Khaplu
Khaplu (Urdu: خپلو, pronounced: [xəpluː]; Balti: ཁཔ་ལུ།), also spelt Khapalu, is a city that serves as the administrative capital of the Ghanche District of Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region. Lying 103 km (64 mi) east of the city of Skardu, it was the second-largest kingdom in old Baltistan under the Yabgo dynasty. It guarded the trade route to Ladakh along the Shyok River east of its confluence with the Indus.
Khaplu
خپلو ཁཔ་ལུ། | |
|---|---|
City administered by Pakistan | |
| Nickname: Shyok valley | |
Khaplu Location in Pakistan Khaplu Khaplu (Pakistan) | |
| Coordinates: 35°10′N 76°20′E | |
| Administering country | Pakistan |
| Autonomous territory | Gilgit Baltistan |
| Baltistan division | Ghanche |
| Government | |
| • Deputy Commissioner | Adeel Haider Baryar (PAS) |
| Elevation | 8,500 ft (2,600 m) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 175,000 |
| Time zone | UTC+5 (PST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+6 (GMT+6) |
| Website | Khaplu Valley, Skardu |
Khaplu is a base for trekking into the Hushe valley, which leads to the high peaks of Masherbrum, K6, K7, and Chogolisa. 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 the Shyok River.