This is a trip for TRAVELERS.
For people who are curious about the world and want to taste the best.
For ADVENTURE lovers who like challenges but are not attracted to off-road everyday life...
Motorcycle trip - 10 days
Difficulty level - DEMANDING
Islamabad → Naran → Babusar Top (4,175 m above sea level) → Chilas → Gilgit → Karimabad → Passo → Hopar → Skardu → Deosai → Shigar → Naran → Islamabad
We offer you an ADVENTURE in Pakistan. A route that will take you to some of the most attractive, unique and extraordinary places. Where people are hospitable and friendly. Where the views remain in your memory and come back to you long after you return home... Where you can face difficulties and your own weaknesses. Where the reward for the effort is great satisfaction and delight with everything you see around you. Where you can get to know another culture and other traditions, but also where you will see how universal and close to us they are.
First, a moment in Islamabad, but after a short rest we set off - for now by car - to the Gilgit-Baltistan province, partly through the famous Karakoram Highway, and partly through the Kaghan and Naran Valleys, which are part of the Kunhar River valley. After reaching Naran, we stop for the night, but before that we go to a traditional bazaar full of local handicrafts... The next day offers wonderful landscapes on the way through the high Babusar Top pass (4,173 m above sea level). It is especially worth seeing the picturesque Lulusar Lake, where the Kunhar River originates, surrounded by the peaks from which it takes its name. After reaching Chilas and Jaglot, a moment of rest in one of the most important tripoints on our planet - the place where three monumental mountain ranges meet: the Himalayas, the Hindu Kush and the Karakoram, and where the Gilgit River flows into the Indus. Further driving along the Karakoram Highway along the Gilgit River takes us to the capital of Gilgit province - Baltistan.
Once we reach Gilgit, we rent motorbikes and go on a short trip to see Kargah Budda Rock, an archaeological site located about 9.5 km from Gilgit. It is a bas-relief image of a large standing Buddha, about 15 meters high, on a cliff at Kargah Nala. The sculpture, which is made in a style also found in Baltistan, dates back to the 7th century. It is surrounded by openings for a wooden structure that protected it from bad weather, but according to local legend, this figure is actually a cannibal giantess or a witch (yakhshini or ya-chaani or yacheni) who terrorized the local inhabitants and was nailed to a cliff by a holy man as punishment. The Kargah Buddha is located at the confluence of two streams, Kargah and Shukogah, The carving is estimated to have been completed in the 7th century. The image was discovered in 1938-39, after the Gilgit manuscripts were found in 1931.
On the route we also visit the Hunza Valley, where in Karimabad we will see a traditional market full of handicrafts typical of the Hunza Valley, dried local fruits, various types of local oils, traditional dishes and semi-precious stones mined in the Karakoram. We will also visit the old forts of the former Kingdom of Hunza, the famous Fort Baltit and the even older Fort Altit. The Hunza Valley is also very attractive due to its wonderful mountain panoramas overlooking the famous peaks: Ultar, Hunza Dome, Bublimating, Spantik (7,027 m a.s.l.), Diran and Rakaposhi (7,788 m a.s.l.) dominating the panorama.
From Karimabad we go to Passo. On the way, a short stop at Attabad Lake, which was created as a result of the earthquake and a huge landslide in the Hunza Valley in 2010. Today it is a tourist attraction for both Pakistanis and visiting foreigners. The amazing turquoise color of the water makes Lake Attabad stay in your memory for a long time. Many people consider it one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. In Passo we can admire one of the most beautiful rock ridges, the jagged Passo ridge. We will also take up the challenge of crossing the famous Husaini Suspension Bridge, which is considered one of the most famous tourist attractions in Pakistan. The bridge suspended over the Hunza River is 164 m long and has a structure typical of pedestrian footbridges in Pakistan. The boards from which it is built do not touch each other, but are placed with gaps of about 30 cm so that when we cross the bridge below we see a flowing river. The steel cables that make up the bridge structure are set in motion by people passing by and cause the entire structure to wave. In windy weather, crossing the bridge can be a real danger. Despite this, every season many tourists take up the challenge of crossing the bridge, although many give up after crossing a small part of it... We will also go to see the Passu Glacier, the fastest moving glacier in the world. The road to it leads past the post-glacial Lake Borit Lake, located in a charming, peaceful mountain valley. It is worth paying attention to the characteristic rock formations related to the time when the majestic Karakoram chain was just being created. The view of the glacier and the majestic, fairy-tale Passu Ridge is incredibly impressive. Both the sunlit and cloud-covered peaks constitute one of the most magnificent mountain panoramas.
Our plan also includes a trip to the Hopar Valley and a visit to the Hopar Glacier. This glacier is one of the most accessible glaciers in Pakistan. The old glacier, cut by thousands of crevasses that create a labyrinth on which you can set your foot, is an extraordinary destination for a short trip and is worth the effort.
After visiting the north-western part of the province for a few days, we will also invite you a little further east, to Baltistan with its capital in Skardu. The city is situated in a vast valley at the confluence of the Shigar River and the Indus River. It is surrounded by the monumental Karakoram range. Along with the nearby lakes and mountains, it is an important tourist spot in Pakistan. A starting point for mountain expeditions and mountain lovers who hike to the Baltoro Glacier, K2 base camp and Concordia, Baltistan is an area where some of the highest peaks in the world are located in the Karakoram range.
In our journey we will show you some of the attractions nearby. The most important of them is the drive through the Deosai Plateau, the second highest after the Tibetan Plateau. Deosai National Park was established on December 4, 1993 to protect the Himalayan brown bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus) and its habitat. The park area includes a high mountain plateau, located at an altitude of 3,500 to 5,200 m above sea level. Particularly attractive are Lake Sheosar and Bara Pani, where we will stop for lunch prepared in a seasonal field kitchen.
We will also go to the Sarfaranga Cold Desert, the highest desert in the world, which is often covered with snow in winter and where off-road car races are held every year. We will also go to Shigar to see the old Shigar Fort (Fong-Khar) whose name means "Fort on the Rock". We will also visit the Amburik Mosque, a small, beautifully decorated mosque located in Shigar, one of the oldest mosques in Baltistan. Its renovation was completed in 1998–2000. AKCSP provided technical assistance and supervised the project. In 2005, UNESCO awarded the mosque the Asia-Pacific Heritage Award. On the way to Shigar, we will go to Blide Lake, which is a water reservoir for some of the inhabitants of the Shigar Valley. After returning to Skardu, we will have to return the motorcycles and prepare to return to Islamabad. We will have a day there to prepare for the journey. Then it's just a transfer to the airport before departure and the end of the trip...
This trip, like our other events in Pakistan, has one more huge advantage. It differs from events organized in commercial places, where only the known name of the place is important, but the number of tourists staying there at the same time makes it impossible to truly "experience" these places...
Therefore, if you want to taste ADVENTURE, if you want to get to know the REAL culture and tradition, if you want to commune with NATURE minimally changed by people - come with us to Pakistan
Price per person: from USD 1,350
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