1. Shimshal Pass Trek
Shimshal Pass (4735m) is located east of Pasu on the Karakoram Highway. The dramatically beautiful territory of Shimshal is home to some of the finest trekking in the Karakoram. Lying between the Karakoram Highway, the Chinese border and the northern margin of the Karakoram Range, this is a rugged and remote area including several interconnecting valleys and 9 peaks above 7000 meters. The pass is not part of Khunjerab National Park, but the Shimshal community has set up an organization called SNT (Shimshal Nature Trust) which overlooks the entire region and takes care of its own land. It is a community-based organization and is registered with the Government of Pakistan. Annually, in the month of July, there is a festival in Shimshal Pass, where locals partake in a one-of-its-kind yak race, followed by singing and dancing.
2. K-2 Base Camp Trek
K2 Base camp trek stands among the major treks and offers a backbreaking, challenging but rewarding trekking experience among the most famous trekking routes in the world. It begins from the mountains of Skardu, crossing the beautiful ‘Shigar’ valley and drive on to dwell in the Galen Rowell. Concordia (4720m) is known as the set point of Godwin-Austen and Baltoro Glacier and offers you stunning views. This corridor of ice leads to the colossal peak of K2 (8611m/28,251ft), the world’s second-highest peak. This incomparable trek traverses some of the most humbling scenery on the planet. What begins following icy rivers boldly goes to the guts of the glacier before leading to the granite pyramidal mountains including Paiju at 6,610 meters (21,686ft), Uli Biaho at 6,417 meters (21,053ft), Great Trango Tower at 6,286 meters (20,623ft), and ultimately K2.
3. Fairy Meadows Trek
Fairy Meadows (or fairy tale meadows), locally known as Joot, is a grassland near one of the base campsites of the Nanga Parbat, located in Diamer District, Gilgit-Baltistan. At an altitude of about 3,300 meters (10,800 ft) above sea level, it serves as the launching point for trekkers summiting on the Rakhiot face of the Nanga Parbat. Fairy Meadows is approachable by a 12 Kilometers long jeep-able trek, starting from Raikhot Bridge on Karakoram Highway to the village Tato. Further from Tato, it takes about three to four hours hiking by a 5 Kilometers trek to Fairy Meadows. In 1995, the Government of Pakistan declared Fairy Meadows a National Park.
4. Snow Lake Trek
Snow Lake, or Lukpe Lawo, is a high-altitude glacial basin in the Karakoram mountain range in Gilgit-Baltistan. It is not a lake as the name suggests; due to the intense amount of snow here. Snow Lake is located 4,877 meters (16,000 feet) above sea level and is approximately 16 Kilometers (10 miles) wide. The basin lies at the head of the Biafo and Hispar glaciers, which spread down from the Hispar Pass in opposite directions, forming a 100 Kilometers (61 mile) river of ice that is among the world’s longest continuous glacier systems outside of the Polar Regions. The journey to Snow Lake normally begins in Skardu, which can be reached by plane or jeep from Islamabad. From Skardu, a jeep takes travellers through the Braldu Gorge to the village of Askole. The trek from Askole initially proceeds towards K2, then turns northwest up the Biafo Glacier to Snow Lake.