Skardu & Deosai Cycling Circuit

Skardu (2,228 m) is the capital of Gilgit-Baltistan's Baltistan Division and the gateway to some of the world's most extraordinary high-altitude terrain. It sits in a broad valley where the Indus and Shyok rivers meet, flanked by desert cliffs on one side and the verdant delta of the Shyok on the other — a landscape of stark contrasts that makes for varied and fascinating cycling. The city itself serves as base camp for K2, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum I, and Gasherbrum II, and the streets are filled with expedition members, porters, and trekkers heading in and out of the Karakoram's highest valleys.

The cycling circuit we have developed around Skardu visits the main highland features: Satpara Lake (3,465 m) with its cold-water fishery and dam; the Deosai plateau approach road climbing to 4,114 m through a landscape of intensifying wildflowers and eventual bare tundra; the Upper Kachura Lake and the Shangrila Resort on Lower Kachura Lake — one of Pakistan's most famous landscape photographs, the airplane-in-a-lake fuselage used as a restaurant. Side routes lead to the Shigar Valley (famous for Shigar Fort) and the Satpara Valley glaciers.

The Skardu circuit is well-suited to cyclists who want high-altitude riding without the extended commitment of the full KKH route. Daily distances are 30–60 km, surfaces range from smooth tarmac to rough gravel on Deosai approach roads, and the altitude demands a minimum three-day acclimatization before serious climbs begin. The circuit can be extended with a Khaplu or Hushe Valley addition for those seeking longer routes into the Karakoram heartland.