Skardu (Urdu: اسکردو‎, Balti: སྐརདུ་་ from Tibetan: སྐར་རྡོ་, THL: skar rdo "stony meteorite") is a town and the capital of Skardu District in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. Skardu is located in the 10 kilometres (6 miles) wide by 40 kilometres (25 miles) long Skardu Valley, at the confluence of the Indus and Shigar Rivers.[1] Skardu is at an altitude of nearly 2,500 metres (8,202 feet). The town is surrounded by grey-brown coloured mountains beyond which lay the eight-thousanders of the nearby Karakoram.[citation needed]