Haramosh Peak: Facts and Best Viewpoints

Haramosh peak, at 7,409 metres (24,308 ft) the 67th highest mountain in the world, stands on the north bank of the Indus in Gilgit district, about 65 km east of Gilgit, and it is one of the high Karakoram mountains that most visitors to Gilgit-Baltistan pass without seeing properly. It is a serious mountaineering objective with a difficult history, and for travellers the realistic way to see it well is to leave the Gilgit to Skardu road at Sassi and go up Haramosh Valley towards Kutwal Lake.

This guide covers where the mountain is, how it was climbed, where the views are and how to reach them.

Where Haramosh peak is

Haramosh sits in the south-central part of the Rakaposhi-Haramosh Mountains, a subrange of the Karakoram bounded by the Hunza river to the west, the Shigar river to the east and the Gilgit and Indus rivers to the south. It rises steeply above the north bank of the Indus, just upstream of the point where the Gilgit river joins it. The massif has two main summits, Haramosh itself and Haramosh Kutwal Laila Peak.

What makes it unusual is not its height but its rise. The Indus below it runs through one of the lowest valleys in the region, so the summit stands several vertical kilometres above the river. Wikipedia notes that Haramosh and Rakaposhi are among the most prominent mountains in the world in terms of rise above local terrain, and one published ranking of peaks by steepness and local relief places Haramosh 17th in the world.

That same geography explains why the view from below is poor. The Gilgit to Skardu road runs along the floor of the Indus gorge beneath the mountain's outer ridges, which hide the summit for most of the way.

Climbing history

Haramosh first drew mountaineering attention in 1947, when a Swiss team reconnoitred the area, followed in 1955 by a German party that examined a north-eastern approach.

The 1957 attempt is the one the mountain is remembered for. A team from Oxford University made up of Tony Streather, who had climbed Kangchenjunga two years earlier, John Emery, Bernard Jillott and Rae Culbert reached high on the mountain before a chain of accidents overtook them. Jillott and Culbert died. Streather and Emery survived, but Emery lost all his fingers and toes to frostbite. The story is told in Ralph Barker's book The Last Blue Mountain, which was reissued in 2020 and is the best thing to read before a visit.

The first ascent came the following year, on 4 August 1958, when the Austrians Heinrich Roiss, Stefan Pauer and Franz Mandl reached the summit by the Haramosh La, a saddle to the north-east, and the East Ridge, roughly the line the Oxford team had tried.

Since then the Himalayan Index records only three more ascents: a Japanese team by the West Ridge in 1978, another party in 1979, and a Polish team by the South-West Face in 1988. Four ascents in nearly seventy years, on a mountain you can drive to the foot of, says how hard it is.

Best viewpoints

Kutwal Lake, at around 3,300 metres in Haramosh Valley, is the closest viewpoint most travellers can reach on foot. The lake lies beneath Haramosh, with Laila Peak and Dobani also in view. Reaching it is a proper multi-day trek from the roadhead, not a casual walk; our Kutwal Lake trek guide covers the route, distances and how many days to allow.

The villages of Haramosh Valley, particularly Iskere, offer more distant views as the valley opens up beyond Dassu village, without requiring the full trek to the lake. Our Haramosh Valley guide covers getting into the valley and where to stay.

The Gilgit to Skardu road gives only partial glimpses of the range, because the road is too close under the mountain's lower ridges. We could not confirm a marked roadside viewpoint with a clear view of the summit, so do not plan on a photograph from the car. The mountain rewards a detour into the valley, not a drive-by.

Cloud usually builds on the high peaks from late morning in summer, so plan to be at a viewpoint early in the day.

How to get there

Sassi, where Haramosh Valley meets the Indus, is on the Gilgit to Skardu road, officially the Baltistan Highway or S-1. The road leaves the Karakoram Highway near Juglot, about 45 km south-east of Gilgit, and runs 167 km to Skardu. It was widened and paved in a project completed in December 2021, which cut the Gilgit to Skardu drive from about ten hours to about four, though landslides still close it from time to time.

From Sassi a jeep track climbs into the valley, and beyond the villages you are on foot. Our Haramosh Valley guide covers the track, guides and where to sleep, and the Kutwal Lake trek guide covers the season for the walk to the lake.

Gilgit-Baltistan is not among the areas the UK government advises against visiting, but if you drive up the Karakoram Highway from Islamabad, note that the UK advises against all travel on the stretch between Mansehra and Chilas; Babusar Pass avoids it in summer, and foreign-passport holders should check their own government's advice, since it can affect insurance.

Is Haramosh peak worth planning a trip around?

For trekkers heading to Kutwal Lake, yes, and the peak is the main reason to make that trek in the first place. For anyone hoping to see Haramosh easily from the road on a Gilgit to Skardu drive, no: it is not that kind of mountain. Rakaposhi, seen from the Karakoram Highway in Nagar, and Nanga Parbat, seen from the highway near Raikot, will satisfy that expectation far more reliably.

Haramosh suits travellers willing to go into the valley for it, and readers of mountaineering history who want to stand under the face where the 1957 story happened.

Frequently asked questions