GOجAL

Karakorum Highway (KKH), which crosses Gojal, entering China at the Khunjerab Pass. The valleys and villages of Gojal were settled over time by people from surrounding regions. In the opinion of most researchers[citation needed], Kirghiz nomads initially used the areas in upper Gojal as winter pastures. It is said[by whom?] that later on when Wakhis migrated from Wakhan to this region. It is very difficult to determine when the Wakhis settled in Gojal. However, it is narrated[by whom?] that the earlier Wakhi migrated from Wakhan and settled in the Yishkuk (Chipursun) valley, Hussaini and later the Boiber areas of Moorkun village. It is also narrated[by whom?] that when Hunza was under the Central Government of Gilgit the Ishkook settlement was wealthy and paid cattle and other dairy products to the Raja of Gilgit. As Hunza emerged as an independent state during the early 15th century so it can be inferred that different valleys in upper Gojal were inhabited by the Wakhi speaking migrants prior to the emergence of the Hunza state. Later, the oral history holds, a catastrophic flood destroyed the Ishkook settlement during the 18th century. Since 2010, parts of the valley have been inundated by the 27 km long Attabad Lake. Gulmit is the administrative headquarters of the Gojal Tehsil, in the upper Hunza region. Gulmit is a centuries-old historic town, with mountains, peaks and glaciers. It is a tourist spot and has many hotels, shops and a museum. It is located 2,408 meters (7,900 feet) above the sea level. Gulmit consists of small hamlets called Kamaris, Odver, Dalgiram, Laksh, Kalha, Shawaran, Khor Lakhsh, Chamangul and Goze. Gulmit is home to around 4,000 people, all of them Wakhi-speakers and followers of the Ismaili sect of Shia Islam.