12 day guided hike through the Himalayas and the Karakoram

Itinerary

itinerary for the 12 day guided hike through the Himalayas and the Karakoram.

DAY 1 ISLAMABAD
The morning is free to recover from your journey. In the afternoon and we offer an optional walk to the Margalla hills surrounding the capital. Later in the afternoon, the trek leaders will give a full trip briefing. We will conclude our evening with a group dinner, this will be an opportunity for everyone to get to know each other.

DAY 2 TRAVEL TO FAIRY MEADOWS
We will take an early morning flight to Gilgit The flight is about an hour and on the way you will see the foot hills of the Himalayas, leading to Nanga Parbat. We will have lunch in Gilgit and continue to Fairy Meadows. At Raikot bridge we take Jeeps over a 17km steep and narrow dirt road to Tattu village, where the hiking trail to Fairy Meadows begins. This is a well established trail and we walk through the forest on a gentle climb for about 2-3 hours.

DAY 3 NANGA PARBAT BASECAMP
The trail to basecamp passes through pine and fir forest along a stream, for about 5km. The vista finally opens up as we reach the small settlement of Beyal, there are great views of the Indus Valley and Rakaposhi. From Beyal we continue on a trail with views in all directions. The trail leads up to the moraine where a ruble covered track leads us to Nanga Parbat basecamp. The incredible peaks of Nanga Parbat form a sweeping panorama. After dinner we have time to enjoy the mountain, we turn off all lights watch the unbelievable star filled sky.

DAY 4 HIKE TO FAIRY MEADOWS
In the morning there is an option to trek to camp1 and return. The trek to camp1 is on a steep trail above the great moraine and takes about two hours, all along the trek the views are spectacular. Those who decide to stay will enjoy a leisurely morning enjoying the panoramic views, and can explore the area. Later we retrace our steps, taking an easy descending path back to Fairy Meadows where we will spend the night.

DAY 5 TRAVEL TO NAGAR
We retrace our steps, taking an easy descending path back to Fairy Meadows and then on to Jhel where we continue the drive to Raikot bridge. We stop in Gulmet for views of our next trek Rakaposhi, have a traditional chai and then continue on to Nagar where we spend the night.

DAY 6 RAKAPOSHI BASECAMP
This is a long day of hiking. We start early taking our transport to a bridge on the snout of Minapin glacier. The trail is very steep, initially rising 183m on switch backs and then easing but continuing the ascent until we reach the summer settlement of Hapakun, where we will rest for a couple hours and have lunch. We continue through forests and pastures until we get to the moraine which has been hidden from the view until this moment. You are rewarded with a panoramic view of the ridge connecting Diran and Rakaposhi peaks. We spend the night in camps.

DAY 7 RETURN TO HUNZA
We retrace our steps back to Minapin, stopping at Rakaposhi view point along the way. The path is an easy decent, we will stop for lunch and then continue on to Minapin where we will take the transport to
Hunza.

DAY 8 EXPLORE HUNZA
We will visit the 1100 years old Altit fort, the original seat of the Hunza state and the oldest monument in Gilgit-Baltistan. Our next stop is the 700 year old Baltit Fort where the Mir (title of the Hunza ruler) resided until the 1950s. For those interested there will an option to take a cooking class in Pakistani cuisine.There is also an opportunity to hike behind the fort along an irrigation channel with views of Hunza Valley, the surrounding peaks and terraced fields with views of daily life.

DAY 9 PASSU CONES AND ATTABAD
We head to “Passu Cones” also known as Cathedral Ridge a series of pointed 6,000 m peaks that are located next to the Karakoram Highway. We will enjoy some gentle trekking on the Batura Glacier after which we will hike across a suspension bridge. We then visit Attabad Lake. A massive landslide in 2010 blocked the flow of Hunza River for 5 months, and created this 12mile long lake. The village of Attabad is now under water and over 6000 people were displaced. We will take a short boat ride across the lake and relax at our lake side hotel.

DAY 10 TRAVEL TO GILGIT
We enjoy a leisurely breakfast at the lake; later where we will take our transport and drive towards Gilgit. Here we will have the chance to visit the famous Kargah Buddha, a 7th century carving of a large standing Buddha. The day is free to relax.

DAY 11 TRAVEL TO ISLAMABAD
We will take the early morning flight to Islamabad, if unable to fly we will drive the Silk Road back to Islamabad. Our private bus will be waiting at the airport to transfer us to the hotel and once we have settled in it will be time to take lunch. After lunch the rest of the day is free for independent sightseeing, shopping or to relax at the hotel.

DAY 12 ISLAMABAD
This is an additional day for sightseeing and our trip leader will arrange a group tour to see some of the local sights. We will have a group dinner with some entertainment. This is an important contingency day; incase of flight cancellation we will be arriving in Islamabad this afternoon so you should not be planning to fly out on this day.

DAY 13 ISLAMABAD AIRPORT
This morning transfer to Islamabad airport where your tour ends.