# Baltit Fort, Gilgit-Baltistan

> Baltit Fort is a hill-top fort and palace about 700 years old, restored in the 1990s and now a museum with a view over the whole valley.

- **Page:** https://hunzaexplorer.com/destinations/gilgit-baltistan/hunza-valley/central-hunza/baltit-fort
- **Type:** Historic site
- **Province or region:** Gilgit-Baltistan
- **Part of:** Central Hunza (https://hunzaexplorer.com/destinations/gilgit-baltistan/hunza-valley/central-hunza)
- **Best season:** March to November

Baltit grew from a small tower into a fort as the rulers of Hunza added rooms over the centuries. The Mirs lived here until the 1940s, when they moved to a palace lower down the hill. By the 1980s the fort was in poor condition. The Aga Khan Trust for Culture restored it, and it now holds a museum of Hunza life.

Allow about an hour and a half. The visit is a climb through narrow stairs and low doorways, rewarded at the top with one of the best views in the valley.

## Highlights

- The wooden balconies and the upper roof terrace
- The royal kitchen and the throne room
- Views of Rakaposhi, Ultar Sar and the valley floor

## Seasons in Gilgit-Baltistan

- **Spring (March to April):** Apricot and cherry blossom in the lower valleys, mostly in April. The higher villages are still cold and the high passes are closed.
- **Summer (May to September):** The main season. Every valley is open, and this is the time for trekking, Deosai, the Khunjerab Pass and the K2 approach.
- **Autumn (October to November):** Golden leaves in the orchards and the clearest light of the year. Nights are cold and the first snow reaches the high valleys in November.
- **Winter (December to February):** Cold and quiet. Hunza and Gilgit stay reachable by road, but the high valleys and passes are closed.