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Karimabad Our main destination for this trip was Karimabad, the capital of old Hunza and the location of the Baltit Fort where the Mir lived. Having spent my life in the shadows of the Olympics, Cascades and Sierra Nevada mountains, I've seen some terrific mountain views but none quite like Karimabad. In my mind, I kept making comparison with Yosemite since there is a towering 360 degree panorama. However, the peaks in Hunza are much higher, like Rakaposhi at 25,550 feet (bottom, right). We were told that some of the highest unclimbed peaks in the world are in this area. This is in part because the area was opened only recently but some look almost un-climbable, like Ladyfinger. I suppose it is only a matter of time. We met the son of a man who guided the first team of the north face of Rakaposhi. He said it took forty days, which was amazing to me since the base camp only takes a few hours to get to. He said the sun was so bright that the team could only climb a few hours in the morning. |
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The PTDC Hotel It seems like most of the expatriates and even some of the guidebooks turn up their nose at the PTDC hotels. I, however, thought that the Karimabad PTDC hotel was very nice and downright cheap compared to western prices. The views are terrific and I twice got up at 4:30 am to see the sunrise. For about two hours, the mountains were gradually illuminated, changing from gray to pink to orange to their final day-lit colors. The view from the dining room (which we usually had to ourselves, since there were only one or two other occupied rooms) could go head-to-head with the best I've ever been in. (center right). Lady finger is one peak that has never been climbed (little peak in bottom photo) although people have been seriously injured trying. |
