Karakoram Mountains, Pride of the Planet Earth

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

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

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

Sometimes, during the extreme weather conditions temperature drops to -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 the Himalayas but still Karakoram Mountains are considered as one of the most active mountain ranges in the entire world.

EXCEPTIONAL HONOURS GIVEN TO KARAKORAM MOUNTAINS ONLY:

There are many honors which are given to Karakoram Mountains only due to its exceptional and distinctive location. For Instance, it has the honor of having the world’s highest paved international road of 1300km (Karakoram Highway) lies between Pakistan and China, also known as China-Pakistan Friendship Highway. These lofty mountains create a connection between three nations Pakistan, China and India. Karakoram Mountains are mentioned in many masterpieces 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.  

In 1936, a movie was made with the title “Karakoram” by Marcel Ithaca. Apart from that Karakoram Mountains are considered as one of the most interesting and most discussed mountain ranges throughout the world.

HOW TO REACH KARAKORAM MOUNTAINS:

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

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

You can book a Hotel Room in Gilgit through online service in advance at 11- 17USD per night but it is recommended that you don’t book a hotel room online, because if you take a hotel room on arrival, you will get it at 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 Karakoram from Gilgit.

ACCORDING TO BRAZILIAN AUTHOR “JULIANA MÁXIMA DE JESUS OLIVEIRA“

Many of the lofty mountains are found in the Hunza Valley in Pakistan. Karakoram extends for more than 500 km and it is the region of the world that has 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.  

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.

Karakoram 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 Karakoram 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 Karakoram is much less inhabited than parts of the eastern Himalayas.

The first European explorers visited the region in the early 19th century, followed by British surveyors later on. Karakoram Mountains are known as the pride of 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