Town or village
Gahkuch
Ghizer district · 1,800 m
The district headquarters of Ghizer, on the Gilgit river, and the turn for the Ishkoman valley.
Gahkuch is the main town of Ghizer, the district that lies west of Gilgit between the Karakoram and the Hindu Kush. The book calls Ghizer the Valley of the Lakes, and says it gets fewer visitors than the valleys around it, which means more room for you.
Kind Town or villageDistrict GhizerElevation 1,800 mPosition 36.180° N, 73.768° E
About Gahkuch
For travellers the town is the handy junction. NATCO buses run from Gilgit to Gahkuch every day, and from here you change vehicles for the Ishkoman valley, which runs north. The main road continues west toward Gupis, Yasin and the Shandur Pass, with lakes and polo to look forward to.
The book divides Ghizer into four tehsils: Ishkoman, Yasin, Gupis and Phunder. Gahkuch is the district headquarters, and a friendly place to stretch your legs.
Elsewhere in Ghizer
Swipe along the district, from the valley floor to the summits.
- 2,400 m
Town or village
Ishkoman
A valley where nine languages are spoken in Immit village alone, and the base for treks to Yasin, Naltar and Chapursan.
- 4,272 m
Lake or water
Qurumbar Lake
At 4,272 m, a perennial lake at the head of Ishkoman, inside Pakistan's first wetlands national park.
- 2,200 m
Town or village
Gupis
Where the Yasin river joins the Gilgit, and where the road divides for Yasin and Shandur.
- 2,250 m
Lake or water
Khalti Lake
Trout water below Gupis, frozen hard enough to walk on by January.
- 2,300 m
Town or village
Yasin
A Burushaski speaking valley, once a powerful independent kingdom and the gateway between the Oxus and the Indus.
- 2,800 m
Town or village
Darkot
The last village on the road north of Yasin, and the base for treks over the Darkot Pass into Chapursan.
Lake or water · 2,900 m
Phunder
The river braids into blue pools below the village: trout, poplars and a polo ground, on the road to Shandur.
- 3,700 m
Pass
Shandur Pass
At 3,700 m, the pass between Ghizer and Chitral, with the highest polo ground in the world on top.