What is Hunza famous for? Its scenery and its history in equal measure: the old forts of Baltit and Altit above Karimabad, Rakaposhi and a ring of 7,000-metre peaks, the turquoise Attabad Lake, the Khunjerab Pass at the Chinese border, Silk Road rock carvings, and orchards of apricots and cherries. It is also famous, less deservedly, for a story that its people live to 120.
This is a quick answer for anyone deciding whether Hunza is worth the trip, with the facts behind each claim. Our Gilgit-Hunza destination guide is the place to start planning, and places to visit in Hunza has the full list.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Was | An independent kingdom, then a princely state until 25 September 1974 |
| Oldest monument | Altit Fort, around 1,100 years old |
| Most visited sight | Baltit Fort, restored and opened as a museum in 1996 |
| Highest peak in view | Rakaposhi, 7,788 m |
| Newest landmark | Attabad Lake, formed by a landslide on 4 January 2010 |
| Border | Khunjerab Pass, 4,693 m, the highest paved international border crossing |
| Languages | Burushaski, Wakhi and Shina |
Weather now in Karimabad, Hunza 2,500 m
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When it snows: Snow, frozen ponds and frozen lakes from December to February. More on the seasons
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A kingdom that lasted until 1974
Hunza, also called Kanjut, was ruled for centuries by its own Mirs. It became a princely state under British India in 1891 after the Anglo-Burusho war, and kept its ruler after joining Pakistan. Protests against forced labour and taxes grew in the 1960s, and on 25 September 1974 Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto dissolved the states of Hunza and Nagar. That recent royal past is why the valley has two palace-forts and a strong sense of its own identity. Our history of Hunza tells the full story.
Baltit and Altit forts
Baltit Fort stands on the hill above Karimabad. Conservation work in the 1990s showed that its core, including the stone and timber defensive tower, dates to around the 8th century. In the 16th century Mir Ayasho II married a princess from Skardu, and her family sent Balti craftsmen who rebuilt the fort, along with a cannon dated 1539. The Mirs left it in 1945. After a survey by the Royal Geographical Society, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture restored it, and it opened as a museum in 1996. It has been on UNESCO's tentative World Heritage list since 2004. See our Baltit Fort guide.
Altit Fort, lower down the valley at Altit, is older still. Its Shikari tower is around 1,100 years old, which makes it the oldest monument in Gilgit-Baltistan. It was restored by 2010 and won a UNESCO Asia-Pacific heritage award in 2011. See our Altit Fort guide and our Altit vs Baltit comparison.
Rakaposhi and the wall of peaks
Rakaposhi, 7,788 metres and the 27th highest mountain in the world, is the peak people picture when they think of Hunza, though it actually rises on the Nagar side of the river. On its north side it climbs about 5,900 metres in only 11 km from the Hunza river, one of the steepest rises on earth. It was first climbed in 1958 by Mike Banks and Tom Patey of a British expedition. The closest viewpoint, "Rakaposhi Zero Point" at Ghulmet on the Karakoram Highway, is a standard stop on the drive up.
From Karimabad you also see Ultar Sar (7,388 m), the rock needle of Ladyfinger and, across the valley, Diran and Golden Peak. Our guide to mountains visible from Karimabad helps you name them, and Ultar Sar tells the story of the peak behind the fort.
Attabad Lake
Attabad Lake did not exist before 2010. On 4 January that year a huge landslide at Attabad village, about 14 km upstream of Karimabad, killed 20 people and blocked the Hunza river for five months. By June the lake was about 21 km long and over 100 metres deep. It submerged the village of Ayeenabad, much of Shishkat and about 40 per cent of Gulmit, and cut the Karakoram Highway.
The road reopened on 14 September 2015 through five new tunnels, about 7 km in all, known as the Pakistan-China Friendship Tunnels. Today the blue-green lake is Hunza's busiest stop, with boats and lakeside cafés. Our Attabad Lake guide covers the visit.
