Hunza Passu Cathedral Peaks and Batura Glacier
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Hunza Passu Cathedral Peaks and Batura Glacier

Visit the Passu Cones — the extraordinary needle-like rock towers above Passu village that have become one of the iconic images of the Karakoram, rising in a row of cathedral spires above the valley floor, combined with a walk on the edge of the Batura Glacier — the world's fifth largest non-polar glacier — flowing from the peaks above.

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    Passu Village Viewpoint

    Arrive at Passu village — the small settlement below the Passu Cones where every house has an extraordinary view of the needle rock spires rising above, the village the base for walks to the Passu and Batura glaciers and the trekking routes that use the Passu area as a starting point for longer expeditions.

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    Passu Cones Rock Spires

    The view of the Passu Cathedral Peaks from below — the cluster of rock towers rising to over 7,000 meters in a vertical rock face that seems impossibly steep, the needles of the Passu group (including Tupopdan and Shispar) creating a skyline unlike anything in the more conventionally pyramidal Himalaya.

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    Hussaini Suspension Bridge

    Cross the Hussaini suspension bridge over the Hunza river — the narrow bridge of wooden planks and steel cables swaying above the river, notorious as one of the most terrifying bridges in Pakistan and now supplemented by a safer modern bridge, the old bridge still used by locals and sought out by adventurous visitors.

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    Batura Glacier Walk

    Walk to the snout of the Batura Glacier — the 57-kilometer glacier flowing from the Batura Muztagh group, the debris-covered snout grinding slowly down the valley, the surface of ice and rock moraine offering a walk into the glacial landscape that feeds the Hunza river below.

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    Passu Glacier Approach

    The approach to Passu Glacier — smaller and more accessible than Batura, the glacier emerging from between the rock towers of the Passu Cones group, the approach through a lateral moraine offering views back down the Hunza Valley and forward to the ice walls and seracs at the glacier's terminus.

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    Yak Safari Passu Fields

    The yak grazing fields above Passu village — the high pastures where the village's yaks are kept in summer, the animals accessible for close encounter, and the views from the pasture level combining the Passu Cones above with the valley below in a composition that captures the essence of the upper Hunza landscape.

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