Given the region's close proximity, Skardu remained in contact with tribes near Kashgar, in what is now China's westernmost province of Xinjiang. Tibetan tantric scriptures were found all over Baltistan until about the 9th century. The Skardu region was part of the cultural sphere of Buddhist Tibet as early as the founding of the Tibetan Empire under Songtsen Gampo in the mid 7th-century CE. At an average elevation of 4,114 metres (13,497 ft), the nearby Deosai Plains form the world's second highest alpine plain. History Early history The Manthal Buddha History Board The Manthal Buddha Rock dates from the era when the region's population was Buddhist. Glaciers from the Indus and Shigar valleys broadened the Skardu valley between 3.2 million years ago up to the Holocene approximately 11,700 years ago. Active erosion in the nearby Karakoram Mountains has resulted in enormous deposits of sediment throughout the Skardu valley. The Skardu Valley, at the confluence of the Indus and Shigar Rivers, is 10 kilometres (6 miles) wide by 40 kilometres (25 miles) long. Location Map including Skardu ( DMA, 1986) After his mention, Skardu was quickly drawn into Asian maps produced in Europe, and was first mentioned as Eskerdow the map 'Indiae orientalis nec non insularum adiacentium nova descriptio' publisbed by the Dutch engraver Nicolaes Visscher II between 16. The first mention of Skardu in European literature was made by Frenchman François Bernier (1625–1688), who mentions the city by the name of Eskerdou. Mirza Haidar (1499–1551) described Askardu in the 16th-century text Tarikh-i-Rashidi Baltistan as a district of the area.

The first mention of Skardu dates to the first half of the 16th century. The name 'Skardu' is believed to be derived from the Balti word meaning 'a lowland between two high places.' The two referenced 'high places' are Shigar city, and the high-altitude Satpara Lake The Indus River running through the region separates the Karakoram from the Ladakh Range. The city is an important gateway to the eight-thousanders of the nearby Karakoram mountain range. It is situated at an elevation of nearly 2,500 metres (8,202 feet) in the Skardu Valley, at the confluence of the Indus and Shigar Rivers. Skardu serves as the capital of Skardu District and the Baltistan Division. Skardu ( Urdu: سکردو, romanized: Skardū, pronounced Balti: སྐར་དོ་་, سکر دو) is a city located in Pakistani-administered Gilgit−Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region.

Kodi 17.6 builds 2018