Biafo Hispar Trek

Biafo Glacier and Hispar Glacier meet at the height of 5151 m. Combining these two Glaciers become the longest glacial systems outside the polar regions. This highway of ice connects two ancient mountain kingdoms.

The First Discoverer

The route was extensively used to connect the English trekker Martin Conway the first foreign visitor and the one who named it Snow Lake, claimed in 1937 that he saw the footprints of yeti on the ‘glacier.’ The landscape is no less spectacular-Particularly at dawn as clouds clear after a heavy fall of snow described it as: “Beyond all comparison the finest view of mountains it has ever been my lot to behold, nor do I believe the world can hold finer.”

Snow Lake

At the head of the Biafo Glacier and at the foot of the Hispar Pass is the remarkable white wilderness known as  ‘Snow Lake.’ This spectacular beauty of nature brightens the look of surroundings more enchanting with the presence of the Ogre or Biantha Brakk and Latok group, the highest peak in the Region. Such is the stunning beauty of this region combine with its wealth of magnificent snow clad peaks, that it is hard to identify any one peak as being. Here one can observe the rare species of animals in abundance like snow leopards, Himalayan Bears, Ibex, and sometimes can see the Marco polo.

Biafo Hispar Snow Lake

The Biafo hispar snow lake trek starts from Askole in the early hours of the day. The first campsite is Namla, situated in a small meadow by the Biafo Glacier. The trek’s beginning is fairly straight alongside the roaring Braldu river. As pass the Kiser Polo Ground, there is a steep ascent through the pass “Snum La”, or Sky Pass, in Balti language.

The First Glimpse

Crossing Snum la and reaching on top, the first glimpse is the mighty Biafo Glacie on the other side. The snout of Biafo has many crevasses and is full of boulders, scree, and glacial pools, stretching as far as the eye could see. Biafo is paradoxical in the way that its beauty inspires both fear and wonder at the same time.

After descending from Snum La, we  have to start trekking on the snout of the Biafo Glacier. This part of Biafo is a barren wasteland of rock, scree and debris making it extremely challenging to trek. Sometime, we need to take a longer route to reach Namla if the straight approach is not possible because of the numerous crevasses. 

Biafo Hispar (Longest Glacier on Earth)

Biafo glacier is the world’s third longest glacier outside the polar regions, second only 70 km Siachen Glacier, between Pakistan and India and Tajikistan’s 77 km (48 mi) long Fedchenko Glacier.The length of Biafo and Hispar combined is 116km. From Baltistan side Biafo is 61 Kilometers while Hispar pass (snowlake) from Hunza valley adds 55km. That makes the trail a super demanding and longest glacial walk on earth. We cross the snow lake and ablation valley by enjoying the spectacular view of the mountains in northern Pakistan. This is a rough and challenging trek that demands walking on a high altitude glacial basin.

Biafo Hispar Glacier

Campsites along the Biafo are located off of the glacier, adjacent to the lateral moraines and steep mountain sides. Passing by the stunning Latok Group,the first three days (heading up from the last village before the glacier, the thousand-year-old Askole village) camping are beautiful sites with flowing water nearby. Mango and Namla, the first two campsites, covered with flowers and Namla has an amazing waterfall near to the camping area. Baintha, the third camp site, is a beautiful place for a rest day. A large green meadow, it has a few running streams near the camp and many places to spend the day rock climbing or rappelling.

Trek to Snow Lake

After days of trek, we reach the beautiful snow lake and camp a night at the top. Snow lake is a glacial basin located at an altitude of 4,800m above sea level, with a width of approximately 16km. The basin lies at the head of the Biafo and Hispar glaciers and spreading down the Hispar Pass in opposite directions, forms a longest continuous glacier system, among the world’s longest. The other side glaciers of Hispar La clicks a panoramic view of surrounding mountains around Hispar glacier. Finally, We catch the lush green pastures and reach Hispar village and follow the Karakorum Highway towards Islamabad.