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Karimabad, Gilgit-Baltistan
Karimabad ( ur, ), formerly known as Baltit, is the capital of Hunza District, in the Gilgit-Baltistan province of Pakistan. An article on ''The Guardian'' ranked it as one of the five "Best Tourist Sites" in Pakistan. Etymology Karimabad was named in honour of Prince Karim Aga Khan, the current spiritual head of Shia Ismaili Nizari community, though locals often still refer to Karimabad by its older name Baltit. Geography Karimabad town, located on the west bank of the Hunza River, is in the Northern Areas of the Pakistan, in a valley which is at elevation. The town is made up of stone walled steep sloping large terraces. The town was a caravan halting place for people who were traveling through the Hindu Kush mountains to the Vale of Kashmir. It is set amidst snow clad mountain peaks of Rakaposhi (altitude of about ), and glaciers like the Ulter Nala as a backdrop, and deep gorges. Access is by hill road from Gilgit. Flora and fauna The floral vegetation in the wild c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an origin with the German word , the Dutch word , and the Old Norse . The original Proto-Germanic word, *''tūnan'', is thought to be an early borrowing from Proto-Celtic *''dūnom'' (cf. Old Irish , Welsh ). The original sense of the word in both Germanic and Celtic was that of a fortress or an enclosure. Cognates of ''town'' in many modern Germanic languages designate a fence or a hedge. In English and Dutch, the meaning of the word took on the sense of the space which these fences enclosed, and through which a track must run. In England, a town was a small community that could not afford or was not allowed to build walls or other larger fortifications, and built a palisade or stockade instead. In the Netherlands, this space was a garde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Attabad Lake, Hunza Pakistan
Attabad ( ur, عطا آباد), also spelt Atabad, is a town located in Gilgit−Baltistan, Pakistan. It is located at 36°19'0N 74°48'0E with an altitude of , and is most well-known as the home of the Attabad Lake that formed in January 2010 following a major landslide. See also * Attabad Lake Attabad Lake ( ur, ) is a lake located in the Gojal region of Hunza Valley in Gilgit−Baltistan, Pakistan. It was created in January 2010 as the result of a major landslide in Attabad. The lake has become one of the biggest tourist attracti ... References Populated places in Hunza District {{NorthernAreas-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aga Khan Foundation
The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) is a private, not-for-profit international development agency, which was founded in 1967 by Shah Karim Al Hussaini, Aga Khan IV, the 49th Hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims. AKF seeks to provide long-term solutions to problems of poverty, hunger, illiteracy and ill health in the poorest parts of South and Central Asia, Eastern and Western Africa, and the Middle East. In these regions, the needs of rural communities in mountainous, coastal and resource poor areas are given particular attention. The Foundation's activities often reinforce the work of other sister agencies within the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). While these agencies are guided by different mandates pertaining to their respective fields of expertise (the environment, culture, microfinance, health, education, architecture, rural development), their activities are often coordinated with one another in order to "multiply" the overall effect that the Network has in any gi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karakoram Highway
The Karakoram Highway ( ur, , translit=śāhirāh qarāquram; known by its initials KKH, also known as N-35 or National Highway 35 ( ur, ) or the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway) is a national highway which extends from Hasan Abdal in the Punjab province of Pakistan to the Khunjerab Pass in Gilgit-Baltistan, where it crosses into China and becomes China National Highway 314. The highway connects the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa plus Gilgit-Baltistan with China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The highway is a popular tourist attraction and is one of the highest paved roads in the world, passing through the Karakoram mountain range, at at maximum elevation of near Khunjerab Pass. Due to its high elevation and the difficult conditions under which it was constructed, it is often referred to as the Eighth Wonder of the World. The highway is also a part of the Asian Highway AH4. History The Karakoram Highway, also known as the Fri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mir Of Hunza
Mir of Hunza was the title of rulers in the Hunza Valley in the Northern Areas, Pakistan. Etymology The Mir used to have the Burushaski title of Thum (also ''Tham'' or ''Thom''), later changed to Mir, a Persian form of the Arabic title ''Emir''. Timeline ** Mir Salim Khan I ** Mir Shah Sultan Khan ** Mir Shahbaz Khan (1710 - Unknown) ** Mir Shahbeg Khan ** Mir Shah Khisrow Khan (1750 - 1790) ** Mir Mirza Khan (1790) ** Mir Salim Khan II (1790 - 1825) ** Mir Ghazanfar Ali Khan I (1825 - 1864) ** Mir Muhammad Ghazan Khan I (1864 - 1886) ** Mir Safdar Ali Khan (1886 - 1891) *** Mir Safdar fled to China after conquest of Hunza and Nagar States by British Forces in December 1891.Prince Muhammad Nafis Khan was the main contender of Mir-ship of Hunza on the grounds that he was the elder son of Mir Muhammad Ghazan Khan-I and has the legitimate right to be appointed as Mir of Hunza but His younger brother Nazim Khan was placed in his position by British Raj in September 1892. ** Mir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marco Polo Sheep
