Baltit Fort Anyway, I woke at 0555 in Karimabad and did an early morning walk to Baltit Fort around 0615.  I remember the place fondly and didn’t want to miss it this trip, even though my visit would be only from the outside.  But it is the view that is spectacular, so I was happy. […]

Attabad Lake Today was meant to be an easy day or a spare day in case things had gone wrong en route due to road conditions.  I had allowed time to go to Baltit Fort but Faisal had other plans. To ensure that we get to Sost early tomorrow, in order to secure our bus […]

Hopper Glacier We left in the Corolla at 0830 and attempted to fill it up at a petrol station.  There was no petrol available at the first station and we had to try a second.  Faisal speculated that they had stopped sales at the first as a price hike was anticipated tomorrow. Leaving town, we […]

Above:  Meeting point of the Hindu Kush, Karakoram and Himalaya ranges, and the Gilgit and Indus rivers. Driving to Karimabad Today, we drive to Karimabad in Hunza.  With a reasonably long day ahead, we needed an earlier start that the previous days.  Unfortunately, the hotel buffet breakfast was running late.  However, it was worth the […]

Above:  People (circled) walking on the dry river bed. On the other side of the Indus It was another leisurely start at 0930 today in excellent weather. We crossed the bridge across Indus River by car and handing over our paper work at the checkpoint. Ashfaq took us for a drive on the pale grey […]

Indus River Today we had a relaxing start, leaving the hotel at 0930.  We stopped at some pharmacies on the way, then at a viewpoint to look at the broad expanse of the Indus River. The Indus starts in Tibet/China and runs through Kashmir and Ladakh in India, then various parts of Pakistan before discharging […]

Crossing the Deosai Plateau We woke for sunrise at 0600 but the Nanga Parbat range was slightly obscured by clouds today.  With a long day’s drive ahead, we had an early breakfast at 0630 before departing at 0700. About 45 mins after a leaving, we made a wrong turn but fortunately that wasn’t rectified too […]

With the early night, I woke at 0300.  Sunrise was at 0600 and Ashfaq had told me to expect a golden view of Nanga Parbat. I went upstairs for a better view and found my way up to an even higher construction zone. I waited for the sun to gradually get higher and also see […]