SHIGAR FORT
Shigar fort is built upon a huge rock therefore it is locally known as fongkhar, the fort on the rock. The
Fongkhar is at a height of 2250 Metres, located in the emerging township of Shigar on the route to the Baltoro glacier and the famous 8000 metre peaks of K-2 Gasherbrum and Broad peak, 28 k/m from Skardu the principal town in Baltistan. The Fongkhar is located on the right bank of shigar stream, which divides Shigar into two main portions and flows into the Shigar river which then joins the Indus river near Skardu. The area in which fongkhar is built is called Nanglonpa in the lap of the rock tower on which the main stronghold of the Amachas (the ruling dynasty) of Shigar was situated and now only some ruins are left. According to various writers and the present raja Hassan khan the 20th ruler of the Amacha dynasty constructed fongkhar. The Amacha dynasty has its origins in the Hamacha tribe of Ganish Hunza and it is most likely that a young man from Hunza with the name of Amacha came to Shigar using the then passageway across the Hispar glacier the Nunshik pass and the Arundo valley. Some writers believe that as the Hamacha tribe was massacred in Hunza some members of that tribe manage to flee to shigar where they gained power and got recognized as the Amacha in the 13th -14th century. Hassan khan ascended the throne in 1634, and with the permission of the Moghuls brought various artisans including shawlweavers, carpenters, goldsmiths, stone- carvers from Kashmir to Shigar. The Fongkha was a huge cribbage structure of three stories built on a massive platform using the huge rock as its foundation. Now it is in a state of shambles and disrepair, the present raja Mohammad Ali shah did not have the wherewithal to repair and maintain it. In 1999 the raja of Shigar gifted the fort into the public domain and AKCSP initiated emergency repair work in 99. This fort after restored will be used as and exclusive guesthouse and museum. The work will complete in the year of end 2003.
SHIGAR FORT
