The Baltit Fort stands on moraines of ULTAR glacier in the central HUNZA valley, among the Karakorum range, in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan.
The rich beauty of Baltit Fort can be traced back 700 years, to AYASHO II, Mir (ruler) of HUNZA, who married Princess Shah Khatoon from GILGIT in the early 15th Century. This fort is the first ever to be restored (1990-96) by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, as a pilot project of currently on-going conservation of a number of monuments of northern Pakistan.
The Trust is also active in the restoration of monuments and historic sites in KPK and in Punjab. The Fort remains open all year round and seven days a week, with the idea of being a self-sustaining cultural center supported by the sale of entry tickets, souvenirs, and generous donations of individuals and organizations interested in the preservation of cultural and historical heritage.
In ancient times a number of small independent states existed in the Northern Areas of Pakistan. Among them, Hunza and Nagar were the traditional rival states, situated on opposite sides of the Hunza river. The rulers of these two states, known as THAM, built various strongholds as expressions of their power.
The Hunza rulers initially resided in the Altit Fort, but later, as a result of a conflict between the two sons of the ruler (Sultan), Shah Abbas and Ali Khan, Shaboos shifted to the Baltit Fort, making it the capital of Hunza. The power struggle between the two brothers eventually resulted in the death of the younger one, and Baltit Fort established itself as the seat of power in the Hunza state.
The Baltit Fort is a wood and stone structure with mud plaster. It is a three-story building, with some stores in the basement on a glacier moraine hill with man-made narrow terraces for the standing of its ancient foundations.
After consultations with the warlords of Hunza, Mir Ghazzan Khan decided to build, in the very first year of his era, a cannon in Hunza in early 1863, to face the alarming political conditions around Hunza. News coming from across the river indicated that the rival State of Nager had invited Hassan Afendi from Kashmir for crafting a cannon.
