Trek Pakistan's Karakoram Mountains

Guide

All group trips are accompanied by one of our group leaders. The aim of the group leader is to take the hassle out of your travels and to help you have the best trip possible. Intrepid endeavours to provide the services of an experienced leader however, due to the seasonality of travel, rare situations may arise where your leader is new to a particular region or training other group leaders.Your leader will provide information on the places you are travelling through, offer suggestions for things to do and see, recommend great local eating venues and introduce you to our local friends. While not being guides in the traditional sense, you can expect them to have a broad general knowledge of the places visited on the trip, including historical, cultural, religious, and social aspects. At Intrepid we aim to support local guides who have specialised knowledge of the regions we visit. If you are interested in delving deeper into the local culture at a specific site or location then your leader can recommend a local guide service in most of the main destinations of your trip.

Meals

9 breakfasts, 9 lunches, 9 dinners

Others

Included activitiesExpert Licensed professional local guide15 kgs of porter services per personSkardu Bazaar walkManthal Rock BuddhaKharpocho FortKhaplu Fort MuseumYugo Village cultural walkMingulo Broq guided hikeMingulo Broq to Nangma valley guided hikeAmin Brakk base camp guided hikeLive music and dance show by local Balti peopleNangma valley to Kanday guided hikeTraditional lunch with local family at Kanday villageDates & availability

Transport

Private Vehicle,PlaneTRANSPORT IN PAKISTAN:Main roads in Pakistan are usually very busy with an assortment of vehicles from the biggest trucks (who always have right of way) down to bikes (and animals!). Overtaking on blind corners at speed is common as is the total use of the horn as a form of communication. Our leaders have complete authority to remove groups from local transport if the driver is not driving safely. Drivers of our private vehicles are experienced and well trained. if you are uncomfortable with your driver, please always let your tour leader know immediately. Please ensure you wear your seat belt at all times. TRAVEL TIMES:Distances in Pakistan do not reflect the driving time and to cover 100km may take much longer than you would expect at home, even if much of the route is on a highway. AUTO RICKSHAWS:On this trip we travel on local style of transport called an auto rickshaw. These small, motorised three wheeled vehicles are a common form of transport in Pakistan and do not have seatbelts.FLIGHTS:International airports in Pakistan are becoming more modern (especially in the major and tourist cities). To enter the airport, you must have a copy of your flight ticket and passport. Schedule changes and delays do occur, especially when weather conditions make visibility poor.INTERNAL FLIGHTS:Flights between Islamabad and Gilgit are often delayed or canceled due to poor weather. Your local leader will give you the most up to date information regarding delays to flights. If your flight is cancelled we will endeavour to get your group on the next available flight. Failing that, we will follow our contingency plan by road using a private vehicle.

Accommodation

The style of accommodation indicated in the day-to-day itinerary is a guideline only and may change. On some occasions, alternative arrangements may need to be made due to the lack of availability of rooms in our preferred accommodation. In these cases, we will use a similar standard of accommodation.Throughout the trip, we request that our properties prepare rooms in time for our arrival, especially if we're arriving prior to normal check-in time. However, this isn't always possible which means we won't be able to check-in immediately on arrival at some hotels. Instead, we can store our luggage and explore our new destination or on some trips, have use of shared day rooms until all rooms are available.ACCOMMODATION:Some of the accommodation along the way is basic or simple, staying in local guesthouses and homestays. Some may have shared bathroom facilities with cold water only. We use a mixture of air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned rooms. Some areas of Pakistan experience daily load shedding. This is where the power may be turned off at certain times of the day and usually occurs for a few hours in early afternoon. Most hotel properties have a restaurant or cafe serving local meals. SHOWERS:Showers at some hotels only have hot water at peak times (usually morning and evening). Outside of these times you may need to speak to reception to obtain hot water. ROOM ISSUES:If you have any issues with your room, please speak to the hotel and your tour leader right away rather than your travel agent so that the problem can be addressed without delay.The group will spend three nights in Islamabad at high standard hotel. In Skardy and Khaplu, we will stay in Original standard hotel. Accommodation at each of these hotels is based on twin-sharing. All rooms have en-suite facilities.Whilst on the trek, three nights will be spent camping in spacious two-person alpine tents. It is possible to hire a single tent for an additional cost. Group ‘mess’ tent will be set up in each camp as well.Hotel (6 nights),Full Service Camping (3 nights)

Others

Other activities and services are not included

Flights

Flights are not included

Optional

Other activities and services are not included

Insurance

Insurance is not included