12-Day Rush Lake Trek in Hunza and Nagar via the Karakoram Highway

• Arrive in Islamabad.
• Meet your guide and driver, then transfer to your hotel to rest before starting towards the north of Pakistan, or continue with a same-day drive north.

• Travel on the Grand Trunk Road and join the Karakoram Highway at Hasan Abdal. Pass fruit groves of lychee, orange, and tobacco, along with small crop fields, before heading up to Abbottabad, a garrison city and hill station known for escaping the summer heat.
• The winding road climbs to a high plain and then descends to snake along the Indus River, towered over by mountains and the foothills of the Himalayas.
• Pass through frontier-like towns such as Besham and Dassu before reaching Chilas.

• Drive to Gilgit, stopping at ancient rock carvings and the meeting point of the three highest and longest mountain ranges - the Karakoram stretching to China, the Himalaya crossing India and Nepal, and the Hindu Kush crossing Afghanistan and Central Asia.
• Visit the Kargah Buddha and have lunch in the main bazaar of Gilgit.
• Continue the drive and rejoin the Karakoram Highway.
• Enjoy local stops for delicacies and handicrafts before stopping at the collision point of continental plates and reaching Rakaposhi Viewpoint, with views of Rakaposhi (Rakhaposhi Peak, 7788 m high), the longest mountain in the world and part of the Karakoram range.
• After tea with a view, continue into the Hunza Valley, where everything comes with a view.
• Visit historic Altit Fort and then stop at your hotel for the night, with excellent views over the Hunza Valley and the surrounding peaks.

• Wake to see the sunrise over Diran Peak, with breathtaking views of Golden Peak, Rakaposhi, Ultar 1, Ultar 2, Ladyfinger, and down into Hunza Valley and across to Nagar.
• Drive through high fields dotted with fruit trees being readied for spring planting, and cross the Hunza and Nagar rivers.

Elevation: 4400 m

• Drive for an hour to Hopar Valley. The approximate walk is 6 to 7 hours, and the elevation is 3300 m.
• In the morning, begin the first day of the trek to Baricho Kore.
• Once you leave Hopar Valley, there is no reliable water until Bericho Kore Camp, so carry water and start early to avoid the midday heat.
• From Hopar, descend steeply to 2790 m at the edge of the Bualtar Glacier. Cross the Barpu Glacier and reach Barpugiram in the ablation valley, the first hut. Barpu Giram's water source is snowmelt and is unreliable after May. Here, two trails go uphill. Take the path straight on the east-south side, where the ablation valley is narrow and larger juniper and wild roses appear.
• About one hour from Barpugiram, reach the huts and pasture of Mulharai, where tamarisk offers shade.
• Just beyond lies the grassy campsite of Baricho Kore, where a porter shelter hugs a boulder 5 km from Taigai Phari. Baricho means musicians and Kore means cave. A trickle of water runs through the campsite, with a larger source above camp. On arrival, pitch the tents and prepare for a delicious dinner at this 3300 m high grassland campsite.
• Rest at camp, eat, drink, and wash in the spring's clean water.

• Today, get up in the morning and have breakfast with eggs, paratha, and milk tea.
• After breakfast, climb a zigzag trail through juniper high pasture. It is relentlessly steep, hot, and dry, with no water until Chidin Harai Camp, so carry plenty of water for the day's hike.
• Start early to reach the top before the sun. Climb the ridge for three-quarter hours through sage, thyme, and scattered juniper to the ridge top, marked by a cairn at 4050 m. The trail from Gutten also joins here. The icy Miar Glacier below snowy Phufarash and Diran dominates the western views from this location.
• Continue southeast up the grassy ridge for one hour to Chidin Hara Camping, a flower-filled place. Chidin Harai has a goat pen, a few shepherds' huts, and grassy areas. Year-round water flows above the hut. Chidin means cooking pot and Haria means shepherded house or pasture.
• Enjoy the late afternoon light at this perfect camp, from which you can enjoy sunset and sunrise on the imposing Hisper Muztagh to the northeast. This wall of 7000 m peaks includes Momhil Sar at 7343 m, Trivor at 7728 m, Mulunguuti Sar at 7025 m, and Disteghil Sar at 7885 m, all dominating the Chidin Harai campsite. It is very famous for mountain panoramas.

• The approximate walking distance is 2 hours, with elevation from 4700 m to 5190 m.
• After breakfast, start towards the left-side rocky slope of Rush Lake above the water source. Towards the top of the slope, before it makes a pronounced bend to the left, cross right to avoid talus and reach a Barpu Glacier overlook one hour above Chidin Harai.
• Turn southeast across the talus.
• Cross a low rise and reach Rush Phari at 4690 m, the less windy campsite along the lake.
• Enjoy views of Miar Glacier, Spantik, Diran, Phurfarash, and two unclimbed peaks behind Rush Peak.
• Reach the campsite area, pitch the tents, and take lunch here.
• After lunch, climb towards Rush Peak.
• Ascend the south side of Rush Lake's flowered slopes for one hour to a hilltop with a cairn and several tent platforms. This is called Rush Peak at 5190 m. From the cairn, follow the northern ridge, then ascend easy second-class talus to the summit, also marked by a cairn. K2, the dramatically more significant Broad Peak and Gasherbrum IV are visible here, and Baintha Barak can be seen as nowhere else in the Karakoram. It is a magnificent mountain view on such a short trek.

• After breakfast, close camp and trek to Phai Phari Camp. The walk takes 5 to 6 hours. The descent of 1250 m to Phai Phari over 4.5 km is steep from the stone shelter and cairn along the lake. An obvious gully descends towards the Barpu Glacier. The route stays to the right of the gully, traversing talus, then descending through juniper and grassy slopes, and more steeply over steppes. Views of Sumaya Bar and Miar Glacier, along with Mulubaiting and Phupharash peaks, are awesome. Phai Phari has reliable water and is a perfect place to stay in the shade of willows.
• Cross the wide white ice of the Miar Glacier to Miar settlement at the junction of the Miar and Barpu glaciers.
• Follow the trail along the southeast margin of the Barpu Glacier from Miar to Hamdar, reaching Hamdar in about 2 hours.
• Miar Peak (6824 m) is known as Male Glacier - white as milk.
• Camp at Hamdar meadows. Shepherds offer ibex milk, and you can see the natural butter-making process. Spend the evening around the bonfire with the sound of wooden crapping.

• After breakfast early in the morning, start walking towards Happakun.
• Reach Happakun, and from there the trails pass through upper Shishkin before dropping to Lower Shaishkin at the edge of the Bualtar Glacier.
• Cross the tricky Bualtar Glacier and return to Hopar Valley.

Overnight stay at the hotel.

• Start the outbound journey from Hopar Valley.
• Head to Gappa Meadows to enjoy the stunning views of the lofty peaks of Rakaposhi and Diran.
• Walk to Gappa glaciers and enjoy the high pasture.
• Drive back to Gilgit in the evening.

• Travel from Hunza and Gilgit to Naran via the Karakoram Highway. Take in the spectacular scenic views of the mountains and Indus Valley, stopping at more ancient rock carvings and making the most of natural viewpoints and waterfalls.
• En route, visit Lulusar Lake.

• In the greener Himalayan foothills, wind back down and stop at the World Heritage dig sites and Taxila Museum before visiting Shah Faisal Mosque and the sights of Islamabad.
• Enjoy dinner in Food Street before transferring to the airport with many good memories from beautiful Pakistan.