Karakorum Nature & Discovery Pakistan

Save the date: An International Conference and Art Festival on in
will be held at PNCA Islamabad on 14-15 March 2022. Interested people can register at
https://buddhisminpakistan.org/

From all of us at KNDP, we wish you a very Happy New Year 2022 filled with health, happiness, and joy.✨🎉
We hope you're welcoming the New Year with promising adventures and look forward to seeing you on the trails in 2022. 🥾🇵🇰

Thank you to all our followers, friends, and intrepid travellers all around the world for your ongoing support and faith in us. Happy New Year & Best wishes to all!

Michael Palin’s Himalaya: Journey of a Lifetime

If you missed last nights amazing episode of Michael Palin's Himalaya: Journey of a Lifetime on BBC Two, you can catch it until Monday 20 December 9.30pm on BBC iPlayer-https://bbc.in/3p17tl8
This special episode sees Michael revisit his fifth travel series. For Michael, this epic journey across the world’s highest mountain range is the fulfilment of boyhood dreams inspired by the 1953 ascent of Everest by Hillary and Tensing. Beginning in the famous Pass, he travels through and India and ascends into Nepal and Tibet to reach Everest base camp itself, before venturing into the mountain kingdom of Bhutan.
But Michael’s journey isn’t all about scaling peaks – it’s also about finding out what life is like for the people who live in some of the harshest environments on Earth. He is curious to see countries that were cut off by the mountains for centuries and that have developed their own distinct cultures and ways of survival, to discover the different ways that religion influences society here, and to meet the hardy inhabitants of the mountains.
Along the way, Michael sees Pakistan’s historically volatile North West Frontier region and narrowly avoids a bull during a bull-racing festival. Crossing the border into India, he visits the Sikh city of Amritsar and the Golden Temple, where he learns about Sikhism and eats with the thousands of pilgrims who come there. And in Dharamshala, he learns about Buddhism and meets the Dalai Lama – who turns out to be a Palin fan.
Moving ever upwards into the mountains, Michael suffers from altitude sickness, and at one point thinks he might have to give up. But he recovers and is rewarded with stunning views of the Annapurna range. Eventually, he reaches Everest base camp, where he reflects on the achievement of walking in the footsteps not only of Hillary but of the earlier British explorers Mallory and Irvine, who were childhood heroes of his.
Being curious to find out how people live up at high altitude, he spends time with a Nepalese yak-herder and his family, making a real connection despite not speaking their language. In Nagaland, he has a chat with an elderly headhunter, who turns out to be much friendlier than he looks. Finally, Michael journeys through the isolated and magical nation of Bhutan, before descending to sea-level in Bangladesh.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000qrr9/michael-palins-himalaya-journey-of-a-lifetime?fbclid=IwAR1D0PBU8-lrdyLs9-Qzj8avgVSBu6NtNLtMyQOiPVjVlZQWpGGGnd9T9PU

Michael Palin’s Himalaya: Journey of a Lifetime Michael Palin recalls his fifth great journey, exploring across and around the Himalaya.

Golden autumn at Phander lake, Ghizer, Gilgit Baltistan

Photo by S.M Bukhari

Have you been dreaming about travelling in the heart of the - Himalayas immersing yourself in cultures and incredible landscapes?
If you're interested in a trip to Pakistan, Message us on Facebook or drop us a line at [email protected]

From London to Beijing on the old Silk Road – a photo essay

"From London to Beijing on the old Silk Road – a photo essay
Taken on a 25,000-mile trip across 16 countries including , these images capture cities, landscapes, and people along the trading route".
by Christopher Wilton-Steer

From London to Beijing on the old Silk Road – a photo essay Taken on a 25,000-mile trip across 16 countries, these images capture cities, landscapes and people along the trading route – and the pre-Covid joy of travel

Congratulations to the young mountainers from Hunza, Gilgit Baltistan that made the summit of Mt Annapurna (8091m) today.
Sirbaz Khan from Aliabad and Abdul Joshi from Shimshal are the first ones in the history of Pakistan to summit Mt. Annapurna.

