Snow Lake & Hispar La

The Snow Lake and Hispar La Trek is widely regarded as one of the most spectacular and demanding high-altitude treks on Earth. Snow Lake, known locally as Lukpe Lawo, is a vast glacial basin at approximately 4,800 meters in the heart of Pakistan's Central Karakoram. Stretching roughly 16 kilometers in length, it forms the largest glacial junction outside the polar regions. The trek traverses the full length of the Biafo Glacier (67km) and the Hispar Glacier (49km), connecting the two via the Hispar La pass at 5,128 meters — a continuous ice highway of over 120 kilometers.

The route links the village of Askole in the Braldu Valley to the village of Hispar in the Hunza-Nagar region. The crossing of the Hispar La — a high, wind-swept pass at 5,128 meters — is the crux of the journey, demanding careful acclimatization and favorable weather. From the pass, trekkers are rewarded with sweeping panoramic views of the Karakoram's greatest peaks, including Kanjut Sar (7,760m), Distaghil Sar (7,885m), and Kunyang Chhish (7,852m).

This trek is not a commercial circuit but a genuine wilderness expedition. There are no teahouses, no lodges, and no resupply points. Everything must be carried by porters. First traversed by Eric Shipton's team in 1937, the Snow Lake crossing remains a bucket-list objective for serious trekkers, offering high-altitude wilderness on a scale that is virtually unmatched anywhere in the world.