Yasin Valley

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yasin Valley is a high mountain valley in the Hindu Kush mountains, in the northwest region of Gilgit in northern areas (North Kashmir). Yasin is separated from the Ishkoman Valley by a high mountain pass.

Yasin was originally ruled by the Khushwakhte Dynasty, a collateral line of the Katur Dynasty of Chitral. The Rajas of Yasin were great warriors and fought against the Sikhs and the Dogras of Kashmir, but this house eventually lost power and the ownership of Yasin changed hands several times between the rule of the Mehtar of Chitral, and the Maharaja of Kashmir. Although sparsely populated, Yasin was important because it leads to a high mountain pass, to Yarkhun in Chitral, and then to Broghol Pass, the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan, and into Tajikistan. Thus, Yasin could have formed an invasion route from Czarist Russia into India.

The primary language of Yasin Valley is the Khowar language. The Burushaski language is also spoken.

To reach Yasin one must take the Karakoram Highway north from Islamabad, and then turn left to reach Gupis in Ghizar. After Gupis, one continues northwest to reach the Yasin Valley.