Friday, August 14, 2009

Shausar Lake


There is a lake named Shausar Lake in the Deosai Plains meaning in local language"white lake"-Shau-white,Sar-lake. The lake is at a height of 4,142 m (13,589 feet). Its approximate length is reported to be 2.3 km (1.4 miles), width 1.8 km (1.2 miles) and average depth 40 m.


Source:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deosai_National_Park

Deosai National Park
















The Deosai National Park is located in the Skardu, Northern Areas of Pakistan that is known as the Federally Administered Northern Areas (FANA). The park is located on the Deosai Plains, that are among the highest plateaus in the world with an average height of 4,114 metres above the sea level, covering an area of about 3,000 square kilometers. For just over half the year - between November and May - Deosai is snow-bound. In the summer months when the snow clears up, Deosai is accessible from Skardu in the north and the Astore Valley in the west. Deosai is well known for its spring season when it is covered by a carpet of millions of flowers and a wide variety of butterflies
Source: /en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deosai_National_Park

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Skardu
















Skardu is the main town of Baltistan along the wide bank of the river Indus. Skardu is the largest district of the Northern Areas. Baltistan is home to some of the highest peaks in the world, the Karakoram Range, Skardu is very popular with Mountaineering Expeditions. It is equally popular with high altitude trekkers, who treks to Baltoro Glacier, K-2 Base Camp and Concordia. Skardu by road, lies approximately 5 hours away from Gilgit and 10 hours drive from Besham. A daily flight to and from Islamabad is also in operation. The flight is always subject to weather.
Skardu has a character of its own and has a very interesting scenery. The Indus becomes wide and still here. The town is surrounded by dry rugged mountains and sand dunes.
Skardu is famous for the many trekking and adventure spots around it. There are numerous treks starting from Skardu. The near by Satpara Lake and Shangri-la resort are very famous among the local travelers and is visited by people from all over the country during June & July.










Source: travel-culture.com/pakistan/skardu.shtml

The Shigar Valley


The Shigar Valley, 32 kilometres (20 miles) from Skardu and 2 hours by jeep, is watered by the Shigar River. It forms the gateway to the great mountain peaks of the Karakoram, including Mount K-2. The valley has an extremely picturesque landscape, and abounds in fruit such as grapes, peaches, pears, walnuts and apricots, 32 kilometres (20 miles) from Skardu and 2 hours by jeep, is watered by the Shigar River. It forms the gateway to the great mountain peaks of the Karakoram, including Mount K-2. The valley has an extremely picturesque landscape, and abounds in fruit such as grapes, peaches, pears, walnuts and apricots.
Source: pakistanpaedia.com/land/baltistan/valleys-of-pakistan_baltistan.html

Kachura Lake







Kachura Lakes are two of the lakes in Skardu (nearly 2,500 m or 8,200 feet); the Upper Kachura Lake and Lower Kachura Lake. The latter is also known as Shangrila Lake and is inside a tourist resort called Shangrila Resort.
Upper Kachura Lake is a lake of clear water having a depth of 70 meters. In summer it has a temperature of 15 degree Celsius. In winter the surface is frozen solid. River Indus is located nearby at a lower level then the lake. All these are loaded with sand and therefore the lake can not have any inflow channel from these streams.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kachura_Lake

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Gilgit



Gilgit is the administrative capital of Northern Area Pakistan, consisted of six districts namely Ghezir, Gilgit, Diamar, Astore, Baltistan (Skardu) and Ghanche. It is accessible by road and air from Islamabad. It has an area of 14,680 mi (38,021 km ). The region is significantly mountainous, lying on the foothills of the Karakoram mountains, and has an average altitude of 1,500 m (5,000 ft).

Gilgit has spectacular scenic beauty. The peak tourist season is from May to mid-October though the tourist season is round the year. The maximum temperature in May is 33 C and minimum 16 C In September.

Gilgit is the gateway to China and Central Asia. Gilgit is also the hub of various valleys to the North Hunza and China. To the South, Diamar, Kohistan and Swat. To the East Skardu and Kashmir, and to the West Ghezir and Chitral.


Local currency is Pak Rupee but foreign currencies are also accepted by the hotels and gift shops. Exchange facilities are available with all banks and local moneychangers. Shina is the language mainly spoken and understood in Gilgit Northern Area of Pakistan. Beside Shina people can speak and understand Urdu and English.

Gilgit is called the capital and heart of Northern area of Pakistan because it is hub of economic activities. A commercial route opened with the China has boosted multidimensional economic opportunities. Gilgit is the only town in northern area of Pakistan which facilities traffic to different valleys and to the capital area of Pakistan Islamabad. Gilgit is well connected by air with Islamabad. You can take a flight to Gilgit from the capital of the country and reach Gilgit. The airport at Gilgit is just a mile away from the main bazaar and you can take mini-vans or some other vehicle to reach Gilgit town.

source: mygilgit.com/Gilgit/

Khunjerab Pass


The Khunjerab Pass is the highest paved border crossing in the world and the highest point on the Karakoram Highway. The roadway across the pass was completed in 1982, and has superseded the unpaved Mintaka Pass and Kilik Pass as the primary passage across the Karakorum Range.

On the Pakistan side, the pass is 125 km from Sust, 270km from Gilgit and 870km from Islamabad. There is a security outpost in Dih, and a customs and immigration post near Sust. On the Chinese side, the pass is 130km from Tashkurgan, 420km from Kashgar and 1890km from Urumqi. The Chinese port of entry is located on 1km from the mountain in Tashkurgan County.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khunjerab_Pass

The long flat pass is often snow-covered during the winter season and is closed from November 30 to May 1. There is excellent grazing on the Chinese side of the pass, and domesticated yaks and dzu (a cross between yaks and cows) may be seen from the road. On the Pakistani side, the highway travels about 50 km across the extensive Khunjerab National Park before reaching the security outpost of Dih.

Since June 1, 2006, there has been a daily bus service across the boundary from Gilgit, Pakistan to Kashghar,

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khunjerab_Pass