Ganish Fort

Introduction of Ganish

The oldest and first settlement on ancient Silk rout in Hunza. You may see different old watch towers, old traditional mosques, religious centers and a reservoir. Some people call this village the land of warriors and king makers because people of this village had been involved in battles with Nagar and in decision making during the royal era of Hunza.

Ganish village is located on flat land near the Hunza River and the Hunza hill at an altitude of 7,500 ft. Though it has several new Khuns (clusters), Bitan Khun, Suni Khun, Buldus, Ganish Shukonoshal, Chaboikushal and Tsill Ganish, Ganish Khun is the oldest. The original layout of Ganish Khun is mostly intact, even after damage caused by a flood in 1960 and the construction of the KKH through it in the 1970's. Garnish’s existing historic fabric is a typical central Hunza Khun layout, which comprises of 39 houses dating back to the 15th entury.

This fabric contains a number of buildings (Imam-bargah, Himaltar and Shikaris Sawab-Ha, mosques, schools, guest house etc) and open spaces that are outstanding in their spatial layout, architecture and decoration. Ancient chinar’s, mulberry and willow trees testify to the age of the settlement. Specially of this village is S shape road which cuts the village through its heart,old sacred rocks of Ganish are also located near this village.

The village’s surroundings consist of thousand of year’s old meticulously constructed terrace houses, lush green agricultural terraces, orchards and meadows. The orchards and meadows terrace down to the Hunza River and create a most beautiful form of landsca.


History of Fort

A few years ago there were 14 ancient watch towers built to defend the village from attack, but now only three of them are standing in good condition.

The people of Ganish used to be famous for their raids against Nagyr. In the 19th century this was Hunza’s main stronghold against Ismailism, and today it’s an integrated Shiite-Ismail community. It’s Hunza-Nagyr’s oldest settlement with an ancient village centre bursting with rejuvenated classic Hunza architecture.

The living historic village, popularly known as Ganish Khun, is about one thousand years old, with a small community working towards improving its quality of life. With the spread of Islam, the Yarikutz, the Rupikutz, the Kuyokutz and the Mamorokutz - the then leading families of the area - constructed four mosques and watch towers dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries. These unique structures, which were decaying owing to the ravages of time and lack of financial and technical resources, have been restored to some of their old glory with the assistance from Norway and Spain, through the Aga Khan Cultural Services Programme (AKCSP).

Caravans from Central Asia and China used to stay in this village because Ganish lies on the ancient Silk Route. Traces still can be seen on the Karakorum Highway near Ganish Bridge, and are nowadays known as the Sacred Rocks of Hunza.

Loucation of Ganish

Ganish is situated in central Hunza, 90 km and 2½ hours traveling time from Gilgit. It is located on flat land near he Hunza River and the Hunza hill at an altitude of 7,500 ft, and lies directly below Karimabad, the principal town of the Hunza valley. Spreading over the mountain, opposite the world famous Rakaposhi Peak in Nagar across the Hunza river from Hunza, Karimabad is renowned for the Altit and Baltit Forts, built by the rulers of this former princely state.

Unesco heritage distinction award for Ganish

The award of distinction for the year 2002 has been given to Ganish, a small settlement in central Hunza in the Northern Areas, for preserving four historical mosques. In all, 142 entries from 37 Asia-Pacific countries competed for the Award, bringing to world attention the high quality of conservation work being done around the region.

Richard Engelhardt, the Unesco regional adviser on culture for Asia-Pacific, presented the award to the community at a ceremony at Ganish, some 110 kilometers off Gilgit, on Saturday last.

In awarding the prize to the Ganish project, the panel of judges cited: "The restoration of four 300-year old wooden mosques in Pakistan's Hunza Valley has successfully revitalized the village "Chataq", the traditional public heart of the Ganish historic settlement. Initiated and undertaken by the villagers, with professional guidance, the project has rebuilt community spirit in a rural village which has undergone major socio-economic change and natural disasters over the years.

The award, established in 2000, is given in recognition of the efforts and contributions of individuals and organizations that have successfully restored and conserved structures and buildings of heritage value in the Asia-Pacific region. The programme aims at promoting conservation of the region's architectural heritage, which is threatened by unchecked development, neglect, or inappropriate reuse.

