Khaplu Palace

The palace was built around 1840 for the raja of Khaplu, replacing an older fort on the slope above, and it is the best surviving example of Baltistan's distinctive architecture: a four-storey structure of stone, mud and poplar timber, with carved wooden balconies, latticed screens and a central hall lit from above, blending Tibetan, Kashmiri and Central Asian influences. By the 1990s it was close to collapse. A restoration completed in 2011 by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture used traditional materials and local craftsmen, and won international recognition; the building now works as a heritage hotel with a museum section open to visitors. The setting is exceptional, on a terrace above the Shyok valley with the Karakoram behind, and the surrounding town keeps its old mosques and irrigation channels.

History

The Yabgo Raja Daulat Ali Khan built the palace in 1840 to replace the old fort nearby as the seat of government; tradition says the site was chosen by rolling a large stone down from a cliff and building where it stopped, at the village of Doqsai. From 2005 to 2011 the Aga Khan Trust for Culture restored it, and it now holds a hotel and a museum of the history and culture of Baltistan (Wikipedia, Khaplu Palace).

The main sights

• The timber facade - carved balconies and lattice screens on the main front.
• The central hall - the top-lit assembly room at the heart of the building.
• Museum rooms - displays on Balti culture and the restoration.
• The valley terrace - views over the Shyok and the mountains beyond.

When to go

April to October, when the road from Skardu is reliably open and the orchards are in leaf or fruit. Blossom in April is a good time. Winter is cold and access can be interrupted by snow, though the hotel operates.

Good to know

The museum section is small and the rest of the building is a working hotel with restricted access for non-guests. Interpretation is limited. The road from Skardu takes several hours on rough surfaces. Khaplu itself has few other facilities.

Nearby

Chaqchan Mosque is in the town; Hushe valley runs north towards Masherbrum.

Key facts