Trip to Hunza Valley

[OmerAli]

July 2018 was all about travelling for me. I almost traveled over 3200 Kilometers in July, exploring the Northern areas of Pakistan. The northern parts of Pakistan are vast, lush green, scenic lands with some of the world's most beautiful landscapes, tourist attractions and amazing history to it. 

    Though I traveled up-North, but in-fact I only covered one route of this beautiful landscape (please refer to the map below). 

My Route highlighted in Yellow. From Islamabad (bottom of the map) to Khunjerab Pass (Top right of the screen) *Maps and Travel Information mostly taken from Tourism Pakistan Official website (http://www.tourism.gov.pk) & Trip Advisor website (www.tripadvisor.com) as well as other miscellaneous sources. 

My Travel Route was:

• Islamabad
• Abbotabad
• Naraan
• Besal
• Lulusar Lake
• Babusar Top
• Chilas
• Gilgit Valley
• Hunza Valley
• Khunjerab Pass (Pakistan-China Border)
• Back to Naraan (to visit Lake Saif-ul-Malook)

 Here are some of the shots I enjoyed the most 

Besal Base Camp

Besal Base

 LuLusar LakeLulusar Lake

Babusar TopBabusar Top

Road towards ChilasRoad towards Chilas

Juglot - The Union of Three Mountain RangesJuglot - Union of Three Mountain Ranges (Karakorum, HinduKush & Himalayas) and two rivers

RakaposhiRakaposhi

Hunza ValleyA view of Hunza City

Attabad LakeAttabad Lake

Khunjerab PassKhunjerab Pass - Pakistan China Border

World's Highest ATMWorld's Highest ATM in Pakistan

Saif-ul-Malook LakeSaif-ul-Malook Lake

 Here's the link to the complete album (best to subscribe to this post as I will keep updating the album :p)

 Click the links to view 360 Photospheres

1. Saif-ul-Malook
2. Babusar Top
3. Khunjerab Pass
4. Sost Bazaar
5. Passu Cones
6. Attabad Lake
7. Ganish-Hunza City
8. Rakaposhi View Point
9. Jaglot - Three Mountains Junction
10. Besal Base Camp
11. Lulusar Lake

If browsing through the photo albums is not your thing, here's a short video to summarize the tour.

[Anonymous]

Great trip and beautiful photos it was a long trip in northern area

[Safdarrai]

Dear @OmerAli well done. Those all areas you have visited are really very beautiful and heavens for whole world. Thank you for sharing with beautiful pictures of beautiful areas.

[MahabubMunna]

@OmerAli আপনাকে অসংখ্য ধন্যবাদ । আপনার ভ্রমন কাহিনী আমাদের সামনে তুলে ধরার জন্য । খুব ভাল লাগল দেখে 

[KashifMisidia]

Simply fantastic @OmerAli bhai 😎

[OmerAli]

Thanks @KashifMisidia bhai

[Anonymous]

@OmerAli wao that's great bro, shared album is so great, very lovely adventurous trip, trips of how many days? How many people you were in that group trip? Also share with us about the expense idea of per head

[OmerAli]

Dear @Anonymous bhai

Thanks a lot. It was just me and my wife and we spent around 8 days. 

It did not cost that much and we ended up paying something like 90,000 Pakistani Rupees

[GhazalaShah]

Liked your account of your trip to Gilgit-baltistan region. During July I was also on a tour of these areas. I visited Skardu, Deosai, Hunza, Khunjerab pass. We traveled via N15/Naran. From Karachi to Karachi it took us 15 days to complete the trip. We rode by train and road, no air travel. We joined a travel agent for this. It is great to learn that you too belong to the same region as I. I liked your photos of Attabad, Lulusar & Saiful Maluk lakes & Hunza valley. There was no Rakaposhi in the photo taken at Rakaposhi view point 😉. Please keep sharing more.. BTW I wish to know what gear have you used for this photography, a mirrorless or DSLR camera or a phone camera?

[OmerAli]

Thanks @GhazalaShah

      Let me see, how could I miss Rakaposhi

Well, I only had my old iPhone 5s and my wife's Panasonic Lumix DMC-G7 which is an entry level mirrorless camera. 

Shot with all kit lens and no filters here. Honestly, it was my first time using the camera and all I could use was the 'Auto' mode which I regretted as it over-exposed all the pictures leaving no margin for original details. 

I had to post-process all of the pictures I took from this camera and it was such a pain. 

    People also talk about Mirrorless vs standard Mirrored DSLR cameras, but apart from few features I believe whichever gear one prefers, one must spend a great deal of time mastering it, without going out for a trip to try your new toy. Also, never ever shoot in Automatic mode no matter what camera you have. If you really want to shoot in Auto mode, your smartphone does a better job than DSLRs. 🙂