Travel To Skardu  In the morning you will be transferred to Islamabad airport for the flight to Skardu (2272m). This flight is subject to clear weather. Alternately, we take a two-day drive to Skardu, along the Karakoram   Highway, sometimes referred to as the eighth wonder of the world. We stay overnight at Chilas on the banks of Indus, the lion river.  

  Explore Skardu  Free day at Skardu, the capital of Baltistan, sometimes called little Tibet due to its geographic location and historic links with Tibet and Laddakh. Stroll down the narrow bazaar, climb up the cliff to visit the historic Kharpocho fort, visit the turquoise blue Satpara Lake which is just a few kilometers from the town. Meals and overnight at Motel/Resort.

Towards Trek Head   We leave Skardu on the metal road heading east, drive over a small pass and enter Shigar, a valley of orchards. Arrive at Askoli , and leave the jeeps for a short walk to the camping site. Meals and overnight at camp. 6-7 hour jeep ride.

Start The Trek As the staff distributes 25kg each among the porters, we start our trek in the soft morning light. Walking along the Braldu river we arrive at Askole, the last permanent settlement along the trek, often mentioned by early explorers as the last human inhabitation of the Indian subcontinent. Another three hours’ walk across barren wasteland brings us to Biafo glacier, a tortured sea of ice and rocks two kilometers wide at this point. It takes around two hours to cross the glacier on an established trail, walking most of the time on morraine and occasionally on ice. Once across the glacier, it is twenty minutes to juhla (10,200`). 6-7 hours.

The wooden bridge  A tough day’s walk along a cliff face to arrive at the cable bridge to cross the Dumordo River. We may have to wait here for some time for our turn to cross the river over the newly built wooden bridge which replaced a swinging pulley. The last two hours are a comparatively easy walk beside the river. This section of the trek can be unexpectedly hot and dry, so protect yourself well from the sun. Our campsite Khrobrak (4242m) is a small stretch of land just by the Braldu River, which will provide natural music all the time. 7-8hrs trek.

G 4 Greets You Near Paiju  The trek starts in easy fashion with an occasional scramble over rock. Three hours’ walk brings us to the point where waters from the Paiju peak divide themselves into four rushing streams, that can be crossed by jumping over the stones and then walking through the meltwater. In the east dominating, the horizon is the towering summits of Gasherbrum 4, Cathedral Towers and Broad Peak. After negotiating scree and sand, we walk along the river, arrive at Paiju (3560m), a refreshing campsite situated in a grove of willows and poplars through which flows a stream of freshwater. 4-5 hours trek.

On Baltoro  We begin our day’s trek with a walk for about an hour across gradually ascending barren territory to arrive at the snout of the Baltoro Glacier, a vast, turbulent sea of rocks and ice more than two miles wide and nearly forty miles long. The first stretch of the walk on the undulating glacier can be a little challenging as we dodge small crevasses. The view is magnificent with the Cathedral and Trango Towers, rising to 6000metre -plus on our left. We begin to feel the pulse of creation: the melting ice, the shifting rocks, and the groans of the glacier as it rearranges its icy rivers. As we walk across boulder-strewn ice, we gradually gain height over three hours to the south side of the glacier. We arrive at a flat, sandy area of the lateral moraine, our campsite Khobursay at 4000m. 5-6hrs trek.

 Guro 11 Biango  We walk on the lateral moraine of the glacier for the first two hours. After arriving at the green pastures of Urdukas, we cross crevasses and then walk on the medial moraine of the glacier. The middle part of the glacier has its own surprises for us, small streams of water rushing over clear blue ice, and huge mushroom-like ice towers erupting from the glacier. As we proceed Gasherbrum 2 (8035m), the 14th highest peak in the world) peeps from the right shoulder of G-4 in the east. Biango, at 4030m, is our campsite, dominated by a stunning view of Mashabrum (7900m) due south. As we are camping on a thin layer of moraine over glacial ice the night can be cold. 7-8hrs trek.