“On Sunday Night, July 2, 2017, a group of us set out on an adventurous trip to Naran, Fairy Meadows, Hunza, Khunjrab Pass, Babusar Pass, and Attabad Lake the most fabulous places in Pakistan. Dust rose up into the blue sky, when we left the Islamabad and headed deeper into the mountain areas. The road snaked its way up the Naran valley (8,202 ft above sea level), a sheer drop on one side, a blue ribbon of alkaline and ionized glacier water aside. It had been a long journey and in a bit excited mood by the time we reached Lulusar Lake (11200 ft). After enjoying the beautiful views we arrived at Babusar Top (13700 ft), the gateway to one of Pakistan’s most treasured sites of natural beauty. We fumbled with our camera and took a few snaps of the mighty mountains marching alongside us and enjoyed a cup of tea there. We staying in the beautiful valley of Chillas (3000 ft at the foot of Nanga Parbat) we headed for the Fairy Meadows trek (12000 ft). The jeep trek towards fairy meadows groaned as we smashed a path over large stones and bulldozed our way towards the huge Mountains upon the horizon. Up ahead, in the distance, one peak “Nanga Parbat” (26,660 ft) reigned supreme above all others. We walk trek along happily, appreciating the stunning presence of the mountains, the cool crispness of the air, and the startling radiance of the snow. Trekking around the fairy meadows, and spending time with people there, was a truly magical experience. One has to be physically fit and properly equipped to enjoy the trek as weather can change in couple of hours. It is a perfect place to breathe in some fresh air and enjoy natural sceneries. After that we set out for the Hunza valley (8,500 ft). We enjoyed the company of Hunza people as they are soft spoken and friendly, also explored the traditional art and articles of the town Karimabad. Among the route we enjoyed the taste of delicious fruits of Hunza like black and red cherries, apricot, apples, pears, peaches, mulberries and grapes. We visited Baltit Fort which is a magnificent structure 700 years old and was the residence of the rulers. Also it is a very popular tourist place due to stunning scenery of the adjacent mountains like Rakaposhi, Hunza Peak, and Bublimating (Ladyfinger Peak), all 6,000 meters (19,685 ft) or higher. We left Hunza at mid-day and planned to scale the KKH uphill Khunjerab pass (16,900 ft). On the way to KKH we enjoyed the nature of Attabad Lake and experienced the crossing over Hussaini-Borith Lake Bridge (8,500 ft) which is considered as one of the most dangerous as it is very old, narrow, and too high above the lake and to top it all the wooden planks are missing. After driving through the plateau most of the time where the road slowly climbed up, the last section of the road went steep with a couple of switchbacks where the snowcapped mountains looked down at the road. Few minutes later, we were at Khunjerab pass marking the border between Pakistan and China which is the highest international border crossing in the world. The atmosphere at this border was very relaxed. The tourists and the soldiers from both sides would often mingle with each other, at times going beyond the marked country border lines. After spending a couple of hours at top, we descended back to Rakaposhi View Point. There we enjoyed a spectacular view of mount Rakaposhi (7788m) having many habitants and villages around its foothills. Then after staying at Naran and spending a week among mountains, we headed back to Sialkot finally ending up the memorable tour of northern areas. We believe the spirit of trip for northern areas is incomplete without the immense love and respect for mountain environment whose natural beauty cannot be described in words.”