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Gilgit

Gilgit
گلگت
Gilt, Geelt
City
View of city
View of city
Gilgit is located in Gilgit Baltistan
Gilgit
Gilgit
Gilgit is located in Pakistan
Gilgit
Gilgit
Location in Pakistan
Coordinates: 35°55′15″N 74°18′30″E / 35.92083°N 74.30833°E / 35.92083; 74.30833Coordinates: 35°55′15″N 74°18′30″E / 35.92083°N 74.30833°E / 35.92083; 74.30833
Country  Pakistan
Province Gilgit-Baltistan
District Gilgit District
First mention 3rd Century BC
Government
 • Type MPA
 • Body Hafiz Hafeez ur Rahman
Area
 • Total 57 km2 (22 sq mi)
Elevation 1,500 m (4,900 ft)
Population (1998)
 • Total 216,760
 • Density 3,800/km2 (9,800/sq mi)
Languages
 • Official Urdu, Shina
Time zone PST (UTC+5)
PIN 1571 – 1xx
Area code(s) +943
Website gilgit.gov.pk

Gilgit (Urdu, Shina: گلگت) is the capital city of Gilgit-Baltistan, an administrative territory of Pakistan. The city of Gilgit constitutes a tehsil within Gilgit District. The city's ancient name was Sargin, later to be known as Gilit, and it is still referred to as Gilit or Sargin-Gilit by local people. In the Burushaski language, it is named Geelt and in Wakhi and Khowar it is called Gilt. Ghallata is considered its name in ancient Sanskrit literature.

Gilgit was an important city on the Silk Road, along which Buddhism was spread from South Asia to the rest of Asia. It is considered as a Buddhism corridor from which many Chinese monks came to Kashmir to learn and preach Buddhism.

Brogpas trace their settlement from Gilgit into the fertile villages of Ladakh through a rich corpus of hymns, songs, and folklore that have been passed down through generations. The Dards and Shinas appear in many of the old Pauranic lists of peoples who lived in the region, with the former also mentioned in Ptolemy's accounts of the region. Two famous Chinese Buddhist pilgrims, Faxian and Xuanzang, traversed Gilgit according to their accounts.


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