Gilgit-Baltistan · 1,265 m
Hot, dusty, and covered in 2,000-year-old rock carvings.
The place
Chilas is where almost everyone driving north spends a night, mostly because it is exactly halfway. It is also one of the largest concentrations of prehistoric rock art anywhere in Asia.
There are more than 30,000 petroglyphs along this stretch of the Indus — hunting scenes, stupas, ibex, inscriptions in Brahmi and Sogdian, left by traders and pilgrims on the old route between Gandhara and Central Asia. Many will be flooded when the Diamer-Bhasha dam fills.
What people do here
01
Thalpan bridge, across the river. Go with someone who knows which rocks.
Journeys
Editor’s pick
Fairy Meadows · Gilgit-Baltistan
Five days on the north side of the ninth-highest mountain in the world — the jeep road, the meadow, Beyal and the base camp viewpoint.
$520 per person
Next 29 Aug · 5 places left
Before you go