Haldi () also Halde or Huldi is a
village
A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...
in
Ghanche District
Ghanche District (; ) is a district of Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the te ...
of
Gilgit-Baltistan
Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative units of Pakistan, administrative territory and consists of the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has b ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
. Haldi is a historic village of Baltistan, located at the meeting place of
Saltoro river
Saltoro River is a tributary river of Shyok River in the Siachen Region. Its main source is Bilafond Glacier.
The Saltoro river drains into the Hushe river
The Hushe River is a tributary river to the Shyok River which itself is a tributar ...
and
Hushe River
The Hushe River is a tributary river to the Shyok River which itself is a tributary to the Indus River. The main source of the Hushe River is the Gondogoro Glacier. Some streams also flow from other glaciers of the Hushe valley. The Hushe rive ...
28 km from district centre
Khaplu.
History
According to
Molvi Hashmatullah Lakhnavi, Haldi was the ancient administrative capital of the ancient
Khaplu valley. Around 850 A.D.
Baig Manthal came to Haldi from Central Asia through the
Kondus valley. He built Stranpo Khar or Kharmang Khar in a rock. He founded the independent state of Haldi. Later he invaded
Pharawa, the capital of Raja Gori tham. After taking control of all of
Saltoro and
Hushe
Hushe (; ) is the last village of the Ghangche District of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. It is the highest village in the once extremely remote and impoverished Hushe Valley. Hushe men began working as cooks and porters for mountaineering expedi ...
valley he invaded the
Khaplu valley. He became the only ruler of this region and established his capital in Haldi. Then he constructed a fort in Saling. According to Molvi Hashmatullah Lakhnavi in ''Tarikh e Jammu'' and
Yusuf Hussain Abadi in ''Tarikh e Baltistan'', Baig Manthal was the founder of the Yabgo dynasty. Now the ruins of a fort remain on the rock known as
Kharmang khar where it was built by Baig Manthal. This fort was present up to 1750 A.D, as it is mentioned in Shigar Nama (an old history book of
Shigar), where Hatam Khan of Yabgo had ruled.
According to
Greg Mortenson, American author of the book ''
Three Cups of Tea'', Haldi village was as perfect a place as Mortenson had seen in Pakistan.
People
Johar Ali Johar
Known as Bowa Johar, he was a famous Balti poet. His tomb is located near Khanqah e Muallah, Haldi. He wrote nearly 70 behartaweel. He also wrote
qasida, marsia, nohay, manqabat and naat in
Balti language and
Persian. He is also called Shehenshah e behartaweel king of Behartaweel and Firdosi e Baltistan.
Tourism
Haldi Cones, a group of mountains in the Karakoram range, are one of the most popular tourist attractions in Haldi village.
Further reading
* Tarikh e Jammu by Molvi Hashmatullah Lakhnavi
* Tarikh e Baltistan by Yousuf Hussain Abadi
* Johar-e-Baltistan by Muhammad Hassan Hasrat
* Malomat e Gilgit Baltistan by Akhond Kashif
* Baltistan in History by Banat gul Afridi Peshawar
References
{{Ghanche District
Baltistan
Populated places in Ghanche District