Pakistan's Karakoram Highway
Overview
Highlights
- This walking holiday is a great introduction to the pleasures of Himalayan teahouse trekking
- Relax after the moderate grade 4-day trek in the friendly lakeside town of Pokhara
- Look out for a wide variety of animal species and the rare one-horned rhino in Chitwan National Park
What's this trip about?
Itinerary
Our trip starts today in Islamabad, the cultural and financial centre of Pakistan and the nation's capital. A relatively new city - Islamabad was constructed in the 1960's to replace the former coastal capital of Karachi. Islamabad's wide, leafy boulevards and back...
We set off for the mountains today as we drive to the town of Naran, nestled in the Khagan Valley. As we leave the city and join the main highway, we will likely see a wide variety of colourful trucks transporting goods along the Friendship Highway between Pakistan an...
Leaving Naran behind this morning, we continue north through the high altitude lakes of the Lulusar National Park, before turning onto the Karakoram Highway at Talichi. Officially known as the N35 but often called the 'Friendship Highway', or more simply 'KKH', this a...
We start this morning with a drive to the Upper Rupal Valley, where we continue on foot for the five kilometre walk up to Herligkoffer Base Camp, the eastern-facing base camp on the lower slopes of the towering Nanga Parbat. The walk takes us through a lush meadow as ...
Today we have a full but rewarding day of driving ahead as we ascend out of the Astore Valley and up to the Deosai Plateau, which stands at an altitude of 4,100 metres. The plateau was awarded national park status in 1993 to aid protection of a key habitat of the Hima...
It's an early start this morning as we set off in our 4WD vehicles, first travelling to Shigar village to explore Shigar Fort and the 400 year old Amboriq Mosque. This incredible and unusual piece of Islamic architecture is constructed entirely from wood and has been ...
We set off this morning in our familiar 4WD vehicles, driving along the northern loop out of the Skardu Valley, re-joining the Karakoram Highway at Jaglot, before continuing on to Gilgit, a drive of approximately five hours. We arrive in Gilgit for lunchtime, and...
Continuing along the KKH, we drive on to the more peaceful town of Karimabad. We stop en-route at a view point that offers a panoramic vista of Rakaposhi, a peak of 7,778 metres which juts out of the landscape and towers over other nearby mountains. Upon reaching Kari...
Setting off early this morning, we head out by four-wheel drive to the Hoper Valley which contains three mighty glaciers - Hoper, Barpu and Mier. We leave behind our vehicles and continue on foot, walking for around an one and a half hours with a stop for a picnic lun...
Leaving Karimabad behind today, we travel along the Karakoram Highway before turning off and joining the main highway linking Chitral and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the west with Gilgit Baltistan in the east. The drive itself is very scenic, full of wide open landscapes fr...
Today we spend a full day exploring the Yasin Valley. This historic area is linked to a network of valleys that stretch across the north-west frontier of Pakistan and into the Wakhan Corridor region of Afghanistan/Tajikistan. Control of this region has been fought ove...
Leaving the remote valley area behind today, we head east and join the main highway once again, first crossing Babusar Pass (4,100 metres) and stopping at Lulusar Lake before we descend back down the Kaghan Valley to Naran. After checking into the hotel, there will be time for a short orientation tour of the town and its bustling main bazaar.
Meals Provided : Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Continuing to lose altitude, we drop back down to the foothills this morning, travelling through the towns of Mansehra and Abbotabad. Along the way back to the capital we will explore the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Taxila, an ancient city dating back to 3500 BC, an...
The trip ends after breakfast at our hotel in Islamabad. There are no activities planned today, so you are free to depart from Islamabad at any time. If your flight is departing later in the day, luggage storage facilities are available at our hotel. If you would l...
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The total tour cost includes the tour price (regular or promotional) and the compulsory local payment. The promotional price is subject to change. Check directly with the operator for the latest price offer. The tour operator requires you to pay only the tour price to purchase your travel. The compulsory local payment will be paid when you join the trip. All prices are based on double, twin or triple share occupancy. Solo passengers will be accommodated in a double, twin or triple room according to availability with a passenger(s) of the same gender. Single supplement only needs to be paid if the passenger does not want to share and requests their own room. Discounts can only be applied at the time of booking and cannot be added at a later date, regardless of any changes made to the original booking.
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Explore! Reviews & Ratings
Rosemary
Oct 2024
Pakistan's Karakoram Highway
A wonderful trip up into the Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindu Kush mountain ranges of Pakistan. If you are after 5* luxury, this is not the trip for you, but if you hav...
Martin
Oct 2024
Pakistan's Karakoram Highway
This was a postponed trip from 2023 and I didn't have that many preconceptions about the trip. Some friends were concerned about security and safety issues. This tur...
Ali
Oct 2024
Pakistan's Karakoram Highway
Outstanding trip. Spectacular scenery. Open Jeeps in the mountains. Painted lorries. Stunning lakes. Glaciers. Hike to base camp of 25th highest mountain in the worl...
Margaret
Sep 2024
Pakistan's Karakoram Highway
It was an amazing trip made even better by the dedication of our two guides Sajid and Jehangir. They went out their way to make sure we had everything we needed. T...
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