and a museum depicting the history and culture of Baltistan.

Location

The town of Khaplu is located in the eastern part of Baltistan, at an altitude of above sea level and is the administrative capital of the

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 ...

River Shyok 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 ...

a tributary of

River Indus The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...

, passes through the town, along which is the ancient trade route to

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 ...

. Khaplu Palace is located north of the Khaplu town and south of the Shyok river in front of the high mountains of

Karakoram range 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 the ...

. A trek behind the palace in a ravine leads to the village of Pari in

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 ...

History

Khaplu Palace was built in 1840 by the Yabgo Raja Daulat Ali Khan of Khaplu after the Dogra of Kashmir who captured the region decided to move the seat of government from the old fort. The site of the palace was chosen by rolling a large stone down from a nearby cliff; it stopped at the Doqsai village, and the palace was built there. The earlier fort was located near the location of the present-day palace. Khaplu Palace replaced the former fort as the royal residence after its completion. According to Jane E. Duncan, the people of Khaplu used to live inside this fort and were not allowed to build their homes outside its premises. This practice was changed after Maharaja of Kashmir took control of the area, resulting in a cessation of conflict among neighbouring rulers. The former fort was captured by Murad Khan of

Maqpon Dynasty The Maqpon kingdom ( bft, ) was a kingdom located in Baltistan. The royal family of the kingdom, the ''Maqpon dynasty'' was a Balti people, Balti royal house based in Skardu which ruled over the region for around 700 years. The kings of the Maq ...

, the ruler of Baltistan, in the Conquest of Khaplu in the 1590s by cutting off the water and other supplies to the fort. The troops of Murad besieged the fort for three months, resulting in the surrender of Rahim Khan, the 62nd Yabgo dynasty ruler of Khaplu. The fort again fell to invaders in the 1660s and 1674. The Yabgo descendants continued to live there even after their kingdom was abolished in 1972. The last Raja of Khaplu who lived in the house was Raja Fatah Ali Khan, who died in 1983. His son Raja Zakria died in 2020.

Architecture

The palace was constructed with the help of Kashmiri and Balti craftsmen. Being on the border of multiple regions, the structure of the palace has

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

an, Kashmiri,

i, Balti, and

Central Asian Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the former S ...

influences. The palace building consists of four floors built with timber, mud bricks, clay, and soil mortar. A carved wooden gate that Yabgo Raja Hatim Khan took from a fort in Skardu after conquering most of the Baltistan was erected at the entrance of the palace. The passage beyond the main gate, which formerly housed a stable, leads to the front lawn of the palace, which was used by the musical band during festivities in the reign of Yabgo Rajas. The wooden ceiling of the palace is crafted with designs using chisel and paint, without the use of nail. A hall at the top floor that was used as a leisure room overlooks the Karakoram mountain range and the lawns around the palace. Other notable rooms of the palace include the Royal meeting room (Chogoraftal), Royal balcony (Chogojarokh), Princess dressing room (Lainakhang), and Queen room. Following the renovation of the palace, a section of residential area is being used as a hotel, operated by

and employing people from 35 local households. The hotel has 21 rooms, six of which are located inside the palace building and utilise its 70 percent of income for the development of the Khaplu region, while another area serves as a museum.

Renovation

Khaplu Palace is the second fort in Baltistan to be renovated by the

. Renovation started in 2005 and was completed in 2011. The project was funded by the

Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( Norwegian (Bokmål): ''Det kongelige utenriksdepartement''; Norwegian (Nynorsk): ''Det kongelege utanriksdepartement'') is the foreign ministry of the Kingdom of Norway. It was established on June ...

via its embassy in

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...

USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...

helped fund an exhibition centre for Balti culture inside the fort. The exhibition centre takes up two-thirds of the site. The renovation work was carried out with the help of people from 400 local families employed as an initiative towards community building. The survey encompassing the topographical features of the renovation site. begun in 2005, used Electronic Distance Measurement (EDM) devices. The survey helped in finding the original state of a number of decrepit portions of the palace. The renovation project was carried out following the

Venice Charter ''The Venice Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites'' is a set of guidelines, drawn up in 1964 by a group of conservation professionals in Venice, that provides an international framework for the conservation and rest ...

's standards for restoration. The material procured for the restoration amounted to thirty million rupees (Rs 30 m), while the wages of the labourers aggregated to about twenty five million rupees (Rs 25 m).

Awards

The rescue and renovation work of the palace was commended by Virgin Holidays for having social and economic effects on the locals of the area. The palace won the Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Award as the best project in the "Poverty Reduction" category in 2012. In 2013 the palace was awarded the ''Award for Distinction'' by

UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Awards UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Awards (since 2000) are given with as the strategic purpose of UNESCO with in the region Asia Pacific. The objective is to motivate the protection of Cultural Heritage sites, which are initiated by any individual organi ...

, along with Lal Chimney Compound in India and The Great Serai in Afghanistan. The famous drama serial

Dayar-e-Dil ''Diyar-e-Dil'' ( ur, ; ) (also known as ''Dayar-e-Dil'') is a Pakistani television drama serial, that originally aired on the Hum TV from 17 March 2015 to 27 October 2015, consisting of a total of 33 episodes. ''Diyar-e-Dil'' follows th ...

was shot at Khaplu fort.

References