Rakaposhi/ Diran Base Camp Trek - 12 Days

Welcome and receiving at Islamabad International airport and shifted to the Hotel. Here meet with the group and during the day visit to the famous bazaars, Mosque and other places in Islamabad depending on time

Given good weather we will fly to Skardu (perhaps the most spectacular commercial flight in the world, with magnificent views of Nanga Parbat the 9th highest mountain in the world. If the weather doesn’t allow the flight we take the Karakorum Highway on the old silk route. This is just spectacular. It’s a long drive but one of the great journey’s of the world between the deep gorges of the mighty Indus. Overnight hotel in Chilas, driving over Babsur Pass will minimize the distance and the night stay will be in Naran. (10-12 hour drive).

We complete to Gilgit our journey in around 5 hours passing Nanga Parbat and the stunning panoramic views of the surrounding mountains. You will look back in awe and reflect on what an amazing civil engineering achievement the Karakoram Highway was in its time.

70km from Gilgit, after a 2km detour from the Karakoram Highway, you find Minapin, a small, cozy village and the starting point for both Rakaposhi and Diran base camps.

Hakapun is a small campsite located between Minapin and the Rakaposhi base camp, the perfect place to spend the first night and from where you can go to Diran glacier.

Going to Hakapun takes around 4 or 5 hours and the trail is very easy to follow. From the camp, you can visit Diran glacier, an impressive, vast sea of ice, composed of ice blocks of nearly 20m. At this point, you can’t cross or walk over the glacier but you can get so close that you can even touch it. In summer, the racket from the breaking ice is constant.

The base Rakaposhi Base camp (Tagaphari) is just 4 or 5 kilometers from Hakapun but the trail is so steep that it might take you around 3 or 4 hours to reach it.

Start walking early, as the sun’s rays are quite lethal from very early in the morning. In Pakistan, the sunrise is at 5am, at least in spring.

The Rakaposhi base camp is one of the most epic camping spots to glance. If you climb any of the surrounding hills, you will get an amazing 360º view which will keep you busy the entire day.

Diran 7,200 m high peak’s base camp is right across the glacier, which means that, you will have to walk over it, jumping over 30m deep crevasses (deep crack in a glacier). Quite an adventure.

By the way, unlike the part of the glacier next to Hakapun, here you can walk over it. Round trip to Diran base camp may take almost 5 to 8 hours.