The real attractions of Pakistan are in the north and to get there we need to travel along one of the world’s highest paved roads, The Karakoram Highway. Traveling along The Karakoram Highway is an unforgettable experience; you will see peaks and valleys, rivers and glaciers. Twenty-one of the world’s one hundred highest peaks are visible from the KKH and the journey is a great introduction to the mountains as civilization slips away behind us…

The goal is to reach Aliabad and our guesthouse by late afternoon/early evening.

This place is awesome and unique to Northern Pakistan and one of our best stopovers of the whole trip!

Dinner and rest are on the evening agenda.

We have the whole next day to relax and explore the stunning mountain village of Karimabad.

Drive from Naran or Besham to Aliabad/Karimabad – approx. 9 -12 hours – including breaks along the way.

Karimabad is the gateway to the mountains and a great place to wander about for a day. Today there is a mix of free time and planned activities.

After breakfast, we get to grips with the dark history of Baltit Fort and/or Altit Fort (time permitting).

In the afternoon, take time to explore the cobblestone streets, bargain for rubies and handicrafts, feast on Hunza cuisine, sip espresso in Café Hunza on your own time in the afternoon.

After a day of exploring Karimabad, we’ll return for our 2nd night at our hotel in Aliabad called Mountain Story.

Very early morning start today (in the dark) and drive to catch the sunrise above Eagles Nest. Well worth it! Our group will then return to Mountain Story for breakfast before starting our drive to Passu Village in Upper Hunza.

The small village of Passu is a truly special place where time stands still and mountains march away into the distance on all sides. En route we will take in the scenes at Attabad Lake.

Upper Hunza is one of the best places in Pakistan to trek, explore glaciers, snack on apricots, camp out under the stars and chat with the locals.

We will be staying with our good friend Sitara at her home. It is time to expereince life with a family in a remote mountain village in Hunza.

Accommodation in Passu will be in one large traditional guest room and we will all be sharing a space. Conditions in the village are very clean (yes, there’s a western toilet!) but are also basic; electricity is sporadic and wifi is slow when it does work.

Aliabad to Passu drive time: 1 hours max.

In the morning, we go for an easy/moderate hike to visit the legendary Passu Suspension bridge. The bridge itself is far less visited than the more famous Hussaini bridge found directly off of the Karakoram Highway.

We return to Passu for chill time in the afternoon dinner.

After a few hectic days of driving and sight seeing, today is overall meant to be a relaxing day and also our first group hike. Part of the experience of staying in a small mountain community is to take the time to fully appreciate the slower pace of life here without constantly rushing to the next thing.

The hike is a good warm-up for tomorrow’s adventure.

Total trekking time 2-3 hours

Today, we are off on an epic road trip adventure…

Traveling by our van deemed the “Khan Express”, we will head up towards Khunjerab Pass National Park. The scenery from the road is truly incredible and we will make frequent stops for photos and chai. We will make our way up towards the Pakistan-China border crossing, the highest in the world.

Set in a craggy bowl of mountains and surrounded by glaciers, this is a truly breathtaking landscape steeped in history. We will return to stay another night in Passu Village in the afternoon

There is no trekking or strenuous physical activity on this day. Pack your headphones and snacks

Today we will be trekking into the mountains not too far from Passu village. We begin the trek at the end of a jeep track at Borith Lake. After about 2-3 hours of steady, but steep hiking we will come to the truly stunning Passu Glacier crossing point.

We take an easy pace as we hike across the ice as there are a few challenging, but cool sections.

Here we will traverse the glacier for about 2 hours before arriving at our camp site for the night (3400 meters).

From here, our group can enjoy stunning views of Shispar Peak, Passu Peak, and the Passu Glacier. The stars at the camp are unreal if the weather is clear! Keep an eye out for eagles and ibex in the mountains above you and soak in some of the freshest air you’ve ever tasted.

Note: Group gear, tents, and food will be portered. If you would like additional gear portered for you, porter services are available at a reasonable cost.

Today, we start off on the second leg of our trek after breakfast. The distance is only a few kilometers, but it is straight up the side of a mountain and gains about 900 meters of elevation, so we will take our time and enjoy the views as we go.

Total trekking time today is roughly 2-3 hours.

Once on the top, our group will savor in the 360 degree views of the Passu Cones, Batura Glacier, Shispar Peak, and Passu Peak. Formerly only a shepherd’s settlement, only about 100 people come up here a year, so we should have the place to ourselves. The Batura Glacier viewpoint (4300 meters) is truly a magical place and offers up one of the best views in Pakistan.

