Ganish (also Ganesh) is a village in Pakistan. It is the oldest and first settlement on the ancient Silk Road in the Hunza Valley, and is the site of various ancient watch towers, traditional mosques, religious centers, and a reservoir. It is located 90 km and 2.5 hours traveling time from Gilgit. Ganish means gold in Brushaski.
The sub-villages of Ganish include Garelth, Chaboikushal, Shukunoshal, Gamun Ganish, Buldas and Chillganish.
Ganish is home to 4 mosques that are 300-to-400 years old.They were awarded UNESCO Heritage Award for Culture Heritage Conservation in 2002.
The Ali Gohar House in Ganish, is located next to one of the iconic shikari watchtowers of the town. A few watch towers have survived the harsh weather and collapse due to sliding towards South East. The fortified settlement has 40 feet tamurkux watch tower which was used in the past for the surveillance of surroundings especially at night’s. The settlement used to be at the high risk of attacks and looting because of its location along the ancient Silk Road. The 400-year-old house was awarded the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation in 2009.
