21-Day K2 Base Camp Trek from Islamabad via Concordia and Gondogoro La

Meet your tour guide at a predecided location.

Spend the day in Islamabad finalizing permit details with the Ministry of Tourism. The evening will be free.

Stay overnight at the hotel.

Leave for the Islamabad airport for your flight to Skardu (2,272 m). This flight is subject to clear weather. Alternately, we take a two-day drive to Skardu, along the Karakoram Highway, which is sometimes referred to as the eighth wonder of the world. 

Stay overnight at Chilas on the banks of Indus, the lion river.

Stroll down the narrow bazaar, climb up the cliff to visit the historic Kharpocho fort, visit the turquoise blue Satpara Lake, just a few kilometers from the town.

Have your meal. 

Stay overnight in Skardu. 

Drive over a small pass and enter Shigar, a valley of orchards. 

Reach Thongol, and leave the jeeps for a short walk to the camping site.

Have your meals and stay overnight at the campsite. 

Start your trek in the soft morning light with your Pakistani mountain guide. 

Walk along the Braldu River to arrive at Askole, the last permanent settlement along the trek, often mentioned by early explorers as the last human inhabitation of the Indian subcontinent.

Walk across barren wasteland brings us to Biafo glacier for another 3 hours. It takes around two hours to cross the glacier on an established trail, walking most of the time on moraine and occasionally on ice. Once across the glacier, it is twenty minutes to Korofan. 

Walk along a cliff face to arrive at the cable bridge to cross the Dumordo River with your Pakistani mountain guide. You may have to wait here for some time for our turn to cross the river over the newly built wooden bridge, which replaced a swinging pulley. This trek section can be unexpectedly hot and dry, so protect yourself well from the sun. 

Reach Khrobrak (4242 m) and set your camp. It is a small stretch of land just by the Braldu River, which will provide natural music all the time.

Walk for three hours to the point where waters from the Paiju peak divide themselves into four rushing streams that can be crossed by jumping over the stones and then walking through the meltwater. 

Take a look at the towering summits of Gasherbrum 4, Cathedral Towers, and Broad Peak.

Trek through the scree and sand, walk along the river, and reach Paiju (3560 m), a refreshing campsite situated in a grove of willows and poplars through which flows a stream of fresh water. 

Begin your day’s trek with a walk for about an hour across gradually ascending barren territory to arrive at the snout of the Baltoro Glacier, a vast, turbulent sea of rocks and ice more than two miles wide and nearly forty miles long. 

Take a look at the Cathedral and Trango Towers, rising to 6000 meters on your left.

Begin to feel the pulse of creation: the melting ice, the shifting rocks, and the groans of the glacier as it rearranges its icy rivers. As we walk across boulder-strewn ice, we gradually gain height over three hours to the glacier's south side.

Arrive at a flat, sandy area of lateral moraine.

Reach your campsite in Khobursay at 4000 meters. 

Walk on the lateral moraine of the glacier for the first two hours.

After arriving at the green pastures of Urdukas, cross crevasses and then walk on the medial moraine of the glacier. The middle part of the glacier has its own surprises, small streams of water rushing over clear blue ice and huge mushroom-like ice towers erupting from the glacier.

Proceed to Gasherbrum 2 (8035 m), the 14th highest peak in the world.  

Reach Biango. Your campsite is dominated by a stunning view of Mashabrum (7900 m). As you are camping on a thin layer of moraine over glacial ice, the night can be frigid.

 Start your trek walking on the medial moraine of the glacier to the incredible sanctuary of Concordia. 

Make your way through Gasherbrum 4, which stands guard in the east. On your left, you have magnificent views of Muztagh Tower (7200 m) on the border between Pakistan and China. 

Reach Concordia, lured by the classic views of K2 (8612 m), the second-highest mountain of the world. Concordia - the meeting place of five glaciers, is named after “Place de la Concorde” in Paris. Also visible from Concordia, clockwise from K-2 are Broad Peak (8068 m), Gasherbrum 4 (7900 m), Baltoro Kangri (7245 m), Kondus (7000 m), Mitre (6000 m), Paiju (6610 m), Crystal (6300 m), Marble (6200 m) and Angel Peak (6800 m).

Go on a strenuous 10-hour round-trip trek over snow, rock, and ice.

Begin your trek and cross crevasses of the Baltoro Glacier, then walk on the lateral moraine of the Godwin Austin glacier to the base camp of Broad Peak. Chogolisa (7586 m) now appears on the scene, standing guard in the south and hinting at the new crossing from Concordia to the Hushe valley.

Proceed towards base camp; you walk on the moraine of Godwin Austin glacier. Walking here is much easier than the first two hours’ stretch on rocks.

Arrive at K2 base camp at 5000 m, which is normally occupied by five mountaineering expeditions during the climbing season each year. You will be overwhelmed by the sheer size of K2.

Return to Concordia for an overnight stay. 

Leave Concordia and traverse the Baltoro Glacier and its crevasses. Once on the Vigne Glacier, it is a comparatively easy and gradual walk over snow and ice. Mighty Chogolisa (7600 m) stands guard in the south.

Camp overnight at Ali Camp (5030 m), a combination of small rocky platforms between the cliff face and crevasse. 

Leave camp at about 1 am to climb the Gondogoro La (5566 m).

Walk on the lateral moraine to avoid crevasses. As you get closer to the pass, you walk on snow to the base of the pass. The final ascent involves a steep walk on the snow and fixed ropes and crampons, and ice axes. The view from the top of the pass is unparalleled, with K2, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum 1 to 4, Mashabrum, and many other mountains appearing at our level. The descent on the Hushe side is steeper, requiring good balancing on the rocks.

Camp at Khuispan (4629 m). 

Take time to explore the area or relax and admire the views of Laila Peak (6063 m), Drangra, and Tasa Peak. 

Make a long traverse of the Gondogoro Glacier, first encountering small crevasses, then hiking over the soft ice of the glacier. The last half hour is a pleasant stroll through wildflowers, with commanding views of the Gondogoro Glacier, Yermandu Kangri (7555 m), Mashabrum South (7688 m), and the Mashabrum La. 

Camp at 4198 meters by a small Lake. 

Gradually leave the icy landscapes and descend to the meadows and pasture land at Saicho (3727m). Take a look at the Namika Peak (6230 m) and Defokhar (6445 m). 

Enjoy the spectacular views of K-6 (7171 m), K-7 (6839 m), and Link Sar (6935 m).

Continue descending, passing through small summer settlements en route to the green irrigated fields at Hushe (3153 m). 

Have your last breakfast at the camp for this trek. 

Board soft-top 4x4 jeeps for a bumpy ride through the Karakoram. This part of Baltistan appears greener and more prosperous than on our drive to Thongol.

Arrive at Skardu. Transfer to the hotel and enjoy a hot shower.

Have your meals and stay overnight at the hotel. 

Board the flight to Islamabad, and arrive in Rawalpindi in just one hour. In case of cancellation of flight, we shall drive by road to Islamabad and spend the night at Chilas. 

Proceed to the office of the Ministry of Tourism for the de-briefing of the trek.

Spend the day exploring the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

Transfer to the international airport for a return flight back home.