Written by: Muhammad Umer Farooq
Posted on: July 06, 2018 | 
| 中文
The Ultar Meadows, with Lady Finger Peak and Hunza Peak visible
From the Pir Wadhai, Rawalpindi bus terminal, it took us around 20 hours to arrive at Aliabad, Hunza via the Northern Areas Transport Corporation (NATCO) bus. A local friend from Karimabad received us, and took us up to our destination; the Hunza Embassy Hotel, where we booked two rooms. For lunch and dinner, we walked uphill to the Karimabad Bazaar and Japan Chowk, and enjoyed daal, vegetable curry, biryani and soup.
After having breakfast, our group of eight (six friends and two local guides) began the trek towards Ultar Meadows. The trek begins from Karimabad bazaar, and there are signboards to help the trekkers along. After passing by the houses, we ended up right behind the Baltit Fort, with Diran Peak visible in the background.
At the beginning of the trek, there was hardly any greenery surrounding us, and most of the vegetation was as brown as the mountains. A cold wind, from the direction of the glaciers, made it difficult for us to remain warm. We walked along a partially frozen water stream, after which the trail disappeared. We were now walking on large loose rocks which kept us at a distance from each other, because the rocks kept falling here and there.
Soon after, we made our way through a very difficult and slippery ascent. A recent landslide had wiped away the trail. Our local friends tried to clear a path, but it seemed so dangerous that we opted for a byway. For this, we had to descend and then face another challenging and relatively vertical incline. After reaching our previous height, we stopped for a rest.
Next came what was undoubtedly the most challenging part of the trek; walking on large moving boulders. After reaching slightly more stable grounds, we observed the beauty around us. We were standing between walls of mountains, reaching up to the sky on either side of us. From these colossal mountains hung icicles, many times larger than any I have seen before. Far away avalanches were a common sight, which could be seen through the thin crevasses.
After around two hours of trekking, we walked onto a flat ground, covered with patches of snow. Towards our right, the moraine from Ultar glacier kept rising, until it became a mountain of snow, connecting us with the gigantic peaks of Batura Muztagh, the westernmost sub-range of the Karakoram range in Pakistan. It was a constant climb towards Ultar Meadows, from where we would be able to see the surrounding peaks, such as Hunza Peak (6270 m) and Bublimating or Ladyfinger Peak (6000m).
The streams that we crossed were completely frozen and thus slippery. Twenty minutes before reaching the meadows, the group attempted another climb, but thankfully this time the rocks were stable, even though covered with snow. When the incline lessened, the valley presented us with a breath-taking view.
Towards the front were the peaks of the Batura Muztagh, while around and above us, everything was entirely covered in a thick white blanket of snow. Ultar Glacier was visible to one side, with a terrace-like structure, consisting of volumes of ice cut in successively receding steps. At 3270 m, in knee high snow, a hut at Ultar Meadows came to our rescue in the freezing temperatures. After a stay of half an hour, we started back on the trek to Karimabad, the taller peaks such as Diran Peak (7226 m) still covered by the clouds, which had surrounded them since morning.
We returned from a different path, in order to avoid the landslide that we had passed earlier. During our descent, the descending tongue of Ultar glacier was to our left, later disappearing into the gorge. The path consisted of a narrow passageway carved on the edge of the mountain. It took us through thorny bushes, and often we had to lean on one side of the mountain. On some occasions, we could only go forward by crawling into a sitting position. This served as a different experience, and the exercise was enjoyable, even though extremely risky.
On our way, we came across a few workers from Chilas, who were repairing the track. We were thoroughly impressed, for they had no ordinary job, carrying up heavy machinery such as generators to fuel the machines for carving the mountain, and that too in extreme temperatures.
Having crossed them, we took a break, with the city of Karimabad lying just below us. The valley was submerged in clouds, making the view quite hazy. From this point onwards, it took us around thirty minutes to reach our hotel. After having fulfilling meals, we went back to Hunza Embassy Hotel to pack our bags for the morning.
Early morning, a local whom we had hired to drop us at Gilgit city, arrived. Through sleep ridden eyes, I enjoyed the cruise in the early morning light. We reached Gilgit city before the sun came up, and booked tickets for the 7 AM Pir Wadhai bus.
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