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The Skardu valley at dusk, the braided Indus threading the flat valley floor below the Karakoram skyline.

Skardu

Cold desert, turquoise lakes, and the gateway to the Baltoro

Altitude

2,228 m

Worth going

All year

How long to stay

3–6 nights

Getting a signal

4G on the main operators

Skardu sits in a wide bowl of the Indus at 2,200 metres, a cold desert with dunes on one side and glaciated giants on the other. It is the staging post for K2 and the Baltoro, but it is also a fine destination in its own right — Shigar, Khaplu, Shangrila and Upper Kachura fill several unhurried days.

  • Shigar Fort and Khaplu Palace, both restored as heritage hotels
  • Upper Kachura and Shangrila lakes
  • The Katpana cold desert, with dunes at 2,200 metres
  • Manthokha waterfall and the Basho valley
  • The road to Askole, where every Baltoro trek begins

The honest downsides

  • The Skardu flight is weather-dependent and cancels often. Always hold a spare day.
  • The road in from Gilgit is spectacular and long — seven hours, and slower after rain.
  • Outside the two heritage hotels, accommodation is functional rather than charming.

Trips that go to Skardu

A Himalayan marmot standing upright among summer wildflowers on the Deosai plains, the empty plateau behind it.Photography

Deosai & Astore Wilderness

Eight nights across the second-highest plateau on earth

8 nightsJul–Sepmoderate
from $1,290ppSee the trip →
Balti porters carrying roped loads in single file across the moraine of the Baltoro glacier, granite spires behind.Trekking

K2 Base Camp Trek

Twenty-one nights up the Baltoro to Concordia and K2

21 nightsJun–Augexpedition
from $3,480ppSee the trip →
A hand-painted Pakistani cargo truck on the Karakoram Highway where it is cut into a cliff high above the turquoise Hunza river.Photography

Grand North: Hunza & Skardu

Fourteen nights covering both great valleys properly

14 nightsMay–Sepmoderate
from $2,540ppSee the trip →
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