Tariq Jameel

We planned this as a four-day trip and it became six, which tells you most of what you need to know. There were seven of us in two cars, and the drive itself was the point as much as anywhere we stopped — the highway climbs and drops constantly north of Besham, and every hour the valley looks like somewhere new. Karimabad was our base for three nights. We didn't do much there beyond walking up to Baltit Fort in the late afternoon and sitting in the same rooftop restaurant twice because the view of Rakaposhi at sunset was worth repeating. Attabad Lake was the one stop everyone had seen photos of and still wasn't ready for — the colour is not exaggerated. We took a short boat ride across and back, more for the novelty than the destination on the other side. Passu was quieter than Karimabad and I liked it more for that reason. The Cones are visible from the road itself, so you don't need to go looking for the view — it finds you. We walked along the river in the evening and didn't see another group of tourists the entire time. What I'd tell anyone doing this drive for the first time: build in slack. We had a rough itinerary and abandoned half of it because somewhere would look good in a certain light and we'd just stop. Nobody in the group regretted the extra two days. We didn't attempt anything beyond Passu — Khunjerab and the glaciers further north were tempting but would have meant rushing everything else, and this was meant to be a relaxed trip rather than a checklist.