Gilgit

Gilgit is a region in the Northern Areas of Pakistan, located within Pakistani-ruled Kashmir and bordering the Chinese region of Xinjiang. It has an area of 14,680 mi² (38,021 km²). The region is significantly mountainous, lying on the foothills of the Karakoram mountains, and has an average altitude of 1,500 m (5,000 ft). It is drained by the Indus river, which rises in the neighboring region of Baltistan.

Gilgit was ruled for centuries by the local Trakane dynasty, which came to an end in about 1810. The area descended into internecine turmoil before being occupied by the Sikhs in 1842. It was ceded to Jammu in 1846 before Gilgit's inhabitants drove their new rulers out in an uprising in 1852. The rule of Jammu was restored after a fashion in 1860 but was never fully secured. Gilgit came under British rule in 1889, when it was unified with neighboring Hunza in the Gilgit Agency. When British rule came to an end in 1947, the region was handed over to Kashmir but another local uprising led to its accession to Pakistan. Its status is today disputed between India and Pakistani-held Azad Kashmir, both of which claim them as part of the disputed state of Kashmir. Gilgit town is the chief town of the Northern Areas.