Would you recommend to go there? Is it even possible?
We(me & family) went on a tour to the Northern areas right till Khunjerab Pass in August.
After the month of October, rainfall starts & this causes a lot of land slides, specially in Gilgit & Hunza. These areas have been scalped, the jungles have been devastated. There was absolutely no check over the deforestation & this has caused a lot of enviornmental changes over the past 20 years. Land sliding is quite dangerous & blocks off the roads from 2-7 days. The roads can only be cleared with the help of the army, because they are the only institution to have excavaters.
The areas Ive visited include Swat, Kalam, Bahrain, Naran, Shogran, Malam Jabba(Ski resort), Gilgit, Hunza, Khunjerab Pass. Khunjerab pass is closed during winters, because of heavy snow fall. During summer we went there, & the most difficult aspect was the lack of oxygen on these heights.
If u want to take a risk, go during winters, & u would get to see a whole new world.
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*Originally posted by mal1k: *
If u want to take a risk, go during winters, & u would get to see a whole new world.
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Most probably we won't and will postpone it till our next trip, which might be in summer. :)
Thanks for the info anyway.
Plus if ur trekking on the mountains, make sure u go with some1 u can trust specially swat, because if u venture off the road, then there are pretty sharp chances u'll be mugged. Dont worry, they wont harm u, just take ur money & belongings & send u back. Happened with my cousin, but he was smart enough not to carry money, during his treks. They would leave the money in the hotel room & leave a 2nd group, & then come back & ask the 2nd group to go trekking.
Malik bhai said it...dont go/cant go during winters. not possible
PS: i'd like to take a trip to khunjerab top though in winters thru a helikopter. it must be heavenly there.
Umer what do you mean by is it possible, if I may ask?
Umer where in the northern areas do you want to go?
Some areas like naran etc are amost impossible to go during winter. But some areas you can go though.
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*Originally posted by belle: *
Umer what do you mean by is it possible, if I may ask?
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because snowy weather causes the travel almost impossible. Read Malik's post again and you will know.
Umer bhai, its not recommended. But if you must, the least risk is to fly to skardu, spend some time and then hope that you are able to fly back on one clear sunny day.
As I said:
I will not take any risks and will not go to the Norther Areas on this trip. But I will definitely try to have my next trip to Pakistan in summer, so that I can include the Northern Areas as well, Inshallah.