Baltit Fort            

Baltit Fort or Balti Fort is an old fortification in the Hunza valley in the Northern Areas of Pakistan. 

In previous times survival of the feudal administrations of Hunza was guaranteed by the noteworthy Baltit fortification, that sit on top of Karimabad. The establishments of the post are said to go once more around 700 years, however there have been remakes and modifications through the hundreds of years. In the sixteenth century the Thum wedded a princess from Baltistan who brought expert Balti specialists to remodel the building as a feature of her settlement. The engineering style is a reasonable evidence of Tibetan impact in Baltistan at the time. 
The Mirs of Hunza deserted the fortification in 1945, and moved to another castle down the rise. The fortress began to rot and there was worry that it may conceivably fall into ruin. Taking after a study by the Royal Geographical Society of London, a reclamation system was started and upheld by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture Historic Cities Support Program. The project was finished in 1996 and the post is presently an exhibition hall run by the Baltit Heritage Trust. 
Baltit Fort breaks the dreariness of mud-rock houses of Hunzakuts. It is arranged on the highest point of a knoll from where it ignores the entire valley. The fortress was assembled in the range of 600 years back. It is altogether made of stones, upheld by timber shafts and put over with sun-dried mud. Seniors of Hunza tell that a Balti princess was wedded with the Mir of Hunza. She brought Balti bricklayers and artisans to assemble this fortification as an endowment thing. The post remained the castle and family home of the Mirs until 1960 when a witch came to live in it. The regal family moved to another rock royal residence. The fortification has been well kept. It keeps up a gallery, library and a decent restaurant. The credit goes to  the Aga Khan Trust for Culture.      

                                                              The second carpet has family flats, banquet halls, illustrious court, arms terminal and guards` chambers. A gallery shows a captivating perspective of the valley. An alternate stepping stool takes to the top. This is the best spot to view the acclaimed top of Rakaposhi that climbs straight out of developed fields and achieves 7788 meters in the sky. Behind the fortification, the Karakoram climbs in an arrangement of needle-sharp crests. The most acclaimed of them is lady`s finger. Locals likewise call it Bulbuli`s top, after a fanciful Hunza princess. The top is steep to the point that even snow can't support on its top. Along these lines, the dark top stands interestingly with its snow secured neighbours                                                                                                                              

                          More about Baltit Fort                           

Baltit Fort, the previous habitation of the Mirs of Hunza                                                  In past times various little free states existed in the historical backdrop of Northern Areas of Pakistan. Among them Hunza and Nager were the customary opponent states, arranged on inverse sides of the Hunza (kanjut) waterway. The leaders of these two states, known as Thámo/ Mirs (Thάm=s), constructed different fortresses to express their energy. As per authentic sources (Ref: Tarikh-e-Ehd Atiiq Riyasat Hunza by Haji Qudrarullah Baig, Pub: S.t.printers Rawalpindi 1980 Pakistan), the Hunza rulers at first dwelled in the Altit Fort, yet later as an after effect of a clash between the two children of the ruler Sultan, Shah Abbas (Shάboos) and Ali Khan (Aliqhάn), Shaboos moved to the Baltit Fort, making it the capital seat of Hunza. The force battle between the two siblings inevitably brought about the passing of more youthful one, along these lines Baltit Fort further settled itself as the prime seat of force in the Hunza state.                                                                                                                                                                                     

                                                                                                             A veritable fortune house for old strongholds, the Northern Areas of Pakistan lost a large portion of its magnificent assembled legacy around the nineteenth century as an after effect of the damaging assaults by the Maharaja of Kashmir. Nonetheless, in this respect individuals of Hunza were outstandingly lucky to effectively guard against the intrusions of Maharaja Kashmir four times. One of the greatest changes in the structure of Baltit Fort accompanied the intrusion of the British in December 1891. Tham/ Mir Safdarali Khan, leader of Hunza his wazir Dadu (Thara Baig III), fled tokashgar (China) for political haven with their colleagues and families. With the triumph of Hunza and Nager states by the British drives in December 1891, the sustained divider and watch towers of the old Baltit town and watch towers of the Baltit Fort on its north-western end were additionally annihilated as wanted by the British powers. The British introduced his more youthful sibling Tham/ Mir Sir Muhammad Nazim Khan K.C.I.E, as the leader of Hunza state in September 1892.                                                                                                                            

Throughout his rule, Tham/ Mir Nazeem Khan made a few real adjustments to the Baltit Fort. He decimated various rooms of third carpet and included a couple of rooms in the British pilgrim style on the front rise, utilizing lime wash and color glass board windows. The Baltit Fort remained authoritatively possessed until 1945, when the last leader of Hunza, Mir Muhammad Jmamal Khan, moved to another royal residence further down the mount, where the present Mir of Hunza Mir Ghazanfar Ali Khan (Current Chief Executive of Northern Areas) and his family are dwelling. 

With no legitimate power endowed to watch over it, the Fort was laid open to the assaults of time and throughout the years its structure debilitated and started to fall apart. His Highness Aga Khan IV launched the rebuilding exertions for Baltit Fort in 1990, when Mir Ghazanfar Ali Khan the child of last leader of Hunza, Tham/ Mir Muhammad Jamal Khan and his family liberally gave the Fort to the Baltit Heritage Trust, an open philanthropy shaped for the unequivocal motivation behind owning and keeping up the Fort. The rebuilding embraced by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture in Geneva in acquaintanceship with the Aga Khan Cultural Service (Pakistan), took six years to finish. The undertaking was upheld by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture as the primary benefactor through its Historic Cities Support Program, and additionally by the Getty Grant Program (USA), NORAD (Norway) and the French Government. 

The restored Fort, shining in its magnificent magnificence was introduced on September 29, 1996 in the vicinity of His Highness the Aga Khan IV and the president of Pakistan Farooq Ahmad Khan Laghari. It is currently worked and kept up by the Baltit Heritage Trust and is interested in guests. Protection getting it done, the Baltit Fort serves as an impeccable illustration of society restored and safeguarded for the future eras of the mountain individuals.