The Baltis are a Tibetic ethnic group who are native to the Pakistani-administered territory of Gilgit−Baltistan and the Indian-administered territory of Ladakh, predominantly in the Kargil district with smaller concentrations present in the Leh district. Outside of the Kashmir region, Baltis are scattered throughout Pakistan, with the majority of the diaspora inhabiting prominent urban centres such as Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
Balti children photographed in Tarishing, Gilgit−Baltistan in September 2008
Gilgit-Baltistan, formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative territory and consists of the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has been the subject of a dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 and between India and China since 1959. It borders Azad Kashmir to the south, the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the west, the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan to the north, the Xinjiang region of China to the east and northeast, and the Indian-administered union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to the southeast.
Image: Trekkers along with porters towards Snow Lake, over Biafo Glacier 61Km
Image: Nanga Parbat The Killer Mountain
Photograph of Kargah Buddha in Gilgit; "The ancient Stupa – rock carvings of Buddha, everywhere in the region, point to the firm hold of Buddhism for such a long time."
The last Maqpon Raja Ahmed Shah (died in prison in Lhasa c. 1845)