Lakes of Ghizer Valley

The lakes in Ghizer range from ones you can see without leaving the car to ones that take days of walking to reach. Khalti and Phander sit right beside the Gilgit to Shandur road; Shandur Lake lies on the pass itself; Handrap and Khukush need a walk; Karambar, one of Pakistan's highest large lakes, is a multi-day trek up Ishkoman valley near the Afghan border. This guide sets them side by side, so you can judge how much of your trip each one is worth.

A note on names: in 2019 the government announced the old Ghizer district would be split, and Gupis, Phander and Yasin now fall in the new Gupis-Yasin district, with Ishkoman staying in Ghizer. Locally, and on most maps, the whole upper Gilgit River valley is still called Ghizer.

Road distances are from OSRM, the open routing service, and the times it gives are optimistic on this road. Altitudes are from Wikipedia where it gives one, and from elevation data at the mapped position otherwise. For the drive itself, see our Gilgit to Phander guide.

Khalti Lake: the easiest to see

Khalti Lake, at 2,217 metres, lies in a bend of the Ghizer River beside the main road, about 9 km west of Gupis, so every vehicle heading up the valley passes it. It is fed by glacier water, and its colour shifts from turquoise to deep green depending on the light. Most people stop for an hour.

In a cold winter it freezes hard enough to walk on. Dawn reported winter sports competitions on the frozen lake in January 2020, and a three-day ice sports festival ran there in late January 2021, but the ice is not tested or supervised outside such events, so stay off it unless locals are on it in numbers. Our Khalti Lake guide covers the seasons and where to stay nearby.

Phander Lake: the heart of the valley

Phander Lake, locally Nango Chatt, sits beside the road at Phander at about 2,900 metres. It is small, about 900 metres by 460 metres, but up to 44 metres deep, which gives it its dark blue colour, with trees along parts of its shore. Phander is also where the river spreads into several strands across the valley floor before narrowing again.

Phander is the natural base for anyone spending real time in Ghizer, with the widest choice of guesthouses in the upper valley and the closest start for Handrap and Shandur. Our Phander valley guide covers the lake and where to stay.

Handrap Lake: for anglers and walkers

Handrap Lake lies in a side valley south of Handrap village, about 16 km beyond Phander on the Shandur road. On the map it is roughly 11 km from the village in a straight line and about 330 metres higher, at around 3,280 metres; the walk is usually described as three to four hours each way. It has no road, no facilities and no accommodation, so most people go with a local guide and a pack animal if they plan to camp. Our Handrap Lake guide covers the walk and camping.

Its reputation is for trout. Fishing anywhere in Gilgit-Baltistan needs a licence from the fisheries department, and fishing is banned from October to March, the breeding season. Dawn reported in June 2026 that officials estimate the region's wild trout numbers have halved in two decades, and that fish above a kilogram are now rare. Our trout fishing guide covers licences and where to fish.

Shandur Lake: on top of the pass

Shandur Lake lies between the Shandur Pass and the polo ground, at around 3,700 metres, inside Shandur-Hundrup National Park (declared in 1993). It is about 1.4 square kilometres and is one of the sources of the Gilgit River. The road from Phander climbs about 51 km to reach it and is rough in places, so allow well over the two and a half hours OSRM gives.

Most visitors come for the Shandur Polo Festival, which in 2026 was held from 11 to 13 June rather than its traditional early July dates; Gilgit-Baltistan beat Chitral 6 to 5 in the final. Outside the festival the lake is quiet and cold: Open-Meteo's 2016 to 2025 record for the lake averages lows of about 4°C in July and below freezing in June. Note that continuing over the pass into Chitral leads towards the N45 south of Chitral town, which the UK advises against. Our Shandur Pass guide covers the road and when it is open.

Khukush Lake: big, high and little visited

Khukush Lake, also called Baha Lake, lies south of the Shandur road in the upper Ghizer valley at about 3,620 metres. At about 5 km long and 2.1 square kilometres, Wikipedia lists it as the third largest lake in northern Pakistan after Attabad and Karambar. It is frozen from roughly November to April. There is no road to it, and we could not confirm a reliable route description or walking time, so treat it as a trek to arrange with a guide in Phander rather than a side trip.

Karambar Lake: the high-altitude goal

Karambar Lake, also written Qurumbar, sits at 4,272 metres at the head of Ishkoman valley. It is about 3.9 km long and up to 2 km wide, with an average depth of 52 metres, and is the second largest lake in northern Pakistan by area. Since 2011 it has been part of Qurumbar National Park, home to snow leopard, Himalayan brown bear and ibex.

There is no road to it. The approach from the upper Ishkoman villages is a trek of several days each way over high, open ground, usually with pack animals and a local guide, and its length depends on how far up the valley the jeep track runs in a given year. By OpenStreetMap's boundary line the lake is only about 13 km from the Afghan border, inside the 10-mile band where the UK advises against all travel, so foreign-passport holders should check their own advice, and everyone should confirm local requirements with the administration in Gilgit or Gahkuch. Our Karambar Lake trek guide covers the approach.

Which lakes are worth your time?

If your time is limited, Khalti and Phander give you Ghizer's lakes with almost no extra effort, and both are worth seeing even on a driving day. Shandur adds a long, rough drive for a high, open landscape and is best timed for the polo festival or a clear summer day. Handrap adds a real walk for quiet water and trout. Khukush and Karambar are expeditions that happen to end at a lake, not side trips to fit around anything else.

Most first-time visitors see Khalti and Phander and stop there, and for a two-night trip that is the right call. Add Shandur if you have a full spare day, Handrap if you fish or want a night in the open, and keep Karambar for a trip built around it.

When to see them

June to September is the reliable window for all six: roads are clear, Shandur is open, the high treks to Karambar and Khukush are only realistic in this period, and Handrap's path is free of snow. Khalti and Phander can be seen slightly outside this window in May or October, though nights are cold by late October. In winter, Khalti is the one lake in the group that becomes a different kind of attraction, when it freezes over.

Frequently asked questions