Blogs from Northern Areas, Pakistan, Asia

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Asia » Pakistan » Northern Areas » Gilgit-Baltistan November 18th 2020

Pakistan is known as a tourist heaven for the most amazing travelling sights in the world. But the most famous region for travelling is the Northern Areas of Pakistan, which was yet to be explored by me, and my dream journey came true through the platform of #PFC which supports and organizes a union of journalists' activities to create a positive impact on Pakistan by providing recreational activities, trips, dinners , conferences and seminars so the journalists could ease up from their fully occupied day to day routine. special thanks to Malik Salman President Pakistan federation of columnist who has organized this #pfc trip of media delegation to #GB and facilitate us with high end protocol. “This tour is organized to promote the culture and tourism of gilgit baltistan #GB the tourist's Heaven. From Naran to ... read more
#GBindependenceday at gilgit helipad

Asia » Pakistan » Northern Areas » Gilgit-Baltistan August 24th 2019

Day 25 Sleeping in Rama Cool view from the hotel, we're packed and ready early. Too early for breakfast it seems. We and every other guest sit and wait very patiently for some action. And sit. And wait. It's not memorable but it's no big deal. Really looking forward to this day- the plan is to drive to Deosai National Park, up to a lofty altitude of 4114 m. It covers an area of about 3,000 km 2. It's the second highest plateau in the world after Changtang Tibetan Plateau (on the list). Whilst it's snow bound from November through May we are getting to experience autumn through the pass- (NOTE- spring is meant to be spectacular with the plateau covered in wildflowers and migrating butterflies). So off we go, once again traversing now sort of ... read more
Driving Through Deosai
Cafe and Shop
Owner of the shop

Asia » Pakistan » Northern Areas » Skardu August 23rd 2019

Day 24 Sleeping in Skardu via Machulo ( 2230m or maybe 2310m depending on your info source) Karim is a late starter. Breakfast isn't until after 0800. We are not alone- there are 3 other tourists (American lawyers as it turns out- we bump into them a few more times in the next 2 days). Breakfast is very appealing- juices, yoghurt, milk, cereal, bircher muslei, fruit, stewed fruit, preserves, eggs, those weird little hotdog sausages, Pakistani vege curry, chappati, Hunza bread. Lots of tea, lots of coffee. I stick to the stuff I've missed- the yoghurt, stewed fruit, muslei, toast and preserves. Mary goes Pakistani, she likes cold savoury stuff even at home- she'll eat cold leftover veges for breakfast. Enough mundane detail. Time to tour the palace. We engage a palace guide who gives us ... read more
Palace View
Historical Ledger in Museum
Carved Door

Asia » Pakistan » Northern Areas » Gilgit-Baltistan August 22nd 2019

Day 23 Sleeping in Khaplu (2601m) Tour 2- North Pakistan Adventure is to commence today. I email conversed with a few companies but ultimately went with Iman Rahim from Snow Leopard Tours in Melbourne. We went back and forth to eventually come up with an itinerary and costing that we were happy with. Bottom line- private tour for 2 for 14 days with guide, driver, all meals (bar lunch), decent car and all transport, all entry fees and accommodation for USD $1235 each. This would cover Skardu-Khaplu-Machulo Village-Deosai National Park-Rama Lake-Fairy Meadow Trek-Gilgit-Hunza-Karimabad- Ganesh Village-Hopper valley-Gulmit-Ghulkin Glacier Trek- Borith Lake-Passu-Shimshal Village-Sost -border crossing into China (Tashkurgan) .... phew! Iman was easy to deal with, we were on almost the same time zone, all of the correspondence was professional and detailed and it was easy to make ... read more
Military Hospital
Garden At Snowland Guesthouse
Lunch

Asia » Pakistan » Northern Areas » Gilgit-Baltistan August 21st 2019

Sleeping at:Skardu Day: 22 Slept OK, it was strange having more noise around again- the sounds that villages produce, roosters, calls to prayer, continued coughing noises and more artificial light (the camp area light was shining bright all night). We have our final breakfast together- the food has been replenished- granola is back, honey is back, NUTELLA is back! Say goodbye to Juma, Danny and Lynton before finding our jeeps. I feel for them having to go straight back onto the trail again without a single day off. Their new buddies will be fresh and dying to get going. It has been decided that we will be going back with the Irish group so we get divied up accordingly- I'm travelling with Ali the horseman, the Irish group's guide (can't remember his name), Anthony and Mary. ... read more
Little Bit Of Clearing
Apricot Fest
Ian

