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

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

Kalaam

Kalam, is the most beautiful part of the Swat valley. The galaxy of about 150 hotels, land of water falls, lakes, pastures, site of hiking and glaciers, having all the latest facilities of the modren age. Surrounded by lush green mountains, covered with forests and vegetation, a diverse and oldest cultural values to witness and above all the friendly and hospetile people. strawberries are found every where in the forests of Kalam. Don't forget to have a gesture of it. See you there at the top of the mountains

Source: geocities.com/kcs_kalam/kalam.html

Swat

Swat is known as the Switzerland of Pakistan. The river Swat is a clear water river starting from the Ushu rage of mountains to the spread of the valley of Swat. It is on of the most green valleys of the Northern Pakistan and is well connected to the rest of Pakistan. There are regular flights from Islamabad to Swat and back. One can also get here either from Peshawar (160 KMs) or Islamabad.(250 KMs) The valley of Swat is located in the middle of foothills of Hindukush mountain range. The main town of the valley is Mingora and Saidu Sharief.

Swat is a place for leisure Lover , Hikers , and archeologist. There are many comfortable hotels where one can stay a while to relax. In Kalam upper Swat there are some very pleasant walks since weather is pretty pleasant one can easily walk over the hills for hours and enjoy the unspoiled nature. The Swat is garden of Ashoka and was a prosperous land in the Buddhist times (2nd BC to 5 AD) There are at least over 100 archeological sites in the valley less then 10% of the are excavated. One can explore some of those sites in a half day tour of Swat.

source: travel-culture.com/pakistan/swat.shtml