Astore District


Astore is one of the ten districts of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. The district contains the Astore Valley and is bounded to the west by Diamer District, to the north by Gilgit District, to the east by Skardu District and to the south by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Neelum District of Kashmir. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan the population was 71,666.

The valley

The Astore valley has an area of 5,092 km² and an altitude of. The valley has an approximately of glacier cover. The nearest glacier after entering the valley is Harcho and the most easily accessible glacier is Siachen.

Accessibility

Astore is connected to Gilgit which is well connected by air with Islamabad and by road with Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Skardu and Chitral. It connects it with the Indian held Kashmir, Northwest connects with Azad Kashmir, in the East it connects with the Skardu, in the West it connects to outskirts of Chilas. There are two ways to access to Astore, first is via Deosai from Skardu city, but it is can not be use from November to June due to heavy snowfall and second way, for all seasons, is via Jaglot from Gilgit city.

History

According to the Imperial Gazetteer of India, around 1600:

Climate

Astore valley has a moderate climate during summer. In winter it can snow up to 2 to 3feet in the main valleys and up to 4-5;feet in the mountains. In Mirmalik valley it snows up to in February.

Languages

The main language spoken in the valley is Shina. Urdu, which is the National language of Pakistan, is the second most frequently spoken language. There are the different dialects of Shina spoken in the region. Since Astore has a history of modest tourist traffic in the summer months, local guides and police in Tarashing or Astore may speak some English.

Education

According to the Alif Ailaan Pakistan District Education Rankings 2015, Astore is ranked 32 out of 148 districts in terms of education. For facilities and infrastructure, the district is ranked 114 out of 148 and the first lady Governor of Pakistan Dr. Shama Khalid belonged to Astore District.

Transport

There were some negative perceptions in past due to rough mode of transport but nowadays there are paved roads connecting Gilgit and Islamabad through the Karakorum Highway. Landslides and rockfall may be an issue in some areas of the Indus Valley. There is a permanent road through Gilgit as well as seasonal road access via Deosai Plateau to Skardu. Here you can obtain all types of vehicles and hire jeeps and SUVs at affordable prices. The most used vehicles are Jeeps and SUVs with a local preference for Pajeros and Landcruisers.