Article Trip to Gojal
Northern outpost of Pakistan
The northernmost part of Pakistan is called Gojal or also Upper Hunza. It is now, thanks to a gigantic landslide and origination of Attabad lake, even more isolated from the rest of the country than it used to be. Most travelers only transit here on their way along the Karakorum highway from or to China over the pass Khunjerab, although this area offers amazing hikes and treks. Basic and shortest trip is a visit to the village of Passu dominated by the massif Cathedral and interesting one-day trek in the vicinity of gigantic mountain ridge Batura Wall to lake Borit.
Day 1
Across the lake Attabad to Passu
People usually set out to the Gojal area from Karimabad, the center of Hunza valley. However, it is also possible to get there in one day from the larger town Gilgit. In this case will await you very interesting cruise on the beautiful, though for locals very impractical Attabad lake. In the evening set out for a walk around the neighborhood of Passu and admire the views of the famous peak Cathedral.
By boat across the lake Attabad
Lake which killed
Only eleven kilometers north of Karimabad is a beautiful turquoise lake, which came into existence in January 2010 by a gigantic landslide. The whole mountain slid here, which perfectly dammed Hunza river. Within a very short time this new world wonder was created – 21 km long and 109 m deep lake Attabad. Dozens of houses, thousands of trees and also the only link to the north – the Karakoram highway ended buried under the ground. The lake surface ends today in steep slopes of the mountains, so it is not possible to pass through the valley otherwise than by a ship. continue reading
Walk in Passu
Walk under the Passu Cathedral
Along the Karakorum Highway a few kilometers behind Gulmit is located only a few scattered houses, mostly tiny guest houses and this all is Passu ( 2460 m asl). Even so, it’s worth to stop here and enjoy the incredible mountain scenery. Wide Hunza valley is encircling here by the sharp peaks and directly at the road end Passu and Batura glaciers. Just the fact that the River Hunza managed to break through Karakoram from the north to the south and surrounding mountains also exceed it by more than 5 km – all this speaks for itself. continue reading
Day 2
Hike to lake Borit
The next day head out for a nice day hike to the lake Borit. You will probably not meet a living soul for the whole day and you will surely appreciate the number of views of the glaciers and Batura Wall.
Hike Passu - Lake Borit
Hike between two glaciers
If you want to undertake a little more adventurous half-day hike in Passu, it is best to walk from the glacier Passu to lake Borit lying above the village of Hussaini. You can admire the views of two glaciers and two different lakes during this hike. But the path is in some places not very clear and you will need your own intuition. But on the other hand, you cannot lose your way completely. To the north from you is a wall of Karakorum and to the south Karakorum Highway, where you can run down if you get lost on the upland plain between glaciers. Earlier this trek led even further to the bridge of „Indiana Jones“, but everything has disappeared under the waters of Lake Attabad. continue reading
Another days
You can either return back from Passu the same way, or if you're heading to China, move to the town Sost, from where runs the bus through the Khunjerab pass to China.
If you have more time, you can undertake a longer trek e.g.:
- Shimshal trek
- Batura wall trek
- Trek to valley Chapursan
