Shangrila and Upper Kachura
Two lakes twenty minutes apart, best in the hour after sunrise before the day boats start out.
Gilgit-Baltistan
Skardu
Where mountains meet serenity
The place
Where mountains meet serenity
Skardu sits in a broad valley where the Indus slows and widens, ringed by peaks that keep their snow all summer. It is the staging post for Concordia and K2, but it rewards the traveller who never leaves the valley floor just as well.
- Region
- Gilgit-Baltistan
- Best time
- June to September for Deosai and the high valleys. April and May for blossom in the orchards, with the plateau still under snow.
- Getting there
- Flights from Islamabad when the weather allows, or two days by road up the Karakoram Highway through Chilas.
Highlights
What people come for
Katpana cold desert
Sand dunes at 2,200 metres, with snow peaks behind them. The light an hour before sunset is the reason to come.
Shigar and Khaplu
Two restored valley palaces, an hour and three hours out, both still surrounded by working apricot orchards.
Deosai National Park
The plateau above the town, open roughly June to September, and in July a continuous field of wildflowers.
Tours
Journeys that go here
7 days
Gilgit-Baltistan
Skardu & Deosai Plains
Cold-desert dunes, the Shangrila lakes and two nights on the high plateau, where the horizon runs out before the road does.
From PKR 90,000 per person
View itineraryTimeless beauty · Serene waters · Living culture
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