Khaplu
The palace road to the Hushe peaks.
Khaplu, 103 km east of Skardu along the Shyok river, is Baltistan's second old kingdom: a 19th-century palace (now a Serena heritage residence), the 700-year-old Chaqchan mosque, and the last town before the Hushe valley — gateway to Masherbrum, Laila Peak and the Gondogoro La. It's the quiet luxury of the region: fewer visitors, deeper history.
The drive alone justifies Khaplu — two hours tracing the Shyok's braided turquoise between apricot villages, Masherbrum (7,821 m) sliding in and out of side-valley view. The palace at the end of it is the finest building in Baltistan: four storeys of carved poplar and stone, restored to a fifteen-room residence where the royal balcony now serves breakfast.
Khaplu is also the connoisseur's base: day-walks to Thoksikhar viewpoint, the Chaqchan mosque's timber geometry, and up-valley, Hushe — the village that has produced more high-altitude porters and Everest/K2 summiteers per capita than anywhere on earth.
In and around Khaplu
Beds worth the altitude
Khaplu, asked and answered
Is Khaplu worth adding to a Skardu trip?
If you liked Shigar Fort, Khaplu Palace is its grander sibling with a tenth of the foot traffic. One night minimum; photographers and history readers routinely wish they'd taken two.