G-B bans hotel construction around lakes

The administration in Gilgit-Baltistan will ban for five years the construction of new hotels around picturesque lakes in the north that attract tens of thousands of tourists each year, a government agency said.

Unregulated construction of hotels in G-B — which boasts around 13,000 glaciers, more than any other country outside the polar regions — has sparked major concerns about environmental degradation.

The natural beauty of the region has made it a top tourist destination, with towering peaks looming over the Old Silk Road, and a highway transporting tourists between cherry orchards, glaciers, and ice-blue lakes.