Ganish Khun is now seen as a model village, inspiring other settlements of the area to follow suit, thus substantiating nesco's belief that recognizing successful preservation efforts helps spur additional projects within the same community, advocating the culture of preservation and conservation through the use of appropriate conservation techniques and approaches.

Project History

Inspired by the Karimabad village conservation project coordinated by the AKCSP, the elders of Ganish approached the AKCSP and requested they oversee a similar project in Ganish. Together with the AKCSP, the Ganish community developed a plan to upgrade services and generally restore the built environment in Ganish Khun. As part of the wider village conservation plan, a project was designed which specifically aimed to restore the four mosques and chataq area.

Project Scope and Frame Work

The project set out to restore the mosques to a useable and structurally-sound state and to improve the courtyard area (Chataq). The main aim was to enable reutilization of the mosques, strengthen community cohesion and to revitalize the function of the Chataq as a gathering place for community meetings and festivals. The restoration project sought to stabilize the mosques while retaining the traditional style, historic fabric and decorative details of the buildings. In addition to restoring the mosques, the project aimed to make necessary alterations to a number of residential buildings around the courtyard in order to reinstate the original layout and ambiance of the Chataq. Meetings were also planned with owners of buildings bordering the Chataq to ensure that any private renovations and additions to the buildings they had in mind would be made in keeping with the style of the ancient chataq area and to make certain that views from the courtyard of the surrounding countryside would not be disturbed.

Conservation On Methodology and Materials

Conservation activities in the village began with the sanitation and services project in 1996. A storm water drainage system, an underground electricity distribution network and a new piped water system were installed and the entire street network was repaved with the original type of stone. In the Chataq area, restoration activities began in 1999 and during that year the mosques were restored one by one, electric cables were put underground in the courtyard and the Chataq was repaved. In addition, a number of modifications were made to surrounding residential buildings. The mosques were leaning and were structurally unsound. In realigning the mosques, the heavy earth-covered roofs were removed to lighten the load on the timber structure and the mosques were carefully shifted into a vertical position and pegged with timber dowels to ensure structural stability. The traditional roofs were then replaced using new soil, compacted by foot in the traditional manner. Inappropriate additions and structures were removed from the Chataq area and mosques, such as the electricity tower that had been constructed in the centre of the verandah of Mamurukutz mosque.

Once the Chataq had been restored it began to be used once again for its original purpose, for meetings and public gatherings. By gathering in the Chataq, the community members could not but become more conscious and proud of the beauty and value of their ancient heritage. Community spirit and cohesiveness grew and in the spring of 2001, the thirty-odd households of Ganish met in the Chataq and resolved to establish the Ganish Khun Heritage, Social and Welfare Society (GKHSWS) in order to manage the conservation and ongoing maintenance of the village’s heritage resources. Project Sustainability and Viability.

Project Impact

The project has restored a sense of unity and the project has preserved the built heritage of this small mountainous village and has transformed the community by strengthening community pride and giving Ganish a strong cultural identity. As a result, the community is also now better equipped to sustain ably conserve their heritage.

With initiation and very active participation by the community, this project is now leading the process of the establishment and consolidation of community-wide institutions and is a role model for managing community assets. The restoration of Ganish Village is particularly good and won a Unesco Asia Pacific Heritage Award. While Baltit Fort shows how the cream of society lived, Ganish shows another side of traditional Hunza life. Behind a shaded, tranquil tank are several richly carved wooden mosques, 100 to 200 years old, the restoration of which clinched the award.

Sacred Rocks at Ganish

Sacred Rocks at Ganish is about 1.5 km east on the KKH at a place called Haldekush are several stony rises. The rocks, with pictures and inscriptions from as early as the 1st century, are a 'guest book' of the valley. In addition to local traditions, they tell of Buddhist pilgrims, kings of the Kushan empire, a 6th-century Chinese ambassador, 8th-century Tibetan conquerors and even KKH workers. This large rock has many carvings from different eras and in varying scripts.a rich cultural experience.