Angel Peak (6058 meters) so beautifully captured by Nadeem Khawar, Mountain Range

valley avails extraordinary vistas: glaciers, clifftop orchards, and crag-perched castles and the scenery is breathtaking during Spring blossom season

Get in touch with us and book a completely tailored experience
📧 [email protected]

Nowruz Mubarak to Persian/Iranian, Afghan, Wakhi, Ismaili, and other people who celebrate their New Year and arrival of Spring on the Vernal Equinox. Nowruz is a joyful celebration of rebirth, renewal, forgiveness and hope. Mountain people when they hike up to their fields, till and bless the soil, and plant the season's first seeds on !

Have you been dreaming about trekking in the heart of the Karakoram Himalayas immersing yourself in cultures and incredible landscapes? Walking past glaciers and 7&8000m peaks? Seeing the Trango Towers up close. Then we have the PERFECT expedition for you! Bookings are open for Concordia, via Baltoro Glacier. Book now!

Great Book ! THE KARAKORAM - ICE MOUNTAINS OF PAKISTAN - Colin Prior

The ice mountains of the are among the world's greatest natural treasures. At 8611 metres (28,251 ft), K2 is the second tallest mountain on Earth. There are three other mountains in the range that top 8000 metres (26,247 ft) - Gasherbrum I, Broad Peak and Gasherbrum II - and more than 60 peaks above 7000 metres (22,966 ft). Extending in a south-easterly direction from the north-eastern tip of Afghanistan and spanning the borders of Pakistan, India and China, the Karakoram is part of a complex of ranges in Central Asia that includes the Hindu Kush to the west and the Himalayas to the south-east. These mountains, however, are distinctive. This is the most glaciated region on the planet outside the Arctic and Antarctic. But while most of the world's great peaks are almost blanketed in snow and ice, the Karakoram is an exception: the mountains are so vertical that they rapidly shed snow, leaving their bold, jagged outlines of black granite glistening in the sun. The name of the range comes from the Turkic term for 'black rock' or 'black gravel'.
The well-known landscape photographer Colin Prior was initially inspired to visit the Karakoram in his early twenties: in his local library he picked up the book In the Throne Room of the Mountain Gods (1977) by the American climber and photographer Galen Rowell, and was instantly captivated by images of the sharp, fractured peaks and vast glaciers. His first trip to the Karakoram came in the mid-1990s, and he has been passionate about these mountains ever since. Prior's new book is the result of six expeditions he has made to the Gilgit-Baltistan region of north-east Pakistan over the last six years. Because the region is so remote, there are no established base camps, and each expedition requires careful planning and miles of trekking with a large team of guides, porters and ponies to carry the equipment and provisions. There are regular rock falls and perilous snow-covered crevasses to contend with. The reward for Prior is what he calls the ultimate mountain landscape: 'The scenery is graphic, with towers, minarets and cathedrals of rock.' This beautifully produced volume showcases the breathtaking beauty of the Karakoram in some 130 duotone and colour photographs. The images are largely arranged to follow Prior's progress up the glaciers, and are accompanied by well-chosen quotations from accounts of historical expeditions to the region. A selection of 'making of' images at the end of the book highlights the challenges of documenting the most exceptional mountain range in the world.

With a landscape blessed with the mightiest mountain ranges, snaking rivers of incredible speed and grand valleys, is the ultimate destination for travel.

Start planning your next adventure and write us at :
[email protected]

Our thoughts are with the brave climbers and their families : Muhammad Ali Satpara of , Juan Pablo Mohr of Chile, and John Snorri of Iceland, who are missing on the , and also with the families of Sergio Mingotte of Spain and Atanas Skatov of Bulgaria, who lost their lives on the K2 earlier this season.

Nepali climbers make history with winter summit of K2 mountain

Congratulations to the Nepali climbers making history today with a successful winter summit of

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-55684149

Nepali climbers make history with winter summit of K2 mountain Till now, K2 was the only mountain higher than 8,000m not to be conquered in winter.

Cold Desert, known as Katpana Desert, Skardu,

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
Alfred Lord Tennyson

Why Pakistan should be your pick for a post-lockdown adventure

Under a new tourism drive, Pakistan is finally ready to take its place as one of the world's premier destinations.

