Gilgit is a region in the Northern Areas of Pakistan, bordering the Chinese region of Xinjiang. It has an area of 14,680 mi² (38,021 km²). The region is significantly mountainous, lying on the foothills of the Karakoram mountains, and has an average altitude of 1,500 m (5,000 ft). It is drained by the Indus river, which rises in the neighboring region of Baltistan.

Gilgit was ruled for centuries by the local Trakane Dynasty , which came to an end in about 1810. The area descended into internecine turmoil before being occupied by the Sikhs in 1842. It was ceded to Jammu in 1846. Gilgit's inhabitants drove their new rulers out in an uprising in 1852. The rule of Jammu was restored in 1860 but was never fully secured. Gilgit came under British rule in 1889, when it was unified with neighboring Hunza in the Gilgit Agency. When British rule came to an end in 1947, the region was handed over to Kashmir but another local uprising led to its accession to Pakistan. Its status is today disputed between India and Pakistani-held Azad Kashmir, both of which claim them as part of the disputed state of Kashmir. Gilgit town is the chief town of the Northern Areas.

References

• Drew, Frederic. Date unknown. The Northern Barrier of India: a popular account of the Jammoo and Kashmir Territories with Illustrations. Reprint: Light & Life Publishers, Jammu. 1971.
• Jettmar, Karl, 1980. Bolor & Dardistan. National Institute of Folk Heritage, Islamabad.
• Knight, E. F. 1893. Where Three Empires Meet: A Narrative of Recent Travel in: Kashmir, Western Tibet, Gilgit, and the adjoining countries. Longmans, Green, and Co., London. Reprint: Ch'eng Wen Publishing Company, Taipei. 1971.
• Leitner, G. W. 1893. Dardistan in 1866, 1886 and 1893: Being An Account of the History, Religions, Customs, Legends, Fables and Songs of Gilgit, Chilas, Kandia (Gabrial) Yasin, Chitral, Hunza, Nagyr and other parts of the Hindukush, as also a supplement to the second edition of The Hunza and Nagyr Handbook. And An Epitome of Part III of the author's “The Languages and Races of Dardistan. First Reprint 1978. Manjusri Publishing House, New Delhi.
• Muhammad, Gulam. 1980. Festivals and Folklore of Gilgit. National Institute of Folk Heritage, Islamabad.

External links

• The Changing Northern Areas
• Pakistan's Northern Areas dilemma
• Northern Areas Development Gateway
• Pakistan's Northern Areas
• Northern Pakistan's Karakoram & Hindukush Mountains
• The Mountain Areas Conservancy Project
• Gilgit Map
• Silk Road Seattle (The Silk Road Seattle website contains many useful resources including a number of full-text historical works)