Surmo

Surmo سرمو
Surmo Location in Pakistan
Coordinates:
Country	Pakistan
Province	Gilgit Baltistan
District	Ghangche
Elevation	8,532.504 ft (2,600.707, m)
Population
• Total	10,000
Time zone	PST (UTC+5)
• Summer (DST)	GMT+6 (UTC+6)

Surmo Valley (Urduوادی سرمو) is a valley in Ghangche District, in Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. Etymologically, the name "Surmo" is derived from "Sermo", "Ser" means gold and "mo" is a suffix used to feminise the word.

Location

File:Surmo farms.jpg

Surmo farms, beauty at its peak.

File:Marvellous view of Surmo Broq.jpg

Marvellous view of Surmo Broq

Surmo is located approximately 12 km from Khaplu. Its neighborhoods are Choghogrong, Tarkari, Khar, Gond, Langkhung, Tishari and Ghazi-Thang, containing 800 houses and approximately 10,000 people. Cultural symbols include Rgyalmo Khar, Shagharun khar and Minduq Sar (flower garden).

History

Surmo is one of the oldest valleys of Baltistan. It contains 150 years old walnut trees. In 1996 stupas were found here. Local people called this place Rgyalmo Khar (a Queen's palace).

Geography

Geographically Surmo is an important region with respect to military and transportation networks. Its biggest bridge, Surmo Bridge, links Siachen region with the district headquarter Khaplu, as well as Chorbat Valley, making this valley strategically important.
Surmo was formerly a fertile and prosperous area. A well-known local expression was "Surmo ma drang na gar ma drang" ("If your stomach is not full or stuffed in Surmo, there is no other place it would be.") The shift in flow of the Shyok river caused considerable damage, the slow and steady kind of devastation that resulted in landslides. The river ate lot of fields, after almost a century or so its now the remaining 20% of the fields that are on the river side, the most cultivated fields cut off due to flood in Shyok river. Surmo Broq, the fields that are located some hundreds of feet above the valley, is one of the beautiful Broqs in Baltistan. Ringbothang, a newly cultivated land near the bridge, is another source of earning and farming. Another enormous uncultivated land of Surmo is called Tunga which is opposite to Lunkha on the other side of Shyoke river.

Welfare Organizations

People of Surmo are considered as one of the well organized and educated people in Baltistan. "Aga Khan Development Network" and "Anjumane Falah o Behbood Surmo" is one of the oldest welfare organizations of Baltistan working in the region for the welfare and development of the locals for many decades.
The young generation of the Surmo is struggling in education and dreams Surmo as a well developed village in future, youth organization "Skarchan" is playing vital role in various fields of life like health care, education as well as for better environment of the area.