Shigar Valley
A 400-year-old fort and the road to the giants
Why go to Shigar Valley
The valley every Baltoro expedition drives up. At its mouth stands Shigar Fort — a 17th-century raja’s palace restored into a hotel — and beyond it the road runs to Askole and the glaciers.
Shigar is Baltistan’s heritage valley. The Fong Khar — "palace on the rock" — was built around 1620 and sat derelict for decades before the Aga Khan Trust for Culture restored it over seven years; it now works as a small hotel and museum and is the best-preserved building of its kind in the region. The old wooden Amburiq Mosque nearby dates to the 14th century and was built by Kashmiri craftsmen brought in by the Sufi missionary Syed Ali Hamadani. Beyond the village the valley narrows and the road deteriorates all the way to Askole, the last settlement before the Baltoro glacier.
Don’t miss
- Shigar Fort (Fong Khar) and museum
- Amburiq Mosque, 14th century
- Blind Lake and the Shigar dunes
- Apricot orchards through July
- The Askole road toward Baltoro
Common questions
Yes — it operates as a Serena heritage hotel with around twenty rooms. It books out well in advance in July and August, so we reserve it at the time of booking on the packages that include it.
Tours to Shigar Valley
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