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