Chiktan Khar

 Text and Photographs by Mr. Sachin Vaidya


Chiktan Khar [fort] was 16th century Balti fort of Chiktan - or the Chiktan-e-Rajikhar. I visited the fort during June 2018.



The Chiktan Khar was 17 km south from Sanjak on the Khaltse-Batalik Road and 11 km north from Khangral on the Srinagar-Leh National Highway 1D. The fort is geographically located in Kargil District of the Union Territory of Ladakh. Government Tourist Bungalow was the accommodation available.



The once majestic fort was in ruins; its nine floors were reduced to a few walls.



There was no way to climb up the fort as the slope was slippery.



Ruins were visible in the vicinity. In the past, locals reportedly used stone and wood from the fort for personal use; hence, the fort was in advance stage of decay.
A brief history of the fort was available at Wikipedia:
Chiktan Fort - Wikipedia



Human population had encroached upon the fort precincts.


I remember viewing a few artifacts (donated by the noble family who stayed at the fort in the past) at Munshi Aziz Bhat Museum of Central Asian and Kargil Trade Artefacts (Kargil).



It was time to say goodbye to Chiktan Khar. It is duty of the government to conserve the fort.

The famous Russian painter Nicholas Roerich painted the fort in 1932. The painting could be viewed at following links:

Chiktan citadel in Himalayas, 1932 - Nicholas Roerich - WikiArt.org 

Artwork Replica | Chiktan citadel in Himalayas, 1932 by Nicholas Roerich (1874-1947, Russia) | ArtsDot.com

Comments

  1. Beautiful photographs with in-depth information about Chiktan Khar Fort, Kargil Dist. Thanks Sir, for taking us on such enchanting virtual tours, as always!

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    Replies
    1. If you wish to see how the fort was a century ago, please click the link to a painting by Nicholas Roerich.

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