Astore District

Astore (Urdu: ضلع استور‎) is one of the ten districts of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. The district contains the Astore Valley (with the town of Astore) and is bounded to the west by Diamer District (from which it was separated in 2004), 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.

Astore District ضلع استور
District
The Rama Valley near Astore
map of Gilgit-Baltistan (in yellow) whereas Astore district location is orange colored .
Country	Pakistan
Region	Gilgit-Baltistan
Area
• Total	5,092 km^2 (1,966 sq mi)
Population  (1998)
• Total	71,666
Time zone	UTC+5 (PST)
Number of Tehsils	2
Website	http://visitgilgitbaltistan.gov.pk/astore/district-astore/

The valley

Main article: Astore Valley

A way leading to Astore

The Astore valley has an area of 5,092 km² and an altitude of 2,600 metres (8,500 ft). The valley has an approximately 250 square kilometres (97 sq mi) of glacier cover.[1] The nearest glacier after entering the valley is Harcho [2] and the most easily accessible glacier is Siachen.[3]

Minimarg village in Astore

Domel valley in Astore

Rainbow Lake in Astore

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 143 kilometres (89 mi) from Skardu city[4], but it is can not be use from November to June due to heavy snowfall and second way, for all seasons, is via Jaglot 128 kilometres (80 mi) from Gilgit city.[5]

History

According to the Imperial Gazetteer of India, around 1600:

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 Skārdu, Astor, Rondu, and Kharmang respectively, and from them are descended the families of the present chiefs of those places. The independence of Astor ceased at the Dogra conquest.[6]

Climate

Astore valley has a moderate climate during summer. In winter it can snow up to 2 to 3feet (60-90;cm) in the main valleys and up to 4-5;feet (100;150;cm) in the mountains. In Mirmalik valley it snows up to 6 feet (1.8 m) 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 (Gilgit-Baltistan) Dr. Shama Khalid belonged to Astore District.[7]

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 (Jeeps, taxis, wagons, SUVs) and hire jeeps and SUVs at affordable prices. The most used vehicles are Jeeps and SUVs with a local preference for Pajeros and Landcruisers.

References

1. 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
2. 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
3. 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.
4. "Distance from Skardu via Deosai Plains". Google Maps. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
5. "Distance from Gilgit via Jaglot". Google Maps. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
6. Gilgit - Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 12, p. 239 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.
7. "Individual district profile link, 2015". Alif Ailaan. Archived from the original on 2016-03-26. Retrieved 2015-05-07.