Culture and Traditions of Gilgit-Baltistan

The culture and traditions of Gilgit-Baltistan change from valley to valley far more than most visitors expect. About 1.7 million people live in the region, according to the 2023 census, speaking at least half a dozen languages and following four different traditions within Islam. What holds it together is a shared mountain way of life: village farming on irrigated terraces, a strong sense of community, polo, and a tradition of hospitality to guests that visitors notice within an hour of arriving.

This guide explains who lives where, how faith shapes daily life in each valley, which customs are still very much alive, and what a guest is expected to understand. It is not an etiquette checklist; our travel guide covers the practical dos and don'ts for the whole north.

Who lives in Gilgit-Baltistan?

The region is a meeting point of peoples, and the easiest way to understand it is by language.

• Shina is spoken around Gilgit, in Diamer and Astore, and in parts of Ghizer.
• Burushaski is spoken in central Hunza, Nagar and Yasin. It is a language isolate, related to no other known language.
• Wakhi is the language of Gojal, upper Hunza from Gulmit and Passu up to Shimshal and Sost, and of parts of Ishkoman. The Wakhi are a Pamiri people, with relatives across the border in Afghanistan, Tajikistan and China.
• Balti is spoken across Baltistan, from Skardu to Shigar, Khaplu and Kharmang. It is a Tibetic language, and Baltistan was long known as Little Tibet.
• Khowar, the language of Chitral, is spoken in the western valleys of Ghizer.

Smaller communities add more, among them the Domaaki-speaking families of Hunza and Nagar, traditionally musicians and blacksmiths. Almost everyone you deal with as a visitor speaks Urdu, and many younger people speak good English.

Faith: four traditions of Islam

Almost everyone in Gilgit-Baltistan is Muslim, but the valleys follow different traditions, and knowing which is which explains a lot of what you see.

• Ismailis are the majority in Hunza, Gojal and much of Ghizer. They follow the Aga Khan as their spiritual leader, worship in jamatkhanas rather than mosques, and greet each other with "Ya Ali Madad". Aga Khan institutions have shaped schools, health care and village development here for decades, and literacy in Hunza is famously high.
• Twelver Shias are the majority in Baltistan and Nagar and a large part of Gilgit town. Imambargahs are the centre of community life, and Muharram is the most solemn time of the year.
• Sunnis are the majority in Diamer and Astore and a large part of Gilgit town.
• Noorbakhshis, a Sufi-rooted tradition found today mainly in Baltistan and neighbouring Ladakh, are centred on Khaplu and the Ghanche valleys. The old wooden Chaqchan mosque in Khaplu is theirs.

In practice this means Karimabad and Chilas, a few hours apart on the same highway, feel like different countries. Hunza is open and relaxed, with women visible in every part of public life. Diamer is among the most conservative places in Pakistan. Baltistan sits between the two.

Gilgit town has a history of sectarian tension, and the authorities take no chances around Muharram. In 2025 the Gilgit-Baltistan tourism department advised visitors not to travel on the 9th and 10th, when main roads were closed for processions and mobile service was suspended in many areas. Check the dates before you book: in 2027 they fall in mid-June.

History you can still see

Much of today's culture comes from a long history of small kingdoms.

Hunza and Nagar were independent principalities facing each other across the river, each ruled by its Mir, until they were dissolved in 1974. Baltit Fort, above Karimabad, was the seat of the Mirs of Hunza, and the old ceremonies of the Hunza court, such as the Ginani harvest rite, still shape how festivals are held.

Baltistan was divided among local rajas, including the Maqpons of Skardu, the Amacha of Shigar and the Yabgos of Khaplu. Their fort at Shigar and palace at Khaplu have been restored and now take guests.

Before Islam, much of the region was Buddhist, with older mountain beliefs alongside. The Kargah Buddha carved into a cliff near Gilgit and the Buddha rock at Manthal in Skardu survive from that time, and fire festivals such as Mayfung in Baltistan still carry traces of it.

In 1947 the Gilgit rebellion against Dogra rule led to the region joining Pakistan, and 1 November is kept as Gilgit-Baltistan Independence Day, with parades, flags and polo.

Customs that are still alive

Village life is organised and communal. Irrigation channels, fed by glacier melt, are dug and maintained by the whole village, and water is shared by turn. Since the 1980s, village organisations set up with the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme have run savings, roads and small power schemes across much of the region.

Polo is the region's own game. It is played freestyle, with few rules and a band of drums and pipes playing throughout. Most towns have a polo ground, and the big matches, such as the Shandur final against Chitral, draw huge crowds.

The cap still matters. Many men wear the rolled woollen cap made from local patti cloth, called khoi in Shina and nating in Balti, often with a feather or a flower tucked in the front. Women in Hunza wear embroidered caps under their dupattas, each valley with its own style.

The seasons still set the calendar. Nauroz in March marks the start of ploughing, Ginani in June the first harvest, and the winter solstice fires of Mayfung and Thumushelling the turn of the year. Our calendar of festivals in Gilgit-Baltistan sets them out month by month.

Hospitality: what a guest should understand

Hospitality here is a matter of pride, and visitors are treated as guests rather than customers. Knowing the unwritten rules makes it much easier to accept graciously.

• Tea is the first thing offered and the hardest thing to refuse. In Hunza it may be ordinary milky tea; in Baltistan, salty butter tea. Accept at least one cup if you possibly can.
• Invitations are sincere. Being asked into a home in a village is common, especially if you are travelling as a family. It is fine to accept, and fine to decline politely if you are pressed for time.
• Don't try to pay a host. If you have been fed in someone's home, a small gift, some fruit or sweets from the bazaar, or a genuine thank-you is the right response, not money.
• Places of worship have their own rules. Jamatkhanas are generally not open to non-Ismaili visitors, so don't walk in or photograph inside. Mosques and imambargahs may let you visit outside prayer times if you ask; cover your head and remove your shoes.
• Ask before photographing people, and especially women. In Hunza many people will say yes; in Diamer, don't photograph women at all.
• Dress modestly, more so in Skardu, Gilgit and Chilas than in Karimabad.

How to be a welcome visitor

Tourism is an important source of income in the valleys, and most people welcome visitors. What wears that welcome thin is predictable: loud music at night in quiet villages, litter at the lakes, and treating a place of worship or someone's orchard as a backdrop.

Staying in locally owned guesthouses, eating in family-run restaurants and buying crafts from the women's enterprises in Hunza keeps the money in the valleys. Our guide to what to buy in Gilgit-Baltistan covers where to find them.

If you want to see the region's culture rather than just its scenery, go to a polo match, spend two nights in one village instead of one night in three, and time your trip for a festival. Our Gilgit, Hunza and Khunjerab tour includes Baltit and Altit forts and a guide from the valley who can explain what you are looking at.

Frequently asked questions