🇵🇰 Natural wonders of Pakistan
Home to the greatest concentration of high mountains on Earth — the Karakoram, with K2 and a wilderness of glaciers, granite towers, and 8,000-metre giants.
🗓️ Best time for nature: The short summer window (roughly July–August) for high-mountain trekking; spring and autumn suit the lower valleys, and winter closes the high routes.
The lay of the land
Pakistan's north is one of the great mountain regions of the world, where three colossal ranges — the Karakoram, Himalaya, and Hindu Kush — converge. The Karakoram alone holds four peaks above 8,000 metres, including K2 at 8,611 metres, the second-highest and most feared mountain on Earth, along with the sheer granite spires of the Trango Towers and the 62-kilometre Baltoro Glacier. Outside the polar regions, this is the most heavily glaciated place on the planet. Below the ice lie the fertile valleys of Hunza and Gilgit-Baltistan, famed for their apricot orchards and hospitality.
Where to begin
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Karakoram & Baltoro Glacier
K2, the Baltoro Glacier, and the greatest cluster of high peaks on Earth.
A taste of the place
Northern Pakistani food suits the mountains: Balti slow-cooked meat dishes, chapshuro (a stuffed meat bread), salty butter tea, and the celebrated apricots, mulberries, and walnuts of Gilgit-Baltistan.
Traveling responsibly
- Trek the high Karakoram only in July–August, with licensed operators.
- Permits and registered porters are mandatory; arrange months ahead.
- Reach the region via Skardu, by air or the Karakoram Highway.
Pakistan’s north is one of the great mountain regions of the world, the place where the Karakoram, Himalaya, and Hindu Kush all converge. The Karakoram alone holds four peaks above 8,000 metres — K2 among them at 8,611 metres, the second-highest and most feared mountain on Earth — along with the sheer granite spires of the Trango Towers and the 62-kilometre Baltoro Glacier. Outside the polar regions, nowhere on the planet carries so much ice. Below it lie the orchard valleys of Hunza and Gilgit-Baltistan. This atlas chapter begins on the great glacier road to K2.
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