The Marco Polo sheep (''Ovis ammon polii'') is a subspecies of argali sheep, named after Marco Polo. Their habitat are the mountainous regions of Central Asia. Marco Polo sheep are distinguishable mostly by their large size and spiraling horns. Their conservation status is "near threatened" and efforts have been made to protect their numbers and keep them from being hunted. It has also been suggested that crossing them with domestic sheep could have agricultural benefits. Naming The binomial name of the species as a whole is ''Ovis ammon'', described by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758, and all members of the species are commonly called "argali". The Marco Polo subspecies ''Ovis ammon polii'' was first described scientifically by zoologist Edward Blyth in 1841. These sheep are also commonly called "Marco Polo's Argali" or the "Pamir Argali.". The sheep are named after the 13th century explorer Marco Polo because they were described in ''The Travels of Marco Polo''. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Markhor
The markhor (''Capra falconeri'') is a large ''Capra'' species native to Central Asia, the Karakoram, and the Himalayas. It is listed on the IUCN Red List as Near Threatened since 2015. The markhor is the national animal of Pakistan, where it is also known as the screw horn or screw-horned goat, ''mārkhor'' () in Urdu from Classical Persian. Description Markhor stand at the shoulder, are long and weigh from . They have the highest maximum shoulder height among the species in the genus '' Capra'', but is surpassed in length and weight by the Siberian ibex. The coat is of a grizzled, light brown to black colour, and is smooth and short in summer, while growing longer and thicker in winter. The fur of the lower legs is black and white. Markhor are sexually dimorphic, with males having longer hair on the chin, throat, chest and shanks. Females are redder in colour, with shorter hair, a short black beard, and are maneless. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Snow Leopard
The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia''), also known as the ounce, is a felid in the genus '' Panthera'' native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because the global population is estimated to number fewer than 10,000 mature individuals and is expected to decline about 10% by 2040. It is threatened by poaching and habitat destruction following infrastructural developments. It inhabits alpine and subalpine zones at elevations of , ranging from eastern Afghanistan, the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau to southern Siberia, Mongolia and western China. In the northern part of its range, it also lives at lower elevations. Taxonomically, the snow leopard was long classified in the monotypic genus ''Uncia''. Since phylogenetic studies revealed the relationships among ''Panthera'' species, it has been considered a member of that genus. Two subspecies were described based on morphological differences, but genetic dif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duck
Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form taxon; they do not represent a monophyletic group (the group of all descendants of a single common ancestral species), since swans and geese are not considered ducks. Ducks are mostly aquatic birds, and may be found in both fresh water and sea water. Ducks are sometimes confused with several types of unrelated water birds with similar forms, such as loons or divers, grebes, gallinules and coots. Etymology The word ''duck'' comes from Old English 'diver', a derivative of the verb 'to duck, bend down low as if to get under something, or dive', because of the way many species in the dabbling duck group feed by upending; compare with Dutch and German 'to dive'. This word replaced Old English / 'duck', possibly to avoid confusion w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ibex
An ibex (plural ibex, ibexes or ibices) is any of several species of wild goat (genus ''Capra''), distinguished by the male's large recurved horns, which are transversely ridged in front. Ibex are found in Eurasia, North Africa and East Africa. The name ''ibex'' comes from Latin, borrowed from Iberian or Aquitanian, akin to Old Spanish ''bezerro'' "bull", modern Spanish ''becerro'' "yearling". Ranging in height from and weighing , ibex can live 20 years. Two closely related varieties of goats found in the wild are not usually called ibex: the markhor and the feral goat. A male ibex is referred to as a buck, a female is a doe, and young juveniles are called kids. An ibex buck is commonly larger and heavier than a doe. The most noticeable difference between the sexes is the larger size of a buck's horns. The doe grows a pair of smaller, thinner horns which develop considerably more slowly than those of a buck. The ibex's horns appear at birth and continue to grow through the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 hub for trekking and mountaineering expeditions in the Karakoram mountain range. Gilgit was once a major centre for Buddhism; it was an important stop on the ancient Silk Road, and today serves as a major junction along the Karakoram Highway with road connections to China as well as the Pakistani cities of Skardu, Chitral, Peshawar, and Islamabad. Currently, it serves as a frontier station for the local tribal areas. The city's economic activity is mainly focused on agriculture, with wheat, maize, and barley as the mainly-produced crops. Etymology The city's ancient name was ''Sargin'', later to be known as ''Gilit'', and it is still referred to as ''Gilit'' or ''Sargin-Gilit'' by the local people. The native Khowar and Wakhi-spea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rakaposhi
Rakaposhi ( ur, ) is a mountain in the Karakoram mountain range of the Gilgit-Baltistan territory of Pakistan. Geography Rakaposhi is a mountain in the Karakoram mountain range in the Gilgit-Baltistan territory of Pakistan, about north of the city of Gilgit. It is ranked 27th-highest in the world. Rakaposhi rises over the Bagrot, Nagar, and Danyor Rakaposhi is the only mountain in the world with more than 5,000 meters height between base camp and the summit; by contrast all of the other tallest mountains in the world have less than 5,000 meters from base camp to top. The first successful recorded ascent by non-natives was in 1958 by Mike Banks and Tom Patey, members of a British expedition, via the Southwest Spur/Ridge route. Park Rakaposhi is also known as Dumani ("Mother of Mist" or "Mother of Clouds"). The people of Nagar and Bagrot Valley have dedicated the Rakaposhi range mountain area as a community park. The Minister for Northern A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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