Karakoram
Rakaposhi Base Camp
Five days, a seven-thousander directly in front of you, and a meadow full of yaks at 3,500 metres. The best introduction to the Karakoram I know.
Author: Wasif Mehmood Arain, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Duration
- 5 days
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Highest point
- 3,500 m
- Distance
- 24 km
- Best season
- May – Oct
- Budget on the ground
- 45–80 € per day
- Group size
- 2–12
Overview
The best way in
When someone asks me where to start in the Karakoram, this is my answer. Five days, no glacier crossing, no altitude problems beyond the ordinary. And yet on day three you stand in a meadow looking at a mountain face that rises six thousand metres in one go. Nothing in the Alps corresponds to that view. The Eiger north face is 1,800 metres.
Why it is cheap
Because you do not need a porter caravan. There is simple lodging at Hapakun and base camp, food is cooked for you, and a guide costs very little. Forty to eighty euros a day genuinely covers everything here. A comparable hut tour in Switzerland costs twice that, in front of a smaller mountain.
When to go
The season is long, from May to October. July and August are hot down in the valley and pleasant up top. Late September turns clear and cold, and the apricot trees in the Hunza valley change colour. That is my favourite time.
Day by day
Day 1
To Minapin
Drive up the Karakoram Highway into the Nagar valley. Night in the village at 2,000 m.
Day 2
Minapin to Hapakun
Steep forest climb, around 900 metres of ascent. By afternoon the Minapin Glacier comes into view.
Day 3
Hapakun to Tagaphari (base camp)
Across the glacial moraine to the meadow at 3,500 m. Rakaposhi and Diran stand directly opposite, and you spend half the afternoon simply sitting and looking.
Day 4
Rest or explore
Higher towards the Kacheli viewpoint, or just stay put. Both are good decisions.
Day 5
Descend to Minapin
The same way back, comfortably done in a day.
Practical details
- Permits
- No special permits required. A local guide is still worthwhile and inexpensive.
- Visa
- E-visa. The ordinary tourist variant is enough for this route.
- Acclimatisation
- 3,500 m is moderate, but going from 2,000 m in two days is brisk. Drink plenty and walk slowly.
- Getting there
- One to two hours from Gilgit or Karimabad to Minapin.
Photos