*The Telegraph (London, UK)
_January 5, 2021_
Peter Watson
It is autumn of 2019 and the world knows nothing of Covid-19 or R numbers. I’m stood at Concordia camp in the Karakoram mountains of Pakistan. Tomorrow, I will complete the final leg of a two-week trek to K2 base camp at the foot of Earth’s second-highest mountain.
Concordia is located at the confluence of the Baltoro and Godwin-Austen glaciers at around 4,600m (15,091ft) – only slightly lower than the summit of Mont Blanc, Western Europe’s highest peak. The scene makes the Alps look distinctly Lilliputian, delivering a sense of scale and perspective that can only be found in Asia's great ranges. Indeed, the enormous rocky amphitheatre surrounding Concordia contains the planet’s densest cluster of sky-scraping summits, including four of the 14 'eight-thousanders' – the world’s only peaks above 8,000m (26,000ft).
As I turn to my left and gaze along the immense Godwin-Austen Glacier, K2 soars in splendid isolation above the neighbouring moraine, its towering bulk utterly overwhelming. Pakistan's ‘Savage Mountain’ may be second in stature to Nepal's Everest, but the mountain has poise and symmetry that, in my mind, makes it the most impressive of all of Earth's great peaks. But, while Nepal attracts over a million annual visitors to its trails, Pakistan’s trekking industry has stagnated since 9/11. However, that may all be about to change.
Following his 2018 election victory, Imran Khan highlighted tourism and national security as main objectives in his first 100 days agenda. Initiatives have included increasing availability of tourist visas, developing an online e-visa system, receiving the Royal Family for a state visit and restarting direct flights to Islamabad. The drive has already seen a moderate increase in visitors, particularly adventurers.
Climbers and trekkers are venturing to some of its most remote regions, among them K2. At 8,611m (28,251ft), it is the only 8,000m peak unclimbed in winter. With a throng of foreign mountaineers currently assembled at base camp, preparing for an attempt on its slopes, the mountain is witnessing its busiest ever winter climbing season. Under previous regulations, this number of climbing permits were unavailable. Furthermore, K2 expeditions have been aided by an extension of the road from Skardu, the gateway city to the Karakoram. The extension cuts days of porterage off the backbreaking journey to base camp.
It’s not only adventurers taking advantage of Khan’s ambition. In 2021, Pakistan will host the England cricket team for the first time in 16 years. The landmark tour is down to Wasim Khan, the British chief executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board, who has fought hard to facilitate the return of international cricket to Pakistan. Security concerns have plagued Pakistani cricket since 9/11, coming to a head with the 2009 terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team. As a consequence, Test cricket was not played in the country between 2009 and 2019 with Pakistan playing their “home” matches in the UAE.
The hope is that cricket fans will follow England to Pakistan and, ideally, stick around to soak in the country’s magnificent scenery. The best views are, of course, to be found in the mountains, which is where I headed before the pandemic hit to join a trekking party to K2.
I won’t lie, life on the trail is challenging. Forget the prayer-flag-adorned teahouses, monasteries and souvenir shops of Nepal, the Karakoram is real wilderness. Anyone who opts for the K2 base camp trek will be camping for several nights on the freezing Baltoro Glacier. Comforts are few and far between and Pakistan’s trekking industry lacks the infrastructure of Nepal.
However, there is so much more to trekking in Pakistan than K2 base camp. With endless soaring summits, panoramic mountain passes and idyllic meadows, Pakistan has tracts of outstanding hiking options to rival its Himalayan neighbours. There are more comfortable hut-to-hut routes available as well as treks with considerably more accommodating campsites than the Baltoro Glacier, as well as myriad day hiking options.
Pakistan may be on the cusp of a tourism boom but the pandemic has arrested Khan's plans. If you’re planning a trekking holiday in 2021, consider forgoing the well-worn paths of the Alps or Annapurna and instead, head for the magnificent Karakoram with its embarrassment of lofty peaks and empty trails. The mountains are calling and Pakistan is finally ready to take its place as one of the world's premier trekking destinations.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/activity-and-adventure/pakistan-should-pick-post-lockdown-adventure/?fbclid=IwAR1YiwaeTCz37mLgu7hJiy70AUO7nEixf6Kt1r-zs-c6fSALGzZBuAWGqY0

telegraph.co.uk Under a new tourism drive, Pakistan is finally ready to take its place as one of the world's premier trekking destinations