Karakorum Mountains, Pride for the Planet Earth

When we talk about the lofty and eye capturing beautiful White Mountains of Karakoram, this is a strange thing that these white snowy mountains are given the name which means black. The word “Karakoram” is derived from Turkic Word which means “Black Gravel” as this black gravel is seen near “Biafo Glacier” of Pakistan.

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Karakorum is the 2^nd highest mountain after Himalayas with maximum height of 8611m (28,251ft) whereas Himalayas (Mount Everest) has maximum height of 8848m (29029) ft. Karakorum is a Mountain Range which lies within Pakistan, China, Afghanistan, India and Tajikistan.  Karakorum’s fifteen highest mountains lies within Pakistan. Therefore, Pakistan is considered as heaven for all the adventurous tourists throughout the world.

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Tourists visit Pakistan for exploring and hiking these beautiful natural God gifted highest peaks. Adventure experts claim that hiking at Karakorum is more difficult as compared to Himalayas because of the tough weather conditions. The warmest temperature here is zero degree Celsius.

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Sometimes in extreme weather conditions temperature drops till -51c and with formation of snow hummocks 3 feet or even more than that.  Now you can imagine why this place is considered more difficult to visit than Himalayas but still Karakorum Mountains are considered as one of the most active mountain ranges in entire world.

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EXCEPTIONAL HONORS GIVEN TO KARAKORUM MOUNTAINS ONLY:

There are many honors which are given to Karakorum Mountains only due to its exceptional and distinctive location. For Instance, it has honor of having world’s highest paved international road of 1300km (Karakorum Highway) lies between Pakistan and China, also famous as China-Pakistan Friendship Highway. These lofty mountains creates a connection between three nations Pakistan, China and India. Karakorum Mountains are mentioned in many master pieces of Literature throughout the world due to its exceptional location. Rudyard Kipling mentioned these beautiful mountains in his novel “Kim” which was published back in 1900.

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In 1936, a movie was made with title “Karakorum” by Marcel Ithaca. Last but not the least Karakorum Mountains are considered as one of the most interesting and most discussed mountain ranges throughout the world.

HOW TO REACH KARAKORUM MOUNTAINS

First of all, it is recommended to all the adventurers to plan their journey between the months of May-October which is an ideal season for visiting Karakorum Mountains. Secondly, if you are coming from any part of the world. Just take a flight for Islamabad.

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Once you have reached Islamabad Airport, then you have to take a connecting flight from Islamabad Airport towards Gilgit which has duration of approximately 1hour and 15mins. Gilgit has a domestic small airport for air traffic. Karakorum Mountains are 197km away from Gilgit Airport.

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You can book a Hotel Room in Gilgit through online service in advance at USD11-USD 17 per night but it recommended that you don’t book a hotel room online, because if you take a hotel room on arrival, you will get it in much cheaper rates. Recommended hotels are Gilgit Sarena Hotel, Fairymeadow Inn, Madina Hotel 2 and many others.  You can hire a small van, car or taxi with a guide for reaching your destination of Karakorum from Gilgit.

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ACCORDING TO BRAZILIAN AUTHOR “JULIANA MÁXIMA DE JESUS OLIVEIRA“

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 “Many of the lofty mountains are found in the Hunza Valley in Pakistan. The Karakorum extends for more than 500 km and is the region of the world with the largest number of glaciers outside the poles. The Siachen and Biafo glaciers are the second and third longest in the world outside the Polar Regions, 70 and 63 km long, respectively.

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It is a mountain range located on the border between Pakistan, People’s Republic of China and India at the regions of Gilgit, Ladakh and Baltistan. It is one of the great mountain ranges in Asia.

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Karakorum aims to the northeast with the western fringe of the Tibet Plateau and to the north with the Wakhan Corridor and the Pamirs. To the west of its northwest end is the Hindu Raj mountain range. The southern boundary of the Karakorum is formed by the Gilgit, Indo and Shyok rivers, which separate it from the northwestern tip of the Himalayas. Being a high and rugged region, the Karakorum is much less inhabited than parts of the eastern Himalayas.

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The first European explorers visited the region in the early 19th century, followed by British surveyors from 1856. Karakorum Mountains are known as pride for planet Earth and this place should be visited by every explorer at least once.“

Note: We are thankful for the following for our research.

https://www.bucketlistly.blog/posts/karakoram-highway-guide-2-weeks-itinerary

11 Interesting Facts About the Karakoram Mountain Range