Astore District

Astore District (Urdu: ‫ضلع استور‬‎) is one of t he 14 dist rict s of t he Pakist ani-administ ered
t errit ory of Gilgit −Balt ist an.[1] It s administ rat ive headquart ers are locat ed at Eidgah in t he Ast ore
Valley. The Ast ore Dist rict is bounded by Gilgit Dist rict t o t he nort h, Roundu Dist rict t o t he
nort heast , Skardu Dist rict t o t he east , Kharmang Dist rict t o t he sout heast , Diamer Dist rict t o t he
west , t he Neelum Dist rict of Azad Jammu and Kashmir t o t he sout hwest , and t he Bandipore
Dist rict of Indian-administ ered Jammu and Kashmir t o t he sout h.
 Astore Dist rict
‫ضلع استور‬
District of Gilgit−Baltistan

Nanga Parbat seen from the Rama Valley near Astore District in August 2016

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Country Pakistan
Adm. Unit  Gilgit-Baltistan
Division Diamer Division
Headquarters Eidgah
Area
 • Total 5,092 km2 (1,966 sq mi)
Population (1998)
 • Total 71,666
Number of tehsils 2

Astore Valley
A view of the terrain on the way to Astore

The Ast ore Valley has an area of 5,092 km² and is at an alt it ude of 2,600 met res (8,500 ft ). The
valley has approximat ely 250 square kilomet res (97 sq mi) of glacier cover.[2] The nearest glacier
aft er ent ering t he valley is t he Harcho Glacier,[3]and t he most accessible glacier is t he Siachen
Glacier.[4]

Accessibility

Eidgah is connect ed t o Gilgit , which is well connect ed by air wit h Islamabad and by road wit h
Islamabad / Rawalpindi, Chit ral, and Skardu. There are t wo ways of access t o Eidgah. The first is
from Skardu via t he Deosai Plat eau 143 kilomet res (89 mi),[5] but t hat rout e cannot be used from
November t o June due t o heavy snowfall. The second way, year round, is from Gilgit via Jaglot
128 kilomet res (80 mi).[6]

History

Around 1600, according t o t he Imperial Gazet t eer of India:

Ghāzī Mukhpun, a Persian adventurer, is said to have married a

princess of the Skārdu reigning family. The four sons born of this
union became Rās of Astor, Kharmang, Rondu, and Skārdu,
respectively, and from them are descended the families of the
present chiefs of those places. The independence of Astor ceased
with the Dogra conquest.[7]

Climate
The Ast ore Valley has a moderat e climat e during t he summer. In t he wint er it can snow up t o 2-3
feet (60-90;cm) in t he main valleys and up t o 4-5;feet (100;150;cm) in t he mount ains. In t he
Mirmalik Valley, it can snow up t o 6 feet (1.8 m) in February.

Languages

The main language spoken in t he valley is Shina. Urdu, which is t he nat ional language of Pakist an,
is t he second most frequent ly spoken language. There are different dialect s of Shina spoken in
t he region. Since t he Ast ore Valley has a hist ory of modest t ourist t raffic during t he summer,
local guides and police in Eidgah and Tarashing may speak some English.

Education

According t o t he Alif Ailaan Pakist an Dist rict Educat ion Rankings 2015, t he Ast ore Dist rict is
ranked 32nd out of 148 dist rict s in t erms of educat ion. For facilit ies and infrast ruct ure, t he
dist rict is ranked 114t h out of 148, and t he first lady governor of Gilgit -Balt ist an, Dr. Shama
Khalid, was from t he Ast ore Dist rict .[8]

Transportation

In t he past , due t o rough modes of t ransport at ion, t here were some negat ive percept ions about
t ravel in t he Ast ore Valley, but nowadays t here are paved roads connect ing Islamabad and Gilgit
by way of t he Karakoram Highway. However, landslides and rockfall may st ill be issues in some
areas of t he Indus Valley. There is a permanent road t o Gilgit , as well as seasonal road access t o
Skardu via t he Deosai Plat eau. It 's now possible t o obt ain several t ypes of vehicles (jeeps, SUVs,
t axis, and wagons) and t o hire jeeps and SUVs at affordable prices. The most used vehicles are
jeeps and SUVs, wit h a local preference for Pajeros and Landcruisers.

References

1. "GB notifies four more districts, total number of districts now 14" (https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2
019/06/17/gb-notifies-four-more-districts-total-number-of-districts-now-14/amp/) .
pakistantoday.com.

2. Sher Muhammad, Lide Tian, Asif Khan, Early twenty-first century glacier mass losses in the Indus Basin
constrained by density assumptions, Journal of Hydrology, Volume 574, 2019, Pages 467-475
 3. MUHAMMAD, S., TIAN, L., & NÜSSER, M. (2019). No significant mass loss in the glaciers of Astore
Basin (North-Western Himalaya), between 1999 and 2016. Journal of Glaciology, 65(250), 270-278.
doi:10.1017/jog.2019.5

4. Muhammad, S. and Tian, L. (2016) ‘Changes in the ablation zones of glaciers in the western Himalaya
and the Karakoram between 1972 and 2015’, Remote Sensing of Environment. Elsevier Inc., 187, pp.
505–512. doi: 10.1016/j.rse.2016.10.034.

5. "Distance from Skardu via Deosai Plains" (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Skardu/Astore+District/@

35.1587518,74.9623425,/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x38e46392bac10283:0xc2f7a786f
9833d7!2m2!1d75.5509602!2d35.3247102!1m5!1m1!1s0x38e6989a58999131:0xcb07170fdcc9df0a!2
m2!1d74.8741045!2d35.21899!3e0) . Google Maps. Retrieved 4 August 2019.

6. "Distance from Gilgit via Jaglot" (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Gilgit/Astore+District/@35.584483

6,74.2793196,9z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x38e649e3642543b1:0x40fd0ca3ca17282b!2m2!1d
74.4642861!2d35.881911!1m5!1m1!1s0x38e6989a58999131:0xcb07170fdcc9df0a!2m2!1d74.874104
5!2d35.21899!3e0) . Google Maps. Retrieved 4 August 2019.

7. Gilgit - Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 12, p. 239 (https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.ht

ml?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V12_245.gif) According to the Imperial Gazetteer, which was compiled in
the first decade of the twentieth century, the marriage took place over three hundred years previously.

8. "Individual district profile link, 2015" (https://web.archive.org/web/20160326192316/http://www.data.co

m.pk/edurankings/district.php?distid=20006&proid=19&yearid=3) . Alif Ailaan. Archived from the
original (http://www.data.com.pk/edurankings/district.php?distid=20006&proid=19&yearid=3) on 26
March 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2015.

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