Trip Duration: 20 days
Season: From late June to mid of September
Grade: Moderate trek with some technical sections
Activities: Trekking, Climbing & exploring the traditional valleys
Accommodation: 17 days trip, 10 days trek, 08 nights hotel,09 nights camp
About this Trip
Snow Lake is an exceptional trek, and not as popular as Baltoro although equally spectacular scenery surrounds you.
The trek starts from Askole village to Biafo Glacier which you trek up until it meets up with Hispar Glacier and Snow Lake before going up Hispar La (5,100m). This forms one of the longest glacial systems, approx 115 km, outside the Polar Regions. This highway of ice connects two ancient mountain kingdoms; Hunza in the west with Baltistan in the east. It creates a spectacular “white highway” across the heart of Karakoram. At its southern extremity, the terminal end of the Biafo overlooks the Braldu River and the route toward the Baltoro and K2. Just a few km from Askoli to the east of the Hispar pass spreads the remarkable Snow Lake, (Lukpe Lawo) 4,500 m, with a surface of ten by five kilometers, surrounded by imposing granite towers and peaks, this is a magnificent area to see and etch in one’s memory forever.
The elegant peaks of the Latoks (7,151m), the Ogre 7,285m (Baintha Brakk), and about 40 peaks over 6,000m and 10 over 7,000m line Snow Lake and the glaciers. There are numerous unclimbed peaks above 5,000m to add to the remarkable view of this area.
According to Galen Rowell, the American mountaineer, and photographer who made the first climb up Lukpilla Brakk, the area features “the greatest procession of granite spires of the entire Karakoram, spires that seem to march along the glacier like a series of organ pipes”.
Today the mountain people who venture onto these glaciers are porters and guides who are escorting expeditions and trekking parties. The glacial expanses of the Biafo and Hispar and their tributaries remain a harsh and authentic high-altitude wilderness. Expeditions are infrequent, and even the most ambitious of trekkers will forever be struck by the pristine majestic beauty as you watch the sunset and sunrise on the edge of Snow Lake below Hispar La. It is a memorable breathtaking sight before you.
This trek starts with a memorable flight past Nanga Parbat 8,125m and down into Skardu 2,300m, followed by a Jeep ride through the beautiful, fertile Shigar river valley, through many Baltistan villages and picturesque farming countryside to Askole, 3,000m.
The next morning you will begin the spectacular trek up the Biafo Glacier to its junction at Snow Lake 4,500m and then over Hispar La and down the Hispar Glacier to Hispar Village where the Jeep will meet you for the ride to Karimabad, Hunza, and a hotel.
Trip Information