Hunza Valley

The capital of Gilgit-Baltistan is a busy, workaday market town at the meeting of the Gilgit and Hunza rivers, and the hub for flights, buses and jeeps across the north. Few people linger, but it is a useful place to stock up, change money and sort out SIM cards. The bazaar sells dried apricots, mulberries, walnuts and woollen caps, and a short drive west of town a large Buddha figure carved into a cliff face at Kargah, probably in the seventh century, recalls the region's Buddhist past on the old trade routes.

TipFlights into Gilgit are often cancelled when cloud hides the mountains, so leave a spare day at either end of your trip.

Nanga Parbat, at 8,126 metres the ninth-highest mountain in the world, stands at the western end of the Himalaya, and its huge Rakhiot Face rises above a forested alpine meadow at about 3,300 metres. Fairy Meadows is reached from Raikot Bridge on the Karakoram Highway, south of Gilgit: a hair-raising jeep track climbs a narrow gorge to the road-head at Tato or Jhel, and from there it is a walk of roughly two to three hours uphill, or a ride on horseback. Simple wooden cabins and campsites look straight at the mountain. Fit walkers carry on through pine woods to Beyal Camp and the viewpoint above the Rakhiot Glacier, a long day's round trip.

TipRaikot Bridge lies north of Chilas, on the section of the highway between Chilas and Gilgit that the FCDO does not advise against; travel here from Gilgit, not up the highway from the south. Hire jeeps through your hotel or a licensed operator, and stay at least one night to see the mountain at sunrise.

North of Gilgit the highway enters Nagar, and near the village of Ghulmet the view opens up to Rakaposhi, 7,788 metres high, rising almost unbroken from the river. Few mountains anywhere show so much vertical height from a roadside, and a cluster of cafés and stalls at the viewpoint has grown up to make the most of it, with tables beside a glacial stream. It's the classic tea stop on the way up to Hunza. Trekkers can walk to the Rakaposhi base camp meadows from Minapin, further up the valley, in a long day or an overnight trip.

Across the river from Hunza, and long its rival kingdom, Nagar is a quieter, more conservative valley of Shia villages and terraced fields. A road climbs through Nagar Khas to the hamlets of Hopar, set on a high shelf above the Bualtar Glacier, often called the Hopar Glacier: a vast, grey, rubble-strewn river of ice that creaks and groans below the viewpoint. Short paths lead down to the glacier's edge, and on clear days there are views up to the peaks of the Hispar range.

TipDress conservatively in Nagar and ask before photographing people, especially women. The glacier surface is dangerous; walk on it only with a local guide.

Perched on a rocky spur above Karimabad, Hunza's main village, Baltit Fort was the palace of the Mirs, the hereditary rulers of Hunza, for several centuries. Its oldest parts are thought to date back around 700 years, and its tiers of timber and stone, with a wooden lookout on the roof, grew as the state did. The Mirs moved down to a new palace in the 1940s, and the fort was later restored by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and reopened as a museum in 1996. Guided tours lead through the low doorways, the royal reception rooms and the kitchen, and the roof looks down the length of the valley to Rakaposhi.

TipVisits are by guided tour, which is included in the entry fee. Walk up through Karimabad's lanes in the late afternoon, when the light turns the valley gold.

High above Karimabad, the village of Duikar sits on a ridge at around 2,800 metres, and the rocky outcrop known as the Eagle's Nest is the best viewpoint in central Hunza. From it, a full circle of peaks appears: Rakaposhi and Diran to the south, the spires of Ultar Sar and Lady Finger above Karimabad, and Golden Peak in Nagar. Several hotels cluster on the ridge, and most visitors come up for sunset, then return at dawn, when the first light catches the summits one by one.

TipThe road up to Duikar is steep and narrow; take a local jeep or taxi rather than driving yourself, and bring a warm layer, as it's much colder than the valley floor.

Older still than Baltit, Altit Fort is believed to be the oldest building in Hunza, with a watchtower that may be close to a thousand years old. It sits on the edge of a sheer drop above the Hunza River, a short walk or drive east of Karimabad, beside one of the best-preserved old villages in the valley. The Aga Khan Trust for Culture restored it alongside the village houses, and the project has been widely praised for keeping the community living in its historic core. Next to the fort, the Royal Garden is an orchard of apricot, cherry and apple trees with a café.

TipWander through old Altit village after visiting the fort; it's lived in, so keep voices low and don't walk into courtyards uninvited.

In January 2010 a huge landslide fell into the Hunza River at Attabad, burying a village and blocking the valley. Water backed up behind the debris into a lake more than 20 kilometres long, drowning villages and a long stretch of the Karakoram Highway, and for years boats were the only link to Upper Hunza. A series of tunnels built around the lake in the mid-2010s reopened the road. The lake's water is a startling turquoise, and boat rides, jet skis and lakeside cafés now make it one of the busiest stops in the north.

TipBoats and other water activities should come with life jackets; insist on one. Weekends in summer are crowded with domestic tourists, so go early on a weekday.

Gulmit is the main village of Gojal, Upper Hunza, where the people are mostly Wakhi, with their own language and traditions related to those of the Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan and Tajikistan. It was once a summer seat of the Mirs, and a small cultural museum and a centre where local women weave carpets and textiles are worth a visit. It makes a calm, convenient base for the lakes, glaciers and walks of Upper Hunza.

TipThe Gulmit Glacier and the Ghulkin Glacier are within easy walking distance of the village; local guides can show you the safest paths.

A small, slightly brackish lake on a terrace above the highway, Borith Lake sits at about 2,600 metres among willow trees and fields, with the Passu Cones and the Ghulkin Glacier close by. It's a stop for migrating waterfowl in spring and autumn, and a peaceful place to stay a night away from the main road. A footpath links it with Hussaini and Passu, and another crosses the moraine of the Ghulkin Glacier towards Ghulkin village.

Strung high over the grey torrent of the Hunza River, the Hussaini bridge is a long, swaying walkway of cables and wooden planks with wide gaps between them, and crossing it has become a rite of passage for visitors to the north. On the far side, a path leads up towards Zarabad and Borith. The bridge has been rebuilt and repaired several times after floods and wear, and its planks are replaced regularly.

TipThis is genuinely exposed and unnerving. Hold the side cables, go one at a time when it's busy, and skip it in strong wind or if you're unsteady on your feet. Ask locally if it's open.

The serrated pyramid of Tupopdan, more than 6,000 metres high and better known as the Passu Cones or the Cathedral, is the most photographed mountain in Gojal, its sharp rock spires lining the skyline above the village of Passu. Passu also sits beside the snout of the Passu Glacier and close to the Batura Glacier, one of the longest outside the polar regions. Short walks from the village lead to glacier viewpoints and to the Passu and Borith lakes, and the views of the Cones are best from the highway just south of the village.

TipThe Cones glow at sunset and sunrise; staying overnight in Passu is far more rewarding than stopping for a photograph on the way through.

At 4,693 metres, the Khunjerab Pass is one of the highest paved border crossings in the world, the point where the Karakoram Highway crosses into Xinjiang in China. The road there from Sost climbs through Khunjerab National Park, set up to protect Marco Polo sheep, ibex and snow leopards, and you may spot marmots or yaks near the top. At the pass itself, visitors pose for photographs by the border gate, in thin, icy air even in midsummer.

TipThe pass is open seasonally, typically from April to November, and can close at very short notice for snow or landslides. There is a national park entry fee at the checkpoint, and you'll need your passport. The altitude gain from Hunza is large and fast, so take it slowly, don't exert yourself at the top, and descend if you feel unwell.

On the way into Skardu from Gilgit, a little over half an hour short of the town, Lower Kachura Lake is better known as Shangrila, after the resort built around it with pagoda-roofed chalets, gardens and boats for hire. It's an enjoyable, if rather manicured, stop. A short drive up the hill, Upper Kachura Lake is wilder and deeper, with clear water, trout and a fringe of trees, and walking trails along its shore.

The capital of Baltistan spreads across a wide, sandy basin where the Shigar River meets the Indus, ringed by bare mountains. It's the gateway for expeditions to K2, Broad Peak and the Gasherbrum peaks via the Baltoro Glacier, and in summer the town fills with climbers and trekkers. The Kharpocho Fort, on a rock above the town, gives a sweeping view of the valley; the cold desert dunes at Katpana, near the airport, are good at sunset; and Satpara Lake, a reservoir in the hills to the south, lies on the road to Deosai.

TipSkardu has flights to Islamabad, which makes it the natural end point of a loop that starts in Gilgit.

In the green Shigar valley, north of Skardu, the seventeenth-century palace of the local rajas, known as Fong-Khar, the "palace on the rock", has been restored by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and is now a heritage hotel with a small museum. Its carved wooden balconies and the old mosques and orchards around it show the Tibetan-influenced building traditions of Baltistan. Non-guests can usually visit the museum and gardens.

TipThe cold desert of Sarfaranga, between Skardu and Shigar, is a striking contrast to Shigar's orchards and makes an easy stop on the way.

South of Skardu, a jeep track climbs to one of the highest plateaus in the world: the Deosai Plains, at an average of over 4,000 metres, a rolling expanse of grassland that bursts into wild flowers in high summer. The national park was created largely to protect the Himalayan brown bear, and you may also see golden marmots, foxes and birds of prey. Sheosar Lake, near the western edge, reflects the surrounding peaks. The plains are snowbound for much of the year and usually accessible only from around June to September.

TipGo with an experienced local driver in a jeep, carry warm clothing and food, and don't wander far from the vehicle around bears. Deosai is not on the FCDO's list of areas to avoid, but the Line of Control lies not far to the south; stay on the main Skardu–Deosai route and do not continue south towards Azad Jammu and Kashmir.