Khunjerab Pass and the Karakoram Highway
At the top of the valley, the Karakoram Highway crosses into China at the Khunjerab Pass, 4,693 metres, the highest paved international border crossing in the world. The road over the pass was completed in 1982. For many visitors the drive north through Gojal, past the Passu Cones to the border, is the highlight of the trip; see our Khunjerab Pass guide.
Silk Road rock carvings and old villages
Beside the highway between Ganish and Attabad Lake, the Sacred Rocks of Hunza, or Haldeikish, carry thousands of carvings and inscriptions left by travellers from the first millennium CE, in Kharosthi, Brahmi, Sogdian, Bactrian, Tibetan and Chinese. The name means "a place of many male ibex", after the animals carved on the rocks. See our Sacred Rock of Hunza guide.
Nearby Ganish is described as the oldest settlement in the Hunza valley on the old Silk Road. Its four wooden mosques, 300 to 400 years old, won a UNESCO Asia-Pacific heritage award in 2002.
Apricots, cherries and orchards
Hunza is known across Pakistan for its apricots, sold dried, as kernels and as oil, and its orchards of cherries, mulberries, walnuts and apples. Blossom in spring turns the terraces white and pink and draws its own crowd; see our Hunza blossom season guide and Hunza cherry season. For what to take home, see dry fruits of Gilgit-Baltistan.
The "world's longest-living people" story
Hunza's most famous claim is its weakest. In 1948 the American health writer J. I. Rodale published The Healthy Hunzas, crediting dried apricots, almonds, fresh air and exercise for a valley full of centenarians, and a 1973 National Geographic article on longevity repeated the idea.
There has never been reliable documentation of anyone's age to support it. John Clark, an American who lived among the Hunza people for 20 months, wrote in his 1956 book Hunza: Lost Kingdom of the Himalayas that he had arrived believing in "the Healthy Hunzas" and that living there showed him otherwise. Most of his patients had malaria, dysentery, worms or trachoma, and he treated 5,684 people on his first two trips. Treat the story as folklore; our Hunza people lifespan guide goes further.
Two peoples, three languages
Central Hunza is home to the Burusho, whose language, Burushaski, is a language isolate, related to no other known language; see our Burushaski guide. Upper Hunza, or Gojal, is home to the Wakhi, who speak an Iranian language and trace their roots to Wakhan; see our Wakhi people guide. Shina is also spoken in the valley. Most people in both communities are Ismaili Muslims.
Is Hunza worth visiting?
For most travellers, yes. Few places in Pakistan put forts, villages, glaciers and 7,000-metre peaks within an hour's drive of each other, with a paved road the whole way from Gilgit and a good range of places to stay. It suits families, couples and first-timers to the north.
It suits you less if you want empty landscapes in July and August, when Karimabad and Attabad are busy, or if the long road journey is a problem; flying to Gilgit shortens it. Plan at least three nights; our three-day Hunza itinerary shows how to use them, and our Gilgit, Hunza and Khunjerab tour covers the valley in nine days.
Frequently asked questions
Is it true that people in Hunza live to 120?
No. There are no reliable records to support it. The idea was popularised by a 1948 health book, and John Clark, who lived in Hunza for 20 months before writing his 1956 book, reported widespread illness rather than unusual health.
Why is Hunza so famous?
For its scenery and history together: Baltit and Altit forts, Rakaposhi and other 7,000-metre peaks, Attabad Lake, the Khunjerab Pass and Silk Road rock carvings, all close to the Karakoram Highway.
What is the oldest building in Hunza?
Altit Fort, whose Shikari tower is around 1,100 years old, the oldest monument in Gilgit-Baltistan. Parts of Baltit Fort are thought to date from around the 8th century, but most of what you see is later rebuilding.
What is the highest mountain visible from Hunza?
Rakaposhi, at 7,788 metres, is the great peak seen from the valley floor. Higher summits such as Distaghil Sar lie deeper in the range and are not visible from the road.
Can I visit Hunza in a day?
Not properly. Karimabad, Attabad and Passu alone need more than a day, and most visitors spend at least three nights; see our Hunza in one day guide if time is really short.
