Around the Himalayas

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£1699

💥 14 Days

Included

🚘 Airport transfers in Islamabad

🏨 13 nights of accommodation in hotels mentioned in FAQ

📄 Letter of Invitation (needed for the visa)

🚐 Private coaster and Jeeps (when needed) with experienced driver across Pakistan.

🍴 All meals, including dinner in a fancy restaurant on arrival day + breakfast on departure day.

✔️ Clearance for all checkpoints

🤵 Pakistani local guide

👱‍♂️ International tour leader

🏰 Entrance fees, cultural activities and guided tours to all places listed in the itinerary.

Not Included

 ✈️International flights to Islamabad

 📜 Visa fees (from $35 to $60, depending on nationality).

 🍷 Alcoholic drinks or any extra drink

🏨  Single supplement. Having your own private room costs $200

Itinerary

Day 1 – Arrival in Islamabad

Day 1 is the arrival day in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. We will spend the day picking you up from the airport and checking in at the hotel. We will visit Faisal Mosque and then, in the evening, we will invite you for a welcome dinner at Monal Restaurant, one of the most popular restaurants in town, serving high-quality Pakistani food.
Distance: 16 km / Driving Hours: 30 min / Altitude: 2400m / Activities: Sightseeing.

Day 2 – Driving to Chilas through the Karakoram Highway

The drive between Islamabad and Gilgit Baltistan is a 600-kilometer ride over an entangled road, not feasible to do it in one day, so we will stop and spend the night in Chilas, a small town along the Karakoram, where we will get our first glimpse of the local life in this part of Pakistan. The drive is very scenic, and adventurous, with plenty of worldwide famous Pakistani trucks. The whole journey from Islamabad to Chilas takes around 12 hours, with breaks, unexpected events and checkpoints included.
Why not fly into Gilgit instead? Because flights get cancelled too often and we can’t risk that. We understand that it’s a long drive but if we took a domestic flight instead to cut one day short, and the flight got cancelled, we’d run into a big problem.

Day 3 Chilas to Tarishing Astore Valley:

This is the most beautiful and epic drive of the whole trip, where we will try to reach Tarishing, a small settlement located at the base of Nanga Parbat, an 8,100-meter peak that belongs to the Himalayan range. Drive from Chilas to Tarishing in Astore valley sightseeing en route we will have a short stop at Nanga Parbat viewpoint and the junction point of the three greatest mountain ranges where they meet at one point than further drive to Astore Valley on arrival in Tarishing check-in at Guest House. Overnight stay in Tarishing.
Distance: 145 km / Driving Hours: 4 hr / Activities: Sightseeing.

Day 4 Tarishing – Nanga Parbat base camp:

Have you ever watched the Brad Pitt-starred movie 7 Years in Tibet? Well, the mountain they try to climb at the beginning of the movie is Nanga Parbat itself and on day 12, we will reach the base camp.
Today after breakfast our walk starts from Tarishing (2911m) climbing gradually to the Tarishing Glacier lateral moraine, near the north edge, and crossing the glacier on a trail, continuing up to the gentle valley through Rupal village.
Rising gradually through Rupal valleys lush fields, the trail follows the valley’s north side up a narrow green valley, through groves of willow, poplar, and juniper then you pass a small lake and round a corner of the Bazhin camp, flat, green meadows between the lateral moraine of the Bazhin Glacier and the mountain. Ahead towers the solid ice wall of the east face of NANGA PARBAT. This is a perfect campsite with clear spring water, a wood full of birds this spot is called HERRLIGKOFFER Base Camp (3550m), a beautiful, although much-used meadows along the Bazhin Glacier’s east margin. The campsite is named after Dr. Karl M HERRLIGKOFFER the leader of eight German expeditions to NANGA PARBAT, including the first successful expedition in 1953.
A side trip of several hours up this ablation valley leads to a point on the moraine directly above the BAZHIN Glacier and across from icefall coming from the summit. Picnic lunch in Nanga Parbat base camp before heading back to Tarishing.

Day 5 – Astore Valley

For me, this is the best place in all of Pakistan, a mesmerizing, off-the-beaten-track area of Pakistan, filled with remote mountain settlements and jaw-dropping nature. We will spend the day visiting lovely villages, as well as Rama Lake.
Overnight in Astore.

Day 6 Rama Lake – Deosai Plains – Khaplu Valley:

Early in the morning after breakfast, we will drive to Khaplu Valley en route we will stop at Deosai Plains then further drive to Khaplu Valley arrival in Khaplu Valley check-in at the hotel. Overnight stay in Khaplu Valley.
Distance: 245 km / Driving Hours:09 hrs / Altitude: 2600m / Activities: Sightseeing.

Day 7 Manthoka & Khamosh Waterfall Excursion

5-6 Hours’ Drive Today is going to be very exciting that we shall explore the most beautiful waterfalls. We shall start our journey towards Khamosh waterfall (Located in the Hamzigon village) and Manthoka waterfall (located in Kharmang Valley and is approx 180 feet high). It will be around 3-4 hours from Khaplu valley. We shall explore it for a while and after the excursion, we shall move towards Shigar Valley for hotel stay.
Distance:125 km / Driving Hours:04 hrs / Activities: Sightseeing.

Day 8 Shiger Valley:

In the morning after breakfast, we will do Shiger Valley sightseeing en route we will visit Shiger fort, the old mosque and then the surround areas. Overnight stay in Shiger Valley.
Distance: 110 km / Driving Hours:03 hrs / Altitude: 2600m / Activities: Sightseeing.

