Haldikish Sacred Rocks

The rock is situated on a top of a hill which lies in east of Hunza River. The site is on the main Karakoram Highway (KKH) in between Ganish village and Attabad Lake. The sacred rocks (Haldeikish) are situated between the Hunza River and the Karakorum highway and a five minutes’ drive from the UNESCO enlisted village of Ganish. Near to the town of Karimabad in Hunza Valley. The Haldeikish Sacred Rocks rock is 180 meters in length and 9 meters at their highest point, the Sacred Rocks of Hunza consist of four main boulders with two stages/Portions of rock engravings and carvings. It is easily accessible from the Karakoram Highway which connects Pakistan with China. It is an isolated rock which is further divided into two portions. The lower portion is engraved by the images of Ibexes. These ibexes are shown in different situations, including being hunted. The carvings also contain Horned-Human deities playing with the ibexes. The carvings of the Ibexes are a proof of the ibex being an animal which holds cultural importance to Buddhists as well as to the region in ancient times. One of the carvings also shows the image of an ancient Chinese King. Some carvings show a Tibetan styled Stupa. The inscription mentioning Chandragupta II of Gupta Empire reads "Chandra Sri Vikramaditya conquers with a date corresponding to 419 CE. If Chandra is identified with Chandragupta, it appears that Chandragupta marched through the Punjab region, and advanced up to the country of the Vahlikas, that is Balkhin present-day Afghanistan. The Sanskrit inscriptions at the Sacred Rock of Hunza, written in Gupta script, mention the name Chandra. A few of these inscriptions also mention the name Harishena, and one inscription mentions Chandra with the epithet Vikramaditya. Based on the identification of Chandra with Chandragupta, and Harishena with the Gupta courtier Harishena, these inscriptions can be considered as further evidence of a Gupta military campaign in the area. However, this identification is not certain, and Chandra of the Hunza inscriptions could have well been a local ruler.