Khaplu (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Balti: ཁཔ་ལུ།), also spelt Khapalu, is a city that serves as 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 ...

of Gilgit-Baltistan, in northern

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 ...

. Lying east of the city of

Skardu , nickname = , motto = , image_skyline = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Gilgit Baltistan#Pakistan , pushpin_label_position ...

, it was the second-largest kingdom in old Baltistan of the Yabgo dynasty. It guarded the 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 ...

along 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 ...

east of its confluence with the Indus. Khaplu is a base for trekking into the

Hushe Hushe ( ur, ہوشی) is the last village of the Ghangche District of 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 ...

valley which leads to the high peaks of

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 Ka ...

, K6, K7, and

Chogolisa Chogolisa ( ur, from ''Chogo Ling Sa''; literally "Great Hunt") is a trapezoidal mountain in the Karakoram range in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan. It lies near the Baltoro Glacier in the Concordia region, which is home to some of th ...

. Khaplu has a 700-year-old mosque, Chaqchan, founded by Ameer Kabeer Syed Ali Hamadani (RA). Other tourist sites include Ehlie broq, Hanjor, ThoqsiKhar, Kaldaq, and Shyok River views.

History

According to tradition, Syed Ali Hamdani arrived to Khaplu in the late 14th century and converted the locals to Islam. To this day, mosques and khanqahs attributed to him exist in the region. The first mention of the former small kingdom called Khápula is in Mirza Haidar's (1499–1551) famous work ''Tarikh-i-Rashidi'' (p. 410). The author lists the Khaplu district of Balti(stan). Khaplu was also very well known in the 17th and 18th century due to its close political and family ties with the royal family of the neighbouring country of

. The first European to visit Khaplu was probably Captain

Claude Martin Wade Colonel Sir Claude Martine Wade CB (3 April 1794 – 21 October 1861) was a British soldier who was Agent to the Governor-General for the Affairs of the Punjab and North-West Frontier, 1823–1840.William Moorcroft and George Trebeck wrote in their 1841 book (Part II, p 264): "Kafalun is a province west of Nobra, on the left bank of the Shayuk." Godfrey Thomas Vigne has Khaplu 1835-1838, relying in particular on the local mountain fortress, commented that he was still in an intact condition vorfand (Part 2, pp. 317f). Alexander Cunningham (p. 28ff), who did not visit Baltistan, published a brief geographical description of Khaplu and a genealogy of its rulers in 1854. Thomas Thomson travelled in November 1847 and briefly described a place of remarkable beauty for

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 ...

(p. 210ff). Knight reported on his visit to Khaplu (p. 253): "This fair spot what Kapalu, the richest district in Baltistan, and Regarded as a very Garden of Eden by the Balti people." Jane E. Duncan reached Khaplu in 1904 and stayed there for three weeks. A detailed report on her stay in Khaplu is well worth reading. De Filippi, who reached Khaplu in 1913, characterized the site as follows: "It is, perhaps, the loveliest oasis in all the region." Further information on Khaplu was included in a travel report by Arthur Neve (p. 99f). Recent descriptions can be found in the guidebooks ''Arora'', pp. 211f, ''Lonely Planet'', pp. 306f and ''Beek'', pp. 252ff.

Geography

In contrast to

Skardu , nickname = , motto = , image_skyline = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Gilgit Baltistan#Pakistan , pushpin_label_position ...

and

Shigar Shigar () is the headquarter of its namesake district and tehsil in the Baltistan division of Gilgit–Baltistan in northern Pakistan. It is located at the bank of Shigar River in the most remote and dramatic part of the region. It is a popula ...

, the territory of Khaplu was not focused on a single large river valley, but was instead spread over the three valleys of Shayok, namely on the territory of the present town of Khaplu, the valley of Thalle River, and the Hushe / Saltoro valley. The area around the mouth of the river in the Thalle Shayok formed the western border of the kingdom. The

flows through Khaplu Town. Today Ganache district, whose administrative centre is located in Khaplu, covers Balghar and Daghoni in addition to the mouth of the Indus in Shayok. It includes the former Kingdom of Kiris as a military bulwark of the West against the incursions of the archenemies Skardu and Shigar the mountain fortresses of Kharku were next to a castle in Balghar and saling been built. In Haldi, in eastern Hushe / Saltoro Tal, was another fortress. The fortress in the town of Khar Thortsi Khaplu was viewed as militarily impregnable and the area's most important defence system.

