Skardu (Urdu: اسکردو, Balti: སྐརདུ་་ from Tibetan (Balti): skar rdo སྐར་རྡོ་ — "star stone, meteorite") is a town and capital of Skardu District, in Gilgit, Pakistan. Skardu is in the 10 kilometres (6 miles) wide by 40 kilometres (25 miles) long Skardu Valley, at the confluence of the Indus and the Shigar River. Skardu is at an altitude of nearly 2,500 metres (8,202 feet) . The town is surrounded by grey-brown coloured mountains, which hide the 8,000 metre peaks of the nearby Karakoram range.