Skardu Biafo Glacier and Snow Lake Trek
Trek the Biafo Glacier to Snow Lake — the 67-kilometer glacier that is the longest glacier outside the polar regions and its source at Snow Lake, a 40 square kilometer snowfield at 5,000 meters where the Biafo, Sim Gang, and Hispar glaciers meet in a high-altitude wilderness of ice and rock visited by fewer people than the moon.
Skardu Baltistani Culture and Mountain Polo
Discover Baltistan's unique culture — the Shia Muslim community of Tibetan origin whose Balti language preserves ancient Tibetan vocabulary, whose polo tradition is the original mountain game played without goals and referees, whose cuisine of buckwheat bread and dried apricot soup reflects the high-altitude environment, and whose music and dance connect to the Tibetan cultural world.
Skardu Shangrila Upper Kachura Lake Resort
Visit the Shangrila Resort at Upper Kachura Lake — the mountain lake resort established in the 1980s that became Pakistan's most famous domestic tourist destination, where a restored aircraft fuselage serves as a restaurant on the lakeshore, the blue lake surrounded by rose gardens and poplar trees, and the Karakoram peaks reflected in the still water.
Skardu Baltoro Glacier and Concordia Trek
Trek the Baltoro Glacier to Concordia — the 16-day round trip through the Karakoram wilderness considered one of the world's great trekking experiences, passing the granite towers of Trango and Cathedral, camping on the glacier ice, and reaching the Concordia amphitheater where K2, Broad Peak, and four Gasherbrum peaks rise above the greatest concentration of high mountains on earth.
Skardu Shigar Valley Fort and Heritage Village
Drive to Shigar Valley — the side valley north of Skardu where the restored 17th-century Shigar Fort has become Pakistan's finest heritage hotel, the Baltistani village with its carved wooden mosque and traditional architecture preserved through the Aga Khan Trust for Culture's restoration work, and the apricot orchards and poplar trees of a mountain valley at its most beautiful.
Skardu Katpana Cold Desert and Sand Dunes
Explore the Katpana Cold Desert — one of the world's highest deserts at over 2,200 meters, where golden sand dunes rise improbably against the backdrop of snow-capped Karakoram peaks, the desert created by the rain shadow of the mountain ranges that intercept monsoon moisture before it can reach the Skardu basin.
Skardu Deosai National Park High Altitude Plains
Drive to Deosai National Park — the world's second highest plateau at 4,114 meters average elevation, an extraordinary alpine meadow the size of Switzerland that blazes with wildflowers in July and August, where the last population of Himalayan brown bears roams freely and golden marmots whistle from every rocky hillside.
Skardu K2 Base Camp Trek Gateway
Begin the journey to K2 Base Camp from Skardu — the Baltistan capital that serves as the staging point for expeditions to the Karakoram's eight-thousanders, where the Baltoro Glacier trek starts after a jeep ride to Askole, and where trekkers acclimate before attempting one of the world's great wilderness journeys to the base of the highest mountain in Pakistan.