Shigar Fort Residence

Recently Inaugarated by His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan and His excelency Generall Pervez Musharraf. Shigar Fort is a residential fort open for Tourists.

7 Days Skardu & Shigar Fort Tour.

Day 01 Assamble in islamabad and drive to Chilas on arrival overnight at Panorama Hotel or Shangri-la hotel Chilas.
Day 02 Drive to Skardu Afternoon tur of Sadpara lake & Sadpara Buddha overnight at hotel
Day 03 Drive to Shigar Overnight at Shigar Fort Residence.
Day 04 At leisure at Shigar Fort Overnight at Shigar Fort Residence
Day 05 Drive to Skardu Overnight at Hotel.
Day 06 Drive to besham Overnight at PTDC Motel
Day 07 Drive to Islamabad.

Shigar Fort in Baltistan, Pakistan, presents a new model for restoration of endangered cultural monuments in Pakistan and elsewhere in the Muslim World.

Featuring guest rooms that highlight the heritage of the region, the project is meant to bring cultural and economic objectives together in a way that sustains the operations and maintenance of the Fort while providing a catalyst for economic improvement in the area. The project is also part of the infrastructure for a new form of cultural tourism that combines accommodation at an international standard with intimate, first-hand experience of the unique natural and cultural heritage of the area.

The project is one of a series of social, cultural and economic development initiatives carried out by the Aga Khan Development Network in the Northern Areas of Pakistan since the early 1980s.

The restoration of the Shigar Fort/Palace and its conversion into the "Shigar Fort Residence," by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, builds on a process that began with the restoration of Baltit Fort (inaugurated in 1996) and the historic village of Karimabad, both in the Hunza Valley. While it builds on these earlier efforts, it also represents a pioneering approach that stresses adaptive re-use. In addition to restoration efforts, the Trust has also focused on reviving traditional skills, generating new employment opportunities and providing training in the jobs needed for a changing economy.

The Shigar project is part of a broader cultural development program that has included the restoration of two mosques and rehabilitation of the settlements of Chinpa, Halpapa and Khlingrong. Water and sanitation services to the village have been upgraded.

In the Khaplu area, the Trust has also undertaken restoration of the astana (historic tomb) of Syed Mir Muhammad, in Khanqha Settlement, and is beginning restoration of Khaplu Fort.

Baltit Fort, the Trust’s first project, was completed in 1996. The Hunza Valley settlements of Karimabad and Ganish, and projects in Baltistan, were completed in subsequent years.

The work of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture in Pakistan has won a number of awards, including the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Conservation Awards and British Airways Tourism for Tomorrow Awards. Among others, the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Conservation Award for Excellence 2004 received by the Trust’s Historic Cities Support Programme for the Baltit Fort restoration cited the following: “By demonstrating that historic structures can be saved, restored and recycled for continued use in the community, the Baltit Fort project is a model for the revitalization of historic structures throughout the northern regions of Pakistan.”