Asia » Pakistan » Northern Areas » Gilgit-Baltistan August 21st 2019

The previous Pakistan blog posts are day to day events. If you don't want to bother with those then just read this one. The photos in the blog posts are awesome though so you may want to take a look. If there are any questions please don't hesitate to ask. Any comments? I really like to read feedback (I don't seem to get much). Trek Company Snowland Treks, Tours and Expeditions K2 Base Camp & Gondogoro La Trek http://snowland.com.pk/tripsnholy/k2-gondogoro-la-2/ Snowland's Blurb This challenging trek gives great views of four 8,000m peaks and is thought by many to be one of the best high mountain treks in the world. Some of the wildest and most dramatic landscapes on earth are found in the vast, rugged Karakoram Range situated in North... read more

Asia » Pakistan » Northern Areas » Gilgit-Baltistan August 20th 2019

Sleeping at: Askole Sleeping Altitude: 3000m Trekking Distance: 35km Day: 21 Last day of trekking. We are on the trail by 06:30 in order to cover the 35km back into Askole. It's cool and perfect for hiking. Very flat patches interspersed with climbs, same path that we took on the way in but still totally awesome. Body is feeling good, have lost some weight and we're losing altitude quite quickly. We meet quite a few people heading up and down to various points - lots of Pakistani students and a couple of groups (looking like we did at the beginning of our trek- clean but sweaty and out of breath). Ashan, Lynton and I take a break at Johla which is deserted bar a couple of young guys and an Italian girl. She tells us that ... read more
Final Morning Pack Up
Still Getting Red In The Face
Easy Section

Asia » Pakistan » Northern Areas » Gilgit-Baltistan August 19th 2019

Sleeping at: Bardumal Sleeping Altitude: 3305m Trekking Distance: 27.6km Day: 21 On the trail by 06:45, overcast but not really cold. We are taking an alternative route this morning back through the glacier as the conditions with the glacial rivers have changed (according to the porter grapevine), the first part is pretty easy and flat-ish through a big sandy, riverbed like area. We reach a network of riverlets and decisions are required to find the best part of this network to cross. Gen, Anthony and Danny are ahead and all get across having stripped off shoes and socks and pants- they are up to their mid thighs (Gen a bit deeper, he isn't the tallest of guys). Ashan is with Lynton, Ian and I and thinks we should walk further around to find a narrower section. ... read more
Towering Columnar Rocks
River Crossing

Asia » Pakistan » Northern Areas » Gilgit-Baltistan August 18th 2019

Sleeping at: Khoburche Sleeping Altitude: 3830m Trekking Distance: 21.6km Day: 20 Unbelievable the difference a day makes. The sun is back out and it's looking like a beautiful day to be out there. Only 21 km to do today and we're losing significant altitude- piece of cake- hahahahahaha..... Feeling energised again. Breakfast is cornflakes and pancakes (!) and a never ending jar of nutella, there also seems to be a never ending assortment of lurid orangey-yellow tropical fruit jams but the pictures on the label always have a mango so they are off limits for me- although they would probably be ok, I suspect the fruit jams don't actually contain fruit. I secrete away a pancake into my lunch size dry bag-still in the habit of packing half of my breakfast away for later. Gulp down ... read more
Beautiful Morning Views
Packing, Packing, Packing

Asia » Pakistan » Northern Areas » Gilgit-Baltistan August 17th 2019

Sleeping at: Goro II Sleeping Altitude: 4380m Trekking Distance: 26.4km - YES YOU READ THAT RIGHT - 26.4km Day: 19 It's a heavy cloud, heavy atmosphere morning. There is still a lot of discussion about going over the pass even at this time of the morning. Traditionally you leave in the early hours of the morning because it is a 10 hour day and you want to be over the difficult sections before any risk of the sun thawing snow and avalanche ensuing. We watch the group that tried to leave earlier come back in. There is great disappointment within my group, but on a personal level I am glad that we are making the decision to be safe, especially when it is not just us but the health and safety of the porters that were ... read more
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