The Naltar Valley () is a valley situated about from the city of

Gilgit Gilgit (; Shina: ; ur, ) is the capital city of Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. The city is located in a broad valley near the confluence of the Gilgit River and the Hunza River. It is a major tourist destination in Pakistan, serving as a h ...

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 List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. It is a forested region known for its dramatic mountain scenery and for its three lakes: Strangi Lake, Blue Lake, and Bodlok Lake. Ski competitions are held at Naltar ski resort. En Route Naltar

Geography

The Naltar Valley is a valley situated near the city of

in Gilgit−Baltistan,

. Naltar is about from Gilgit. Naltar Bala (upper) and Naltar Paain (lower) are two villages of Naltar valley. Naltar Paain is at a distance of and Naltar Bala at from

. Naltar Expressway connects Naltar with Gilgit City via Nomal and Faizabad. There is a town known as Nomal between Naltar valley and

. A road from Nomal goes to 'The Silk Route' to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Naltar Hydropower Projects (I, II, IV)

The government has constructed an 18 MW hydropower plant, Naltar Hydropower Plant-IV, which is operational since October 2007, near Naltar Pine, in addition to three smaller hydropower generating plants (Naltar I, II, IV of 3.02 MW combined) already there, to fulfill the power requirement of the area as well as

. As of 2019 Naltar-III and Naltar-V Hydropower Projects of 16 MW and 14 MW generation capacity respectively were under construction.

Naltar Wildlife Sanctuary

The Naltar Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area in the valley that was established on 22 November 1975. The sanctuary is forested, there being a greatly comfortable growth of mixed montane, broadleaf and

coniferous Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All extant ...

forests at lower altitudes and montane coniferous forest higher up. Coniferous species that are present include

Picea A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...

and Juniperus. The trees present include

Fraxinus ''Fraxinus'' (), common name, commonly called ash, is a genus of flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45–65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous, though a number of Subtropics, subtropic ...

, Olea, Pistacia,

Sageretia ''Sageretia'' (mock buckthorn or sageretia) is a genus of about 35 species of shrubs and small trees in the family Rhamnaceae, native to southern and eastern Asia and northeast Africa. They have small green leaves 1.5–4 cm long, and a lea ...

, Betula, Salix,

Populus ''Populus'' is a genus of 25–30 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar (), aspen, and cottonwood. The we ...

and Krascheninnikovia ceratoides. Some herbs that grow in the region are

Artemisia Artemisia may refer to: People * Artemisia I of Caria (fl. 480 BC), queen of Halicarnassus under the First Persian Empire, naval commander during the second Persian invasion of Greece * Artemisia II of Caria (died 350 BC), queen of Caria under th ...

Haloxylon ''Haloxylon'' is a genus of shrubs or small trees, belonging to the plant family (biology), family Amaranthaceae. ''Haloxylon'' and its species are known by the common name saxaul. According to Dmitry Ushakov, the name borrowed from the Kazakh lan ...

and Stipa. A few number of

Astor markhor The Astor markhor or flare-horned markhor (''Capra falconeri falconeri'') is a subspecies of the markhor, native to Kashmir and northern Pakistan. To the west it reaches the easternmost parts of Afghanistan. The range of the Astor markhor is very ...

and an endangered species of

wild goat The wild goat (''Capra aegagrus'') is a wild goat species, inhabiting forests, shrublands and rocky areas ranging from Turkey and the Caucasus in the west to Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east. It has been listed as near threatene ...

lives in the reserve. Other large mammals present include the

Alpine ibex The Alpine ibex (''Capra ibex''), also known as the steinbock, bouquetin, or simply ibex, is a species of wild goat that lives in the mountains of the European Alps. It is a sexually dimorphic species: males are larger and carry longer, curved h ...

, snow leopard,

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is kno ...

grey wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly ...

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...

, beech marten and

leopard cat The leopard cat (''Prionailurus bengalensis'') is a small wild cat native to continental South, Southeast, and East Asia. Since 2002 it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List as it is widely distributed although threatened by hab ...

. Almost 35 species of birds have been recorded in the valley, including

Brooks's leaf warbler Brooks's leaf warbler (''Phylloscopus subviridis'') is a species of Old World warbler in the family Phylloscopidae. Distribution and habitat It is found in Afghanistan, India, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Russia, and Turkmenistan. Its natural habitats ...

Naltar Lakes

There are five Naltar Lakes lakes in the Naltar valley, known as Satrangi Lake, Halima Lake, Bodo Lake, Dhudia Lake, Pari Lake, and Blue Lake, at a distance of 13 kilometers (8 miles) from Naltar Bala. The road from the village to the lakes is nonmetallic and narrow alongside a stream throughout this road coming from the mountains. It is almost impossible to reach the lake through any vehicle in winter due to the snow (10 to 15 feet high) on the road.

Tourism facilities

The valley offers a variety of flora, fauna as well as natural scenery. There is a natural green garden known as "Halima garden". The government has established some rest houses in the valley. GBPWD Resthouse is the oldest rest house in the valley. FCNA, GB Scouts & PAF had their own rest houses to serve the purpose. There are also several private accommodation facilities and hotels in the valley. Ski competitions are held at Naltar ski resort.

Notable people

* Muhammad Abbas - Participant of Vancouver Olympic *

Amina Wali Amina Wali is a Pakistani alpine skier and a recipient of Pride of Performance. She remained national champion for 15 years. In acknowledgement of her extra ordinary achievements in sports, she was conferred Presidential Award of Pride of ...

- South Asian Winter Games Silver medalist * Ifrah Wali - South Asian Winter Games gold medalist

References

External links

Photo of Naltar ValleyNaltar Valley Gallery
{{coord missing, Gilgit-Baltistan Valleys of Gilgit-Baltistan Gilgit District