Carved directly into a cliff face a short distance from Gilgit, the Kargah Buddha is a large rock-relief figure dating back to the region's Buddhist era, when Gilgit sat along a branch of trade routes connecting South and Central Asia. The figure is weathered but still clearly defined, set high enough on the rock face that it can be viewed from the valley floor below. It's one of the clearest physical reminders of the region's pre-Islamic history.