Tourism

Khaplu has been called many names like "Shyok Valley," "Ghanche" and "Little Tibet." In Khaplu there are many historical places like the beautiful

Chaqchan Mosque The Chaqchan Mosque ( ur, مسجد چقچن; meaning “The Miraculous Mosque”) is a mosque in the city of Khaplu, in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of northern Pakistan. Dating from 1370, the mosque is one of the oldest in the region, and dates f ...

(700 years old founded by

Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani ( fa, میر سید علی همدانی; CE) was a Persian scholar, poet and a Sufi Muslim saint of the Kubrawiya order. He was born in Hamadan, Iran and preached Islam in Central Asia and Kashmir as he travelled to p ...

, the first Islam preacher in this area). Raja Palace is a beautiful building and the last and best Tibetan-style palace in Pakistan. Khaplu Khanqah is attributed to

Mir Mukhtar Akhyar Mir Mukhtar Akhyar (1653-1719)( ur, ) was a Sufi scholar of the Noorbakshi orders of the Sufi in Baltistan. He shaped the social complexion of the valley. Akhyar was the son of Abu Saeed Sauda (An early Muslim scholar of baltistan and kashmir.) ...

and was built in 1712 AD/1124 AH. Khaplu is the gateway to Masherbrum Peak, K-7, K-6,

for mountaineers and Gondogoro la, Gondogoro Peak, Saraksa Glacier, Gondogoro Glacier, Masherbrum Glacier, Aling Glacier, Machlu Broq, Thaely La, Daholi lake, Kharfaq Lake, Ghangche Lake and Bara Lake for trekkers. Khaplu is a scenic place for hiking like Khaplu Braq, Khaplu Thung and Hanjoor, Kaldaq, Kholi, Ehli. There is rafting on the Shyok River and rock climbing places like Biamari Thoqsikhar and DowoKraming (hot spring).

Architecture

The most important religious monuments in Khaplu are the great Khanqa prayer hall and the

. The former was built in 1712 by Sayyed Mohammad, a saint of the Islamic Nūrbkahshīya sect, whose Astana grave monument is in the immediate vicinity. The Astana grave monument has been restored 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 ...

Pakistan and thereby saved from total disintegration. The Chaqchan Mosque is the largest and most important of the traditional mosques in Baltistan. After Klimburg (p. 155) its establishment as the

Amburiq Mosque The Amburiq Masjid ( ur, مسجد امبوڑک) is a mosque located in Shigar, in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan. It is one of the oldest mosques in Baltistan. The mosque was built by Sayed Ali Hamdani and is among the famous landmarks ...

in Shigar Islamic missionary Sayyed Ali Shah Hamadani is attributed (14th century), which is considered historically as not secured like the Amburiq Mosque.

Transport

Khaplu is only approachable by road. The normal road route into Khaplu is by a link road from the

Skardu , nickname = , motto = , image_skyline = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Gilgit Baltistan#Pakistan , pushpin_label_position ...

Valley. There are four or five other road links to Kashmir

and Yarqand , China.Baltistan aik nazar, usaf Abadi A famous all-weather Khaplu-Drass road linked Khaplu with Drass, a city in Ladakh. Since the joining of Gilgit Baltistan with Pakistan, the road has been closed. However, nowadays there are a few helipads (helicopter landing pads).

References

Notes

*Shridhar Kaul: ''Ladakh through the Ages, towards a New Identity''. Indus Publishing 1992,
resricted online copy (Google Books)
*Sarina Singh, Lindsay Brown, Paul Clammer, Rodney Cocks, John Mock, Kimberley O'Neil: ''Pakistan & the Karakoram Highway''. Lonely Planet 2008, , p. 292-293
resricted online copy (Google Books)

External links

in th
Tibet-Encyclopaedia
- contains a variety of photos of Khaplu as well
''Fort Khaplu'' auf archnet.orgView of the village at panoramio.comPhotos from Khaplu by Atif Khan Youguvi
{{Ghanche District Populated places in Ghanche District Baltistan