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GULMIT From, Karimabad to Gulmit (2hours drive away), the next stop on our itinerary, the mountain contours grow sharper and craggier - saw-toothed, knife-edged, fluted peaks rear their heads in unending succession. At Gulmit, we put up in the deluxe Silk Route Lodge whose rooms are designed in celebration of mountains - the nearby Passu Cathedrals almost pop onto the private balconies while real-life snow peaks lie framed in bathroom windows.

TREKKING IN HUNZA Trekking and hiking is the order of the day in this region of mountain splendour and abundant glaciers. One of the greatest joys of trekking Pakistan's mountains is the complete loneliness and isolation. Many of the mountains are uninhabitated and some are so pristine and unexplored as not to have been trodden by human feet. The other side of the coin is that these are some of the toughest terrains and treks in the world. Also, not everyone is drawn to the special quality of these rocky monoliths - stark, barren, grey, unrelieved by greenery.

Where the jeep can go no further, we start to trek.

Hoper Glacier Trek

GLACIERS Visits to nearby glaciers may be made from both Karimabad and Gulmit. Uttar Glacier is behind the Baltit Fort and a day-excursion from Karimabad is possible. Hoper Village and Glacier is 25km from Karimabad and a combination of jeep cum trekking took us to the remote village and the 'female black glacier'. Day treks from Gulmit may also be made to the Batura, Passu and Gulmit glaciers. All these treks involved long strenuous walks over rough terrain with tortuous stretches of scrambling up and down loose scree, rocks and boulders, often in blazing temperatures and not a hope of shade in sight, hardly the stuff of a relaxing holiday but for some it was the ultimate in mountain experiences.

Passu Trek

Passu Glacier

KHUNJERAB PASS Our encounter with mountains climaxed in the dramatic switchback ascent by coach to the Khunjerab Pass at 15,400ft. Even in high summer, snow lies mantled on the mountain slopes while yaks graze beneath the Pass. The top of the Pass is uninhabited and is marked by stone pillars bearing Chinese and Pakistani national symbols. From the summit, the long road winds down into the Chinese province of Sinkiang. The temperture was sub zero and snow flakes were falling when we made a brief stop for the mandatory photos.

IN DAYS OF YORE ... It had been a breeze for us riding up the Pass, snug and comfrotable in our modern coaches. But from the bleak and inhospitable scenery one can easily imagine travel in the Silk route days when "....the way was difficult and rugged, running along a bank exceedingly preciptous. When one approached the edge of it, his eyes became unsteady, and if he wished to go forward in the same direction, there was no place on which he could place his foot, and beneath were the waters of the river called the Indus." Compared to this saga of travel in ancient days, our return trip from Khunjerab to Ralwalpindi via the KKH, covering 805km and taking two days by motorised vehicles, seemed like child's play.

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