Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Trekking in the Karakoram & Hindukush: Walking Guide

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Typical Lonely Planet in that it gives you all the facts, but very little inspiration. Basically for those who have already made up their mind and know exactly where they are going. That said the guide is incredibly detailed, it certainly doesn't leave out much of the nitty gritty kind. Then again, you don`t really need all this info as there are outfitters in Pakistan (forget the US/UK ones) that will take care of all the logistics for you at a price you can't beat, not even doing it all yourself.

This is without a doubt the most comprehensive, and perhaps the only, book on trekking in Pakistan. The rates and stages mentioned are subject to change as inflation and porters' greediness causes both to get jacked up every year. However the descriptions of the trails etc. are still pretty relevant. The author has tried to be accurate with name spellings but its still not 100% accurate. Take everything with a large pinch of salt and be prepared for all kinds of eventualities. Most of the treks are on glaciated terrain and are constantly changing dues to landslides, advancing and (mostly) retreating glaciers etc. The road and bridge conditions also change all the time, some getting washed away with flooding and others being developed. New bus and van routes are opening up as population becomes more mobile and road access gets better.

I have personally been on a trek where the trail had changed dramatically due to a receding glacier (Charakusa / TsarakTsa), necessitating some very dicey class 3/4 scrambling down a 50 ft drop with significant exposure. In retrospect a rope would have done wonders in this section. On the same trek, a bridge was damaged by a stupid overloaded trucker, causing me to take a long and expensive jeep detour on my return. New roads are being built, so many villages(like Shimshal) are now reachable by jeep or van. Many dirt roads, the main drag in Khapalu for instance, are now paved. Basically, use this book as a starting point but try to get local information before undertaking any trek in this book.