Hike Johla - Paiyu

Just on the second day of Gondogoro trek from Johla to Paiyu there is a beautiful view of the steep top of Bakhordas – quite often mistaken in Internet with much higher mountain of Mango Gusor, which is much further in the south.

If you look back, you can see in the distance the massif of mountain Gama Sokha Lumbu towering above the glacier Braldu.

After about half an hour walking from the camp Johla the path turns back to the main valley.

Even in this otherwise sparse vegetation landscape you can find beautifully flowering shrubs. Above all this tower mountain slopes perfectly trimmed by the glacier.

After three hours of walking, sometimes in a river dust, the path rises slightly above the river and the view is much nicer then.

In about an halfway of the today's stage is Bardumal camp – the perfect place for lunch, although some trekking agencies occasionally also sleep here.

Close behind Bardumal opens another nice view – there is something like a landslide on the horizon. But it's only rock extrusion pushed by the glacier from the side valley falling from the mountain of Choricho.

Just before the „landslide“ opens beautifully the view of the jagged ridge towering directly above the valley.

The way through the landslide is the most difficult part of this stage, but even so it's still a normal walk. The river is in these places quite wild – please see the introductory slide of this photoreport.

The views of rock towers trimmed by glacier are really beautiful – and it's only just the beginning. Famous Trango Tower is just a short walk away.

From the outlook point at the landslide you can see another huge pile of soil displaced by glacier, this time from the other side of the valley. The river must make here an involuntary meander. On the horizon you can see the moraine of Baltoro glacier, so Paiyu camp is almost within reach.

You may wonder during the frontal view, how many million tons of rock the glacier was able to squeeze out of the side valley. Karakorum shields are therefore the most beautiful in the world – very young mountains worked incredibly by the glacier to very sharp spikes.

Just before the end of the walk opens a beautiful view to the river valley – to a small green oasis of the camp Paiyu and the opposite Liligo mountain (5600 m asl).

Paiyu camp (3 400m asl.) is quite large and that is why almost all expeditions sleep here. Most of them want to be here as soon as possible to occupy the place for tents at least a little in the shade. Views, especially at sunset, to the other side of the valley are great.