Day 9 Shiger Valley – Skardu Baltistan:

In the morning after breakfast, we will drive to Skardu sightseeing en route to arrival in Skardu check in at the hotel and rest of then we will visit Shangri-La resort, Upper Kachura Lake and Kharpocho Fort. Overnight stay in Skardu.
Distance: 110 km / Driving Hours:04 hrs / Altitude: 2200m / Activities: Sightseeing.

Day 10 Basho Valley or Organic Village Excursions

4-5 Hours’ Drive (42km)
IF BASHO OPEN
Today is going to be the most adventurous day of our tour, we shall take a 4X4 to visit the breath-taking Basho Valley and reach there in 2-3 hours of time. Explore the beautiful landscape of the valley for a while. After the excursion move towards Sakrdu and Check-in to the hotel for night stay.  

IF BASHO CLOSE
We shall start our journey towards Organic Village. First, we shall reach Kharpocho Fort Trekking point and start our trekking towards Organic Village which is the back side of the Skardu Fort. It will be around 1-2 hours of trekking to reach Organic Village to explore it for a while. After the excursion, we shall be back to Skardu for night stay.

Day 11 – Explore Skardu

We will spend day 11 exploring the valleys and highlights around Skardu, including Katpana desert, and even hiking to Hussaini rock, a 6-hour hike.
Overnight in Skardu.

Day 12 – Flight from Skardu to Islamabad

Flights from the Northern Areas get cancelled pretty often so that’s why we’ll fly two days before departure, to have day 13 as a backup, in the hypothetical case it does get cancelled. If the flight doesn’t get cancelled, upon arrival in Islamabad, we’ll drive straight to Lahore, a 4-hour drive.
Overnight in Lahore.

Day 13 – Lahore city tour

Lahore is the cultural capital of Pakistan, and where you find the best local food, the most stunning mosques, and the liveliest bazaar in all the country, and unmissable city. In the evening, we will also head for the Pakistan/Indian border to attend at the daily border ceremony.
Overnight in Lahore.
Distance: 376 km / Driving Hours: 5 hrs / Activities: Enjoy scenic beauty.

Day 14 – Departure

After breakfast, we will take care of your transfer to Lahore airport.

Gallery

FAQ

Which hotels do we stay?
These are the hotels we always stay in – subject to availability.
All are relatively comfortable hotels and lodges with private rooms and attached toilets, usually the best available option in the region we visit.

• Islamabad: MARGALLA Hills Residency, Gofas Lodge.

• Chilas: Shangrila Hotel Chilas

• Passu: Sarai Silk Route, Silk route lodge

• Shigar: Space Hotel

• Skardu: Himalaya Hotel, Maple resort

• Karimabad: Mountain Story Aliabad, Offto resort.

• Attabad Lake: Luxus hunza Attabad lake resort

• Minapin: Roomy yurts resort

• Rama meadows: PTDC motel Rama

• Ghizer valley: Royal guest house, Riverdale resort

• Phandar valley: Top lodge hill

• Ayun Valley: Villa Ayun

• Mastuj/Booni: PTDC Mastuj

• Swat: Swat palace hotel by northin

• Kalam: Zen Luxus

• Kumrat Valley: Latitude resort

• Fairy meadows: Ibex lodge

• Shimshal Valley: Shimshal heights hotel

How does the room distribution work?
Price of the tour includes accommodation in a twin room.
If you are a solo traveler, you will be sharing the room with another like-minded traveler from the group. We always try to group people of the same gender and age together but note that this won’t always be the case.
If you want to have your own single room, price of the single supplement is an additional $200.

How to get a visa?
Today, you can easily apply for a Pakistan tourist visa online, it’s very simple.
As an average, it takes no more than 1 week to get the visa approval.
Tips and instructions will be shared upon booking a spot.

Which nationalities can join this tour?
Pretty much all nationalities.

Do I need to be fit for this tour?
We will do some hikes but nothing particularly challenging, and all will be day hikes, no camping, and stuff like that.
This means that all hikes are optional and that you can always hang out in the respective villages, where you will be surrounded by mountains anyway.

How good is the infrastructure in Pakistan?
As mentioned, in the mountain areas, we always stay in the best available accommodation.
However, note those areas of Pakistan are so remote that even the best possible accommodation can be an issue for some, since electricity and running water might not always be reliable.
Moreover, we always try to eat in the cleanest places but note that hygiene standards in Pakistan are poor and that some travelers might get sick due to the food they eat outside of the hotels.
Nevertheless, if you are keen to have the most epic adventure and are flexible when it comes to tourist facilities, you are welcome to join this tour!

What’s the best way to reach Islamabad?
Islamabad has an international airport, with some common connections being Dubai, Doha, Istanbul or Jeddah.

Is it safe?
Nowadays, Pakistan is safe, especially in the Northern Areas.

How many people will attend this tour?
We limit our tours to a maximum of 12-14 people.

Are there ATMs in Pakistan?
You can find ATMs in Islamabad, but better to bring cash for the Northern Areas.
Exchanging money: which currencies do they accept?
Both € and $ can be easily exchanged for Pakistani rupees.

How does payment work?
In order to secure your spot on the tour, we require a security deposit, and the remaining amount can be sent no later than 45 days before the departure date.
Further details will be shared upon booking your spot.