Baltistan Baltistan Baltistan (, also known as Baltiyul or Little Tibet (), is a mountainous region on the border of Pakistan Controlled Kashmir and Indian Controlled Kashmir in the Karakoram mountains just south of K2 (the world's second-highest mountain). Baltistan borders Gilgit to the west, Xinjiang (China) in the north, Ladakh on the southeast and the Kashmir Valley on the southwest. Its average altitude is over . Prior to 1947, Baltistan was part of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, having been conquered by Raja Gulab Singh's armies in 1840. Baltistan and Ladakh were administered jointly under one "wazarat" (district)
Gilgit-Baltistan Silk Roads — Rock Carvings Along the Karakoram Highway". Many of these carvings and inscriptions will be inundated and/or destroyed when the planned Basha-Diamir dam is built and the Karakoram Highway is widened. The climate of Gilgit-Baltistan varies from region to region, surrounding mountain ranges creates sharp variations in weather. The eastern part has the moist zone of the western Himalayas, but going toward Karakoram and Hindu Kush, the climate dries considerably. There are towns like Gilgit and Chilas that are very hot during the day in summer yet cold at night and valleys like Astore, Khaplu, Yasin, Hunza, and