11-Day Hunza Nagar & Shimshal Valley Tour from Islamabad

• Fly from Islamabad to Gilgit. (1 hour)
• Pick up from the airport & drive to Hunza. (2 hours)
• Stop-over at Old silk route & Rakaposhi-7788m viewpoint.
• Arrival in Hunza (capital of Hunza district), check-in and free time.
• Visit Baltit Fort (10 mins steep walk), Altit fort and Royal garden (5 mins drive from Baltit).
• Drive to Duekar for sunset and to enjoy the views of all the high mountains & the valley (Rakaposhi-7785m, Diran Peak-7200m, Spantik/Golden Peak-7027m, Ultar Peak-7388m and Miar glacier)-it is 20 mins drive from Altit. Hunza valley is very famous for the autumn so you will experience different colours in the valley, as there are many fruit trees like Cherries, Apricots, Apples, Almonds, Peach, Mulberries, Walnuts etc also some other plants and trees.

Overnight stay in Hunza.

• Drive to Hopper valley situated in the district of Nagar. (1.5 hours)
• Have a tea break in Hopper to enjoy the glacier view and the mountains around (Ultar Peak-7388m, Hunza Peak-6278m, Ladyfinger-6000m etc).
• Hike to the glacier (30 mins walk down to the glacier and a 1-hour climb to reach back). Hoper valley is really nice in Autumn, you will experience different colours in the valley, as there are many fruit trees like Cherries, Apricots, Apples, Almonds, Peach, Mulberries, and Walnuts etc also some other plants and trees.  
• Drive back to Karimabad for lunch. (1.5 hours)
• You can take some nice photos during the sunset.

Night stay in Hunza.

• Drive to Attabad Lake (40 mins) and take a boat ride on the lake (40 mins) to reach the middle of the lake to enjoy the view of the surroundings.
• Head to Ghulkin village via Gulmit valley. (15 mins)
• Walk to the viewpoint next to the primary school. (15 mins)
• Explore the valley & have a cup of tea in the traditional house with local families. (You can make a loop also to walk from Ghulkin to Gulmit via Kimaris village to have nice views of the villages)
• Then, proceed to the Hussaini suspension bridge (15 mins), cross it and walk a bit on the other side. This bridge connects Hussaini village to Zarabad village and it is the only way to reach this village.
• Drive to Passu for an overnight stay.

• Drive to Borith lake (20 mins), then hike to Passu glacier (1 hour to the main view but there is another one after another 45 mins walk). Over there you will be able to see Passu peak-7478m.
• Hike back to Borith lake and drive to Passu.
• Walk down to Passu suspension bridge (This is one of the scariest bridges in northern Pakistan over the Khunjerav river, it connects Passu village with Zarabad village and this is the only way to cross the river)
• Hike back to Passu, walk in the beautiful village and have a cup of tea and a slice of apricot cake in Glacier Breeze Restaurant. From there, you will enjoy the sunset on the magnificent Passu Cones (unclimbed 6000m peaks), Shispare peak (7611m) and Passu peak (7478m).

Night stay in Passu.

• Drive to Shimshal valley (3 hours off-road) on a road which was built from 1985 to 2003 by the hands of Shimshal villagers to disenclave their valley from the rest of the world.
• Shimshal is a famous valley in Pakistan as most high-altitude porters and mountaineers come from there (ex: Rajab Shah, the first Pakistani to summit the five 8000m peaks of Pakistan; Samina Baig, the first Muslim lady to summit Mount Everest). Shimshal is also famous as it kept its traditional wakhi culture and community-based system.
• Walk to Aminabad viewpoint in Shimshal valley to see Odver Sar (6400m)

Overnight stay in Shimshal.

• Hike up to the glacier’s viewpoint (3.5 hours) if you are average hikers you can even cross the glacier or go in the middle of the glacier and come back to Shimshal at the end of the day. As Yazghail glacier is situated in the remote valley of Shimshal, it is almost untouched. The glacier is divided into two parts: the white glacier and the black one. At some places on the white glacier you can see deep blue ice.
• Walk in the valley to meet the locals, have a cup of tea in the local house and do some photography.

Overnight in Shimshal.

• Drive back to Passu (3 hours) and take a tea break.
• Continue to Hunza (1.5 hours), have lunch in Hunza and buy some souvenirs, if interested.
• Then, move to Minapin valley (1.2 hours)
• Walk around in the valley and night stay in Minapin.

• Start trekking from Minapin to Rakaposhi base camp. (6-7 hours)
• The first part is steep and it could be hot as there is no shade on the trek, the second part is easy as you will be hiking in a small forest mostly it is Juniper trees. The last part is again steep so we will stop after 3-4 hours of hike and start again after lunch.
• Reach the base camp. (You will have an amazing view of Rakaposhi-7788m, Diran Peak-7266m & Minapin glacier)

Night camping at the base camp.

• Early morning you can go up to the glacier to walk a bit on the glacier and enjoy the views.
• Head back to the campsite and return to Minapin. (3-4 hours)
• Then, return to Gilgit (1.5 hours). You can visit the old town and the crowded streets.
• Watch the sunset at the Gilgit River.

Night stay in Gilgit city.

• Drop at the airport and fly back to Islamabad. (You will be flying above Karakoram and Himalayas mountains and you will have a nice view of Nanga Parbat-8126m in clear weather)
• Reach Islamabad, get picked up from the airport and dropped at the guest house.
• Spend some free time and explore a bit of the city in the afternoon (Faisal Mosque, Pak Monument, museum etc, you can drive to Margalla hills to take some nice pictures of the capital city, and the sunset view is nice from Margalla hills).

Night stay in Islamabad.

• Drop at the airport to board your return flight back home.

End of the tour.