Cast in the extraordinary drama of the massive glacier that drapes over Ultar Peak (24,239ft) and enveloped in a cobalt blue sky, Baltit Fort has been the capital of the Kingdom of Hunza for more 750 years. While there are a labyrinth of mountain passes leading into China, Afghanistan, Kashmir, Central Asia and India, only the valley created by the Hunza River cuts across the spine of the Karakoram Range. Here the pristine white, snowed-upon peaks reach skyward, while the verdant, terraced hillsides lead from the river bottom to the snow-line, creating a rugged texture unlike any other part of the world. It was in these isolated passes of the Hindu Kush, Karakoram and Pamir Ranges that the deadly struggle for control of trade and local tribes, became the infamous imperial duel between Tsarist Russia and the Victorian Britain, known as the Great Game.