Skardu — Gateway to giants. — Pakistan Tourism Awards

Mirror-still water of Upper Kachura Lake reflecting bare mountains and cloud, Skardu

Gilgit-Baltistan

Gateway to giants.

Photo: Hammadnasim / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Skardu lies at the meeting of the Indus and Shyok rivers and is the staging point for K2 and the Gasherbrums. Around it, the landscape changes quickly: the still water of the Kachura lakes, the dunes of the Katpana cold desert, Satpara Lake above the town and Kharpocho Fort on its rock.

A short drive away, Shigar Fort shows what careful restoration can do. The seventeenth-century residence of the Raja of Shigar was restored by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, reopened in 2005 as a heritage hotel, and received a UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award of Excellence in 2006.

Setting: Indus–Shyok confluence
Shigar Fort: Restored 2005
Recognition: UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award, 2006
Gateway to: K2 and Gasherbrum
Generally visited: May to October
Coordinates: 35.290° N, 75.644° E

Seasons are general guidance. Mountain roads and passes open and close with the weather; check locally before travelling.