GENERAL INFORMATION

Land and People!

Pakistan is a land of many splendors. The scenery changes northward from coastal beaches, lagoons and mangrove swamps in the south to sandy deserts, desolate plateaus, fertile plains, dissected upland in the middle and high mountains with beautiful valleys, snow-covered peaks and eternal glaciers in the north. The variety of landscape divides Pakistan into six major regions:  The North High Mountainous Region, the Western Low Mountainous Region, the Balochistan Plateau, the Potohar Uplands, the Punjab and the Sindh Plains. High Mountain Region: Stretching in the North, from east to west, are a series of high mountain ranges which separate Pakistan from China, Russia and Afghanistan. They include the Himalayas, the Karakoram and the Hindukush. The Himalayas spread in the north-east and the Karakoram rises on the north-west of the Himalayas and extends eastward up to Gilgit. The Hindu Kush Mountains lie to the north-west of the Karakoram, but extend eastward into Afghanistan. With the assemblage of 35 giant peaks over high 7,315m, the region is the climbers' paradise. Many summits are even higher than, 7,925 m and the highest K-2 is exceeded only by Everest. Inhospitable and technically more difficult to climb than even Everest, they have taken the biggest toll of human lives in the annals of mountaineering. The passes are rarely lower than the summit of Mt. Blanc and several are over. 5,485 m. The Karakoram Highway, which passes through the mountains, is the highest trade route in the world. South of the high mountains, the ranges lose their height gradually and settle down finally in the Margalla hills in the vicinity of Islamabad, the Capital of Pakistan, and Swat and Chitral hills, north of river Kabul. Although the climate of the region is extremely diverse, according to aspect and elevation, yet as a whole it remains under the grip of severe cold from November to April. May, June and July are pleasant months. Peaks and Glaciers Eric Shipton, a great mountaineer who perished in Pakistan's Northern Areas, wrote in his account. To describe this region is to indulge in superlatives, for everywhere you look are the highest, the longest and the largest mountains, glaciers and rivers in the world. Making some allowance for Shipton’s tendency towards slight exaggeration, born out of awe and fascination, the fact remains that Pakistan boasts of the largest share of the highest mountain peaks in the world. Its own highest peak, the famed and dreaded K-2, is the second highest in the world, being just some `ropes' short of the Everest in Nepal. With due respect to the Everest, K-2 is regarded as far more formidable to climb as its relatively facile superior. The awe-inspiring beauty provided inspiration to a Pakistani writer to observe lyrically, "in Pakistan's lofty mountain regions, reaching for the sky doesn't seem too ambitious". Pakistan's eight Thou sanders: There are a total of 14 main peaks soaring above 8000 meters in the world. Out of these, 8 are located in Nepal, 5 in Pakistan and 1 in China. It has become prestigious to make these peaks as targets by mountaineers every year. In fact, successful climb over these peaks is considered an enviable measure of their attainment. By far, the largest number of mountaineering expeditions visiting Pakistan, K-2 (8611m) it is the second highest mountain the world. It was first attempted by Martin Conway's expedition in 1902 which was composed of British, Austrian and Swiss climbers.