Balti Cuisine, The Local Food You Have to Try in Skardu

Balti food reflects the region's high-altitude climate and its historic trade links with Central Asia and Tibet, hearty, warming dishes built around wheat, dairy, apricots and mountain herbs.

Dishes to try

• Prapu, a traditional Balti bread, often served with local butter
• Balti momos, dumplings showing the region's cultural links to Tibet and Central Asia
• Apricot soup, a subtly sweet, warming dish unique to the apricot-growing valleys
• Butter tea (gur gur chai), a salty, buttery tea common across high-altitude Himalayan regions, an acquired taste worth trying at least once
• Kisir, a hearty buckwheat pancake, often eaten with local honey or butter

Where to try it

Skardu Bazaar has several local eateries serving genuine home-style Balti food rather than tourist-adjusted menus. Many hotels (Riwaaj Hotel, Kesar Palace) also serve a mix of Balti and standard Pakistani/Chinese dishes if you want to ease in gradually.

A tip for first-timers

Apricots show up everywhere in Baltistan, dried, as juice, in soup, as oil, largely because they grow abundantly in the region's orchards and have been a dietary staple for generations. Don't skip apricot season (August to September) if you want to try them fresh.