The northern areas of Pakistan are home of some of world's largest mountain chains,the Karakoram,the Hindukush and
the Himalayas.Here also lie some of the world's longest glaciers outside the polar regions.Baltistan was an independent state but was
occupied by the Maharaja of Kashmir in the 19th century.Predominantly the Baltis are a Buddhist race of Tibetan descent.It is often known as
"Little Tibet".The Baltis speak an archaic Tibetan of the 7th century. The region is home to the world's second highest peak and several other
8000 metre peaks,the Baltis claim that the game of Polo originates from Baltistan.
From ancient times Chitral was an important point
on the trade route from Northern Afghanistan and the Tarin Basin to the plains of Gandhara.The ruling family of Chitral traces its decent
from Baba Ayub disciple of the saint Kamal Shah Tabraizi.Ayub was a son of Fareid Hussain,tenth son of Shah Abdul Ghazi of Khorasan.A British
garrison sent from Gilgit to over see the smooth transition of power to the heir after a ruler was murdered was besieged in Chitral fort for over
a month in 1895.The region has a moderate climate during summer and extreme winter conditions with snow upto 6 inches or more in the mountains.It can
snow upto 3 feet in February.Himalayan Ibex and Karakuram blue sheep can be hunted in this region from November until April
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