Nangma Valley Trek

Trip highlights

• The Amin Brakk amphitheatre

  A ring of thousand-metre granite walls around a meadow, and climbing teams working them in season.

• A short walk to a big place

  One day from the roadhead to the valley, two days from the roadhead to the amphitheatre.

• The most accessible trek here

  No glacier, no rope, camps on grass — a fit family or a first Karakoram trip can do this one.

• Two full days to explore

  Day walks to the foot of the walls and up the side valleys, rather than a schedule that only passes through.

Dates & availability

Dates not working? Every trip here also runs as a private departure — tell us your window and we will build it around you.

At a glance

• 14 days, Islamabad to IslamabadSix days on foot with two full days at the head of the valley. The shortest Karakoram trek we run.
• Amin Brakk and Shingu CharpaThousand-metre granite faces standing directly above meadow camps — the Yosemite comparison is earned.
• Moderate, no glacierShort days on meadow and moraine, highest camp under 4,500 m. No rope, crampons or pass.
• Small groups, maximum 12Licensed guide, cook, kitchen crew and porters engaged in Kanday. Suitable from age fourteen.
• Kanday and the Nangma valleyOne day's walk from the roadhead into an amphitheatre of big walls almost nobody visits.
• Hotels either end, tents betweenIslamabad, Chilas and Skardu in hotels; six nights in two-person tents on grass rather than ice.
• Mid-June to late AugustThree departures. The meadows are at their best in late June and early July.

Day by day

1. 1Day 1Arrival in Islamabad

   Met at the airport and transferred to the hotel. Trek briefing and kit check in the evening, then dinner together.

2. 2Day 2Islamabad to Chilas

   A full day north on the Karakoram Highway, about 460 kilometres. Night in Chilas.

3. 3Day 3Chilas to Skardu

   East along