Gilgit DistrictSustainable

Kargah Buddha & Rock Art Tour

Explore ancient Buddhist rock carvings and 10,000-year-old petroglyphs in the Gilgit Valley.

Sustainability Impact

Guides are trained through the Archaeological Survey, providing skilled employment. Fees support ongoing site preservation and documentation. All sites are observed from designated viewing areas to prevent damage to ancient carvings. We support efforts to protect these UNESCO-potential sites.

Highlights

7th-century Kargah Buddha carving

Ancient petroglyphs up to 10,000 years old

Silk Road archaeological sites

Expert archaeological interpretation

Scenic Gilgit River valley views

What's Included

Archaeological expert guide

Transportation

Site entrance fees

Detailed guidebook

Refreshments

Your Local Guide

Dr. Aisha Mir

18 years guiding experience • Archaeology & ancient history

I left Gilgit to study archaeology, thinking I'd work in museums far away. But when I came back and saw those 10,000-year-old carvings, I realized - this is my home's story, and it's being forgotten. My grandmother used to tell me stories about the Buddha carving, how her grandmother's grandmother saw it when it was still being made. Now I spend my days protecting these stones, teaching people what they mean. Every scratch, every symbol - they're messages from people who lived here long before us. I'm just the translator, helping you hear their voices.

About This Experience

Travel back through millennia of human history on this archaeological journey through the Gilgit Valley. Your first stop is the Kargah Buddha, a 7th-century rock carving of a standing Buddha figure – a testament to the region's Buddhist past before the arrival of Islam.

Continue to discover the incredible rock art galleries along the ancient Silk Road. These petroglyphs, some dating back 10,000 years, depict hunting scenes, ibex, snow leopards, and mysterious geometric symbols. Your expert guide, trained in local archaeology, will decode these ancient messages and explain the various civilizations that passed through this crossroads of cultures.

Visit the Gilgit Manuscript site, where one of the world's oldest Buddhist manuscripts was discovered, now housed in museums worldwide. This half-day tour offers a profound connection to the layers of human history embedded in these mountains.