Astore

It is the access point for several treks, east to the Deosai plateau and south and west around the base of Nanga Parbat. Rama, Rupal and the Kalapani valley all start from here.

In winter the valley is home to the Astore markhor, Pakistan's national animal, and the community conservancy programme looks after the herd. Four permits a year are auctioned by the Gilgit-Baltistan Wildlife Department, and eighty per cent of the fee goes to the conservancy that protects the animals. It is crisp, high country above 3,500 m, and local guides know every ridge.

The valley has a long and colourful history of local rajas, Skardu rulers and Dogra governors. Under the agreement between the British government of India and the Maharaja of Kashmir, Astore stayed with Kashmir.