● April 10: The group will leave Islamabad at 4-5am for Hunza. (If Filippo’s flight is on time, we can leave at 4am).
Drive time is 14.5 hours; it is a scenic journey as we drive through the mountains. We will be taking a break every 4 hours for food and restroom. We estimate to reach Hunza by 10pm where we will have a hot meal and a cozy bed waiting for us.
There will be two drivers with us on this journey along with a local tour guide and/or one of the Route16 team members.
● April 11: We will spend the first two days in Hunza to acclimatize and explore the valley. There is a lot to do in the town, including old forts, bazaars, some short hikes, meeting local entrepreneurs and community engagement.
Day 1 in Hunza will be centered around more relaxing activities close to Karimabad. Since we are staying at the Altit Fort residence, we will begin our day with breakfast at the Khabasi Restaurant, which is run by local women. Our first activity of the day will be a tour of the Altit Fort.
We will then walk to the Karimabaad bazzar and first take a tour of the Baltit Fort. Then we can walk around the bazaar and for those looking to do some shopping, this will be the perfect opportunity.
There are local artisans in the area including those engaged in carpet weaving and jewelry making, whom we can visit. OR stop at Lal Shahzadi’s Café for a quick bite of her famous Chapshuro – bread stuffed with chicken or beef. She offers the more traditional version. She also makes great parathas served with homemade cheese and you cannot miss that!
To watch the sunset, we will drive up to Duiker, where you get the best view of the majestic valley and watch the sun go down behind the mountains. If there are people interested in rock climbing or mountain rappelling, that can be arranged as well.
For dinner, we will head to Safina’s Café which is very close by. Safina does fusion food – her Chapshuro has more familiar taste. While traditionally made with meat filling, we can also potentially ask her to do a vegetarian version. Other things to try include Apricot Chicken and Daudo Soup (traditional soup with noodles).
● April 12: Today, our activities will be centered around the Passu / Gulmit area. We will be checking out from Altit Serena today.
Following breakfast, we will drive to the Gulmit Village where we will visit a local community school – Al-Amyn Model Community School. There are several cafes run by local women in Gulmit where one can enjoy traditional local cuisine, including Giyaling – traditional pancakes and Diram Fitti – bread served typically with apricot oil. We can also have lunch at a local’s residence.
There is a shop run by women for carpet weaving from where you can buy small rugs.
From here, we will go for a hike to Passu glacier. It’s about 45 mins hike to the glacier and easily doable. Before we head for the hike, we can order the famous Apricot Cake at Glacier Breeze Café and have it either on return from the hike or bring it back for evening tea.
Just a few mins ahead from here is the Yak Grill Café famous for its Yak Burgers.
When we start our drive back towards Karimabad, there are two tourist stops. We can walk across the famous hanging Hussaini Bridge; if you cross over the bridge, there is a community settled on the other side.
Then we can stop at Attabad Lake; this lake was formed as a result of an earth quake in 2010. One can do boating here.
Since we are staying at Mountain Story for the night, dinner is recommended here only – their chef is great. We recommend Hoi lo Garma which is a variation of spinach lasagna among other things. For a large group, they also fire up their wood stove for pizza but have to be informed in advance.
● April 13: After breakfast, we will check out from Mountain Story and leave for Hoper at 8am. From here a guide, who is a climber, will take over and accompany you for the camping trip.
You will first drive up to Hoper – about 1.5 hrs drive and then start the hike from there.
On Day 1, you will hike from Hoper to Brichkor. This will be about 4-5 hours hike to reach the campsite.
From 2,700m, you will walk up to roughly 3,000m
● April 14: After early morning breakfast, you will start your trek towards Rush Lake today. The trek is steep and you will gain more height, going up to 4,500m.
Lunch will be en-route. If there isn’t too much snow, you will camp at the lake; otherwise, you will camp just short of the lake.
● April 15: On Day 3, following an early morning breakfast, you will trek to Rusk Lake Peak – 5,098m. If the weather is clear, you will be able to see K2, Broad Peak and other peaks on the Karakoram range.
On the same day, you will trek back to the campsite at the lake; have lunch there and then trek back to Brichkor for the last night of camping.
For those looking to have a more relaxed day, they can wait for the group to go up to Rusk Lake Peak and return to the lake and then accompany the group for the descend.
● April 16: Today, you will return to town – this will be about 4 hours hike down, following which you will drive straight to the hotel in Gilgit and back to the world of luxury.
If someone is looking to do last minute shopping for dry fruits, we can head to the Gilgit bazaar.
Dinner is recommended at Gilgit Serena only.
● April 17: Flight from Gilgit to Islamabad. We are booked on the 8:25am flight. If the flight gets canceled, we will hop on our coaster and drive back to the city.