Experiences / Mountaineering & Treks

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Mountaineering & Treks

Pakistan's mountain travel ranges from comfortable scenic journeys to serious trekking, climbing, and high-altitude expeditions.

Atlas Guide

Where to Go

Base camps, glaciers, high passes, and mountain air

Guide section

High-Altitude Expeditions

For serious mountain travellers, Pakistan offers some of the world's most demanding and iconic peaks.

K2 Nanga Parbat Broad Peak Gasherbrum

High Trekking

Guide section

World's Greatest Mountain Treks

Pakistan hosts the K2 Base Camp and Concordia trek (the 'Throne Room of the Mountain Gods'), the Gondogoro La crossing at 5,585 m, the Snow Lake traverse across the Hispar-Biafo glaciers, and the Hushe Valley circuit past Laila Peak and Charakusa. These are genuinely among the finest trek routes on Earth.

K2 Base Camp Concordia Gondogoro La Snow Lake Baltoro Glacier Laila Peak

Photo: Akbar Khan Niazi · CC BY-SA 3.0Glacier Walk

Guide section

Glaciers You Can Walk On

Pakistan has more glaciers than anywhere outside the polar regions, and several are easily accessible. Passu Glacier is a 2-hour walk from the Karakoram Highway. Batura Glacier's snout is reachable from Passu village. Naltar Valley's glacial lakes are a half-day jeep ride from Gilgit. No crampons required for most.

Passu Glacier Batura Glacier Naltar Valley Attabad Lake Shispare base

Guide section

Mountain Sports

Expand beyond trekking with climbing, rafting, skiing, snow travel, and scenic flights.

Malam Jabba Naltar Passu Indus River

Browse every place

48 Places

48 of 48 field guides

Gilgit-Baltistan

Askole

The last permanent village before the Baltoro Glacier at 3,015 m, the obligatory start point for all K2, Gasherbrum, Broad Peak, and Concordia expeditions.

Gilgit-Baltistan

Baltoro Glacier

A 62 km river of ice cutting through the Karakoram, the approach corridor to K2, Broad Peak, and the Gasherbrum peaks, and one of the most spectacular glacier treks on Earth.

Azad Jammu and Kashmir

Bedori Peak

A prominent 3,727m summit above Haveli, offering a serious high-level hiking objective into the Pir Panjal without the technical climbing of Pakistan's greater ranges.

Gilgit-Baltistan

Broad Peak

The world's 12th-highest mountain at 8,051 m, climbed from Concordia alongside K2 and sharing the same base camp approach.

Gilgit-Baltistan

Burzil Pass

A 13,808 ft pass on the old caravan route from Gilgit to Srinagar, and the source of the Astore River.

Gilgit-Baltistan

Central Karakoram National Park

UNESCO tentative site; Pakistan's largest protected high-mountain area with glaciers and K2 approaches.

Gilgit-Baltistan

Charakusa Valley

A secret valley above Hushe containing K6 (7,040 m), K7 (6,934 m), and a gallery of granite spires, one of the most technically exciting climbing areas in the Karakoram.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Chitral

Gateway to the Hindu Kush, a historic frontier town beneath Tirich Mir, known for polo, the Kalasha valleys, Shandur Pass, and as the base for expeditions into Pakistan's Hindu Kush.

Azad Jammu and Kashmir

Chitta Katha Lake

A remote, high-altitude glacial lake reached by a demanding trek above Shounter, among the least-visited and most pristine lakes in the Neelum Valley.

Gilgit-Baltistan

Concordia & Baltoro Glacier

The glacial amphitheatre where the Baltoro meets four of the world's 8,000 m peaks, the classic approach to K2 Base Camp.

Gilgit-Baltistan

Distaghil Sar

At 7,885 m the highest peak in the Shimshal region, approached through the remote Shimshal Valley and regarded as one of the most technically demanding 7,000 m objectives.

Gilgit-Baltistan

Fairy Meadows

High meadow route below Nanga Parbat with one of Pakistan's most famous mountain views.

Azad Jammu and Kashmir

Ganga Choti

A 3,045 m peak near Chikar and Sudhan Gali, and one of Azad Jammu and Kashmir's most popular treks, snow-streaked well into summer.

Gilgit-Baltistan

Gasherbrum I (Hidden Peak)

The world's 11th-highest peak at 8,080 m, named Hidden Peak for the way it conceals itself behind lower ridges until the final glacier approach.

Gilgit-Baltistan

Gasherbrum II

At 8,035 m the world's 13th-highest mountain, one of the most frequently climbed 8,000 m peaks, sharing base camp with Gasherbrum I near Concordia.

Gilgit-Baltistan

Gasherbrum IV

At 7,925 m, its near-vertical West Face, the Shining Wall, is considered one of the greatest technical challenges in high-altitude mountaineering.

Gilgit-Baltistan

Gondogoro La

A 5,585 m high-altitude crossing that closes the K2 base camp loop, one of the most demanding and rewarding trekking passes in the Karakoram, requiring fixed ropes and crampons.

Gilgit-Baltistan

Haldi Cones

Granite spires above Haldi village, 25 km from Khaplu, seen from across the Ghanche valley.

Gilgit-Baltistan

Haramosh

A 7,409 m summit east of the Indus, in the mountain area between Gilgit and Skardu, with a dramatic 1957 expedition history, a rarely visited climbing objective above the glaciers of the Haramosh La.