Once you have had enough of Karimabad, you can travel one hour north, and find yourself on the Karakorum Highway leading up to China. This part of Hunza is in fact known as Gojal valley. The first sight you will see is Attabad Lake. The lake was just formed back in 2010, when a massive landslide buried a 20 km stretch of the...
Just two hours from Gilgit is Hunza Valley. The Hunza Valley used to be a princely state until Bhutto dissolved that status. It is next to Xinjiang, in China, and is heavily influenced by the proximity to the Chinese border. I visited it in 2008, and again just last week, and can only attest to its beauty. The best way to get there...
Deosai Plains are one of the most well-known tourist destinations up north. The plains are in fact, a plateau and the entire area is known as the Deosai National Park. The park is at an average elevation of 13,500 feet above sea level, making it the second highest plateau in the world, after the Tibetan Plateau. Deosai is the combination of two words ‘Deo’ (giant)...
I have been fortunate to experience the drive through the Karakoram highway. The Karakoram (the 'crumbling rock' in Turkish language) is quite an incredible engineering feat, mostly because building and maintaining a paved road through such a difficult terrain seems next to impossible. Of course, many people eventually DID die while constructing it.... so that makes me sad. When you drive on the...
The Galiat refers to the region roughly 50–80 km north-east of Islamabad, Pakistan, on both sides of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-Punjab border. The places that are a part of the Galiat include Ayubia, Bara Gali , Bhurban, Changla Gali, Charra Pani, Dunga Gali, Ghora Gali, Khaira Gali, Khanspur, Murree, Nathia Gali and Thandiani. Murree is the largest city of the Galiat region, and now...
Gilgit was a tad bit overrated (perhaps since I had just visited it after I was at Nanga Parbat base camp). But still, as a popular tourist destination, it still hasn't become touristy. It is also the capital of Gilgit-Baltistan, which is a self-governing territory in the north of Pakistan. Its ancient name was Sargin, later called Gilit. Locals still call it Gilit...
While you are on the Karakoram highway, you might as well see these two places, that should definitely be on your bucket list. After passing the exit for Fairy Meadows, keep driving for about another 20 minutes. When you come across the sign for Astore, turn right, keep going for another 2-3 hours. You will arrive at the village of Astore. Astore is...
