Photo: Department of Archaeology & Museums, Government of PakistanField guides / Diamer Division / Fairy Meadows & Nanga Parbat / Hodar Rock Carvings
Field guide · Heritage
Diamer Division
Diamer District · Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan
Hodar Rock Carvings
Hundreds of carved boulders where the Hodar stream meets the Indus near Chilas: Sogdian inscriptions, animals and stupa drawings.
At Hodar, where the Hodar stream leaves its valley and joins the Indus, hundreds of boulders along the river carry rock carvings and inscriptions. Aurel Stein first noted them, Karl Jettmar found the carving sites in 1979, and A. H. Dani published the first overview; the German archaeological mission later recorded Sogdian inscriptions here in numbers matched only at Shatial, Thor and Oshibat. The sandy plateau by the river made a natural resting place for travellers, and the heavy patina on some of the animal and human figures shows people stopped here long before. Some carved shrines combine a stupa base with a Hindu shikhara topped by a trident.
Why go
- ✦Hundreds of carved boulders by the Indus
- ✦Sogdian inscriptions of Silk Road merchants
- ✦Shrines mixing stupa and shikhara
How to Reach
By suspension bridge across the Indus from the Karakoram Highway, near Chilas, Diamer district.
Planning tip
Best Time to Visit, March to May and September to November; the Indus valley here is very hot in summer.
Getting there, By suspension bridge across the Indus from the Karakoram Highway, near Chilas, Diamer district.
Allow, One to two hours.
What to Do
Nearby
Straight-line distance from Hodar Rock Carvings, within 5 km.
Nothing else genuinely close by (within 5 km of Hodar Rock Carvings) is published yet.
