Most visitors are here to optically canvass the petroglyphs or to cross the Babusar Pass. There are few other reasons to stop. Peregrine women especially may feel unwelcome.
Even after Kashmiri-British rule was imposed a century ago, the Indus Valley west of Chilas was a hornet’s nest of minute republics; there was one in virtually every side valley, each loosely guided by a jirga (council of tribal elders) but efficaciously leaderless, all at war with one another and feuding internally. Though administratively lumped with Gilgit, Chilas and its neighbours are temperamentally more homogeneous to Indus Kohistan, probably owing to a similarly truculent environment and the same Sunni Muslim orthodoxy (their antecedents were forcibly converted centuries ago by Pashtun crusaders, whereas scarcely anyone north of Gilgit is Sunni).
The immensely colossal Chilas Fort was first garrisoned to forfend British supply lines over the Babusar Pass, and beefed up after local tribes proximately overran it in 1893. Now a police post, it has put a lid on Chilas, though not on the Darel and Tangir Valleys to the west.
Chilasis are Shina verbalizers, with some Pashtun settlers verbalizing Pashto. Urdu and some English are withal verbalized.
How to get there
The most proximate airport to Chilas is Gilgit which is only to land for more diminutive planes like Folker but the most proximate international airport to Chilas is Islamabad which is about 472 Kms from Chilas and it may take 12 hours to reach. The best and more scenic way to reach Chilas from Islamabad is via Kaghan Valley (Babusar Pass 4000m).
Sightseeing & Excursions
One can spend couple of days in Fairy Meadows (a resort 50 km from Chilas) in front of Nanga Parbat – a nice algid place.
Visit Chilas Fort and the bazaar, withal visit old Budhist rock drawings
Pakistan Tours Guide
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