Two Glaciers In One Day..

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  Passu - Passu Glaicer - Batura Glacier, Pakistan
Sunday, October 8, 2006

Greetings from Passu once again and our second day trek up to the glaciers surrounding Passu.

This trek was a little more strenuous but the scenery made it all worth it. It's not often you can walk for about 8 hours and take in two glaciers, one white and one black. As a bonus you get to enjoy some of the Karakoram's best mountain scenery along the way.

The initial part of the trek from Passu into the Yunz valley sees you climb about 500 metres within about a kilometre and a half. It's also the most treacherous part of the trek with a couple of French trekkers dying in a rock slide a few months previously. With that in mind we hired the services of a local guide who smoked the whole way whilst we huffed and puffed all the way up.

01 Resting Above Passu Glacier..

At the top of the initial climb we were greeted with a great view over the Passu Glacier (white). With the Batura Wall (topping out at 7500 metres) as a backdrop it was worth the obligatory snaps and a rest stop so we could take it all in (and get our breath back).

From there we walked a few kilometres through the Yunz Valley (3000 metres high) which was surprisingly dry. In fact it was pretty much a desert as it's coming into winter. Still, a very interesting contrast to the snow capped mountains that surround the area. It was so barren and deserted that we felt like we were not only on an alien landscape but we were the only people on the planet. A lot of people camp up here in the warmer months as apparently the star gazing is some of the best you'll get.

Eventually you make your way to the Batura Glacier (black) which is Karakoram's fourth longest at 56 kilometres. As you approach from the valley you can hear a constant grinding noise and also numerous ice falls as the sun melts the glacier. Quite disturbing, especially when we were walking on the edge of it in parts. There's a 5 day trek along the giant glacier you can complete in the warmer months which is apparently beautiful, particularly in Spring.

From there it's all downhill back to Passu and a warm cup of tea and shower. All in all another great day and one we can wholeheartedly recommend to anyone making their way to Passu.

This is our last Pod from Pakistan as we didn't do anything else of interest before we made our way to India

02 Posing Above Passu Glacier..

. We've absolutely loved Pakistan and it's been a big big surprise to us as we had no real expectations, in fact we could probably say that our expectations were quite low due to the adverse media attention that Pakistan seems to attract from the Western media which we've found to be absolute garbage. We never felt endangered at any point in time. The people are incredibly friendly, hospitable and honest and the scenery is easily some of the most beautiful we've seen thus far.

We'd have to say that if you're umming and ahhing about going to Pakistan, just go, you'll love it. Open up to the locals, be friendly and you'll be rewarded richly.

So, that's another country down. Next Pod - Pakistan and Indian Border.

Love,

Nath and Kat.

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

03 Shot Of The Glacier And Our Guide..	04 Passu Glacier In All It's Glory..	05 Beginning The Long Walk Up The Yunz Valley..	06 It Was Dry, Very Dry..
07 The Size Of The Valley Was Astounding..	08 Shepherds Huts Above Batura Glacier..	09 Batura Glacier In All It's Glory..	10 Kat Sitting Next To The Glacier..

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