After spending the day atop Patundas we will return to our base camp for an epic dinner feast, fire, and maybe even some local music.

Note: For most of the year there is no water at Patundas Meadow, which means that we will keep our first base camp setup and just visit Patundas as part of an epic day hike. During the early springtime, it may not be possible to visit Patundas due to large amounts of snow covering the trail, but that is why the April/May tours start in the late spring

Today, we finish our trek via the same route in which we came across the Passu glacier. The going is much easier on the way down, so the whole trek will likely take the group around 3 hours.

We are staying at a hotel in Passu where we can rest, do laundry, shower up, and maybe even try a Yak Burger and visit glacier breeze cafe for tea.

Leaving Passu early (5 am start), we will travel to Raikot Bridge where we will transfer into 4×4 jeeps and traverse the legendary Fairy Meadows jeep track – think sheer drops and impossible hair-pin bends… In the distance, if the weather is clear, you will catch your first glimpse of Nanga Parbat; the most beautiful mountain in Pakistan, and the ninth highest mountain in the world. This is the stuff adventure is made of. You may have to hike part of the jeep track as the road is sometimes washed away.

Arriving at the end of the jeep track we will then hike for two to three hours (porters available for an additional fee). Arriving into The Fairy Meadows, we will spend the next couple of nights in comfortable but basic cabins with wood burners to keep us warm.

Drive from Passu to Raikot Bridge – 5 – 6 hours – then 1.5 hour jeep journey and 2 – 3 hour trek

The Fairy Meadows is the perfect place to chill out and unwind; watch the clouds dance past Nanga Parbat, the glacier snaking through the valley below, and explore the cool woods surrounding our log cabins. There are several optional treks available here but the real highlight is the hike to Nanga Parbat Basecamp (6-8 hours return).

The Fairy Meadows is one of the best places in the world to relax and watch the mountains. At night at the Fairy Meadows we will have an epic bonfire beneath the stars!

Note: the optional hike to Nanga Parbat basecamp requires a moderate level of fitness and takes around 6 – 8 hours round trip (with time to chill out at base camp, eat lunch, etc). For the spring tours it likely will not be possible to hike beyond the upper view point due to snow pack/rock fall hazard.

Leaving The Fairy Meadows behind, we will travel back to Raikot Bridge where we will join our minibus and Kako

Depending on the weather forecast we will head to Gilgit where we will try to have a flight to Lahore the next day.

If flying is not possible, we start the long journey back to Abbottabad or Islamabad (spring/fall) via the KKH.

Note: 3 / 4 hours to reach Raikot Bridge (combination of hiking and the jeep ride down), 12-14 hours to reach Abbottabad/Islamabad with meal / bathroom stops on the way.

We sleep in Abbottabad or Islamabad to break up the long drive. Islamabad or Abbottabad is just a sleep / shower stop at a hotel before moving on back to Lahore in the morning.

During the spring tours, it is not possible for the group to make it to Islamabad from Raikot Bridge due to the alternate route we must take, thus we will likely sleep in Abbottabad.

If also goes well with the weather, we will fly from Giglit to Lahore (1 hour 10 mins flight) in the morning. Sometimes a flight to Islamabad will be the only option, in which case we will drive the remaining 4.5 hours to Lahore from Islamabad.

If we started driving the day before we will aim to be back in Lahore sometime in the mid-afternoon.

Arriving into Lahore, we will head straight to our luxury hotel to freshen up / chill for a few hours.

Depending on our arrival time, we will go to check out the Old Lahore bazaar near the famous Delhi Gate. One of the most beautiful mosques in the city is here.

We will then spend the evening taking in the vibe of this crazy South Asian city and having dinner as a group.

After a great food introduction to Lahore, we will head back to the hotel to crash

Our final full day of the Hunza Valley tour will be action packed.

In the morning, We’ll check out Badshahi Mosque; a marvel of red sandstone and polished marble and the Lahore Fort.

We will have lunch and then you will have some free time to roam around on your own.

The it is time to head to the Wagah Border for the border ceremony towards the end of the afternoon (around 3:45 pm we need to be there).

After one final feast together (and plenty of laughs and hugs), the tour officially ends (sadly). Prepare for a final spicy and juicy feast with a great view atop one of Lahore’s best restaurants.

We arrange for transfers to the airport for those who are flying out over the next 12 hours. Check out of the hotel is around 11 am on Day 15.

You can choose to stay on at the same hotel if you are not flying home right away, though any additional nights at the hotel are not covered.