Chilas Rock Carvings: Upper Indus Visitor Guide

Along the Indus around Chilas and Thalpan, thousands of carvings and inscriptions preserve traces of travellers, pilgrims and communities who moved through the Upper Indus over many centuries.

These images include prehistoric animals and hunting scenes, Buddhist stupas and figures, human forms, symbols and inscriptions in ancient scripts. They are not one monument or the work of a single community. Instead, they form a layered historical record created during different periods.

Some carvings around Thalpan have been assigned to prehistoric periods, while important Buddhist groups at the Chilas sites date broadly from the early centuries CE into the first millennium. Official archaeological records identify Buddhist imagery, stupas and inscriptions written in scripts including Kharoshthi and Brahmi. doam.gov.pk

I visited Chilas while travelling through Gilgit-Baltistan and found that these remarkable carvings receive far less explanation and protection than their historical importance deserves.

Table of Contents

The main rock-art sites around Chilas

Buddhist and later periods. It is considered one of the most important rock-art concentrations in the Upper Indus.

Chilas I–IV contain different groups of carvings and inscriptions. Their documented images include stupas, Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, animals, human figures and religious scenes. Some inscriptions preserve personal names and devotional expressions.

Shing Nala, approximately 30 kilometres east of Chilas, contains hundreds of carvings and inscriptions, including numerous stupas and seated Buddha images. doam.gov.pk

Their variety shows that this section of the Indus Valley was used repeatedly by local communities, travellers and Buddhist pilgrims over a very long period.

Unlike the monumental figure carved into the cliff at the Jahanabad Buddha in Swat, many Buddhist images around Chilas appear among larger collections of inscriptions, stupas, animals and human figures.

Chilas Distance from Islamabad

Chilas lies on the Karakoram Highway and is commonly used as an overnight stop on longer journeys towards Gilgit and Hunza. My Islamabad-to-Hunza road-trip guide provides broader context for planning this journey.

Babusar Pass is a seasonal route and can close because of snow or unsafe conditions. Travellers should verify current road conditions instead of relying on fixed journey times.

Chilas Rock Petroglyphs

Keeping its history as a junction point, it’s no wonder that there are ancient Chilas rock carvings and petroglyphs etched on both banks of the river Indus, dating back to several thousand years BC.

Some of these carvings are messages in some ancient script for caravans following behind the lead one; Hence, the name ‘talking rocks’ of Thalpan.

History of Chilas Rock Pictures

Chilas occupied a strategic position along routes through the Upper Indus. The inscriptions and images demonstrate contact between different people and religious traditions, although the purpose of every individual carving cannot now be determined.
Some inscriptions record names or religious dedications, while others remain difficult to interpret. Their presence should therefore be described as evidence of movement, communication and devotion—not as definite proof of a particular caravan routine.

Travellers interested in Pakistan’s wider Buddhist heritage can compare these carvings with the excavated monastic complexes at Takht-i-Bahi and Jaulian near Taxila. Chilas preserves images on a travelling landscape, whereas these other sites preserve the architectural spaces in which Buddhist communities lived and studied.

Chilas Fort

Even the British built a sturdy fort here to keep a watchful eye on people’s movement.

How to visit responsibly

Many Upper Indus carvings are exposed to weather, construction, vandalism and accidental damage. Visitors should treat the rocks as archaeological objects rather than ordinary viewpoints.

Never scratch, chalk, paint or wet a carving to make it clearer.
Do not take rubbings or attempt to clean the rock.
Do not climb over carved surfaces or move nearby stones.
Photograph carvings in low-angle morning or evening light.
Use an informed local guide when possible.
Avoid publishing the precise location of vulnerable, unprotected carvings.
Report damage or suspicious digging to the relevant archaeology or tourism authority.

Photographs preserve far more detail when the sunlight falls across the surface rather than directly onto it.

Images of Chilas Rock Carvings

One such carving shows a tall hunter wearing a skirt and a raised sword with his kill in his hand.

Another one depicts a trade caravan with horses, women, and children. Identical images on both sides of Indus indicate that these were messages for their own people. One huge boulder with an image of Buddha overlooking a sacred pond acted as a make-shift temple for these travelers.

Stone Carvings of Hunza

Also see, Stone Carvings at Heldikesh at Hunza. It tells the story of a prince and his conquest. This stone carving seems a lot older than the rest as there is no script written below them.

Stone Carvings in Gilgit Baltistan

Overall there are some 40,000 different pieces of writings/carving around Gilgit Baltistan (GB). As GB was relatively better connected to China and Ladakh, Buddhism seemed to be the dominant religion till the 1400s.

It’s only after the British were adamant to develop the Babusar crossing, did we have better access from the South. Islam came to the regions through Islamic preachers from Iran/Iraq that dared the mountain passes of K-2, Siachen, Kargil, and Khunjerab.

Ancient Scripture at Khaplu

I saw a flowery script of Sanskrit on a rock face in the heart of Ganche valley at Khaplu (I wish someone could decipher it for me). There are more Buddha images carved on a mountain face on one of the gorges of Khaplu as well.

protected from outside invaders by huge mountains, but still local Rajas kept their people subservient by building forts to lord over them.

Of the five GB valleys, I visited all these had forts, Palaces and Rock Carvings

Gilgit,
Skardu
Khaplu,
Yasin
Shigar
Kharmang,
Gahkuch

Across the Kohistan mountain ridge, at about 100 miles from Chilas, we have the Buddhist rock carvings of Swat Valley as well.

This shows that this religion pervaded northern Pakistan for several centuries.

Conclusion

The Chilas rock carvings are not merely roadside curiosities. Together with the sites at Thalpan and Shing Nala, they form a remarkable visual archive of the Upper Indus.
Their prehistoric images, Buddhist stupas, human figures and ancient inscriptions demonstrate how many generations passed through and interacted with this landscape. What the area needs now is careful documentation, clear visitor information and protection—not treasure stories or uncontrolled construction.
Chilas deserves to be understood as an archaeological landscape rather than simply an overnight stop on the road to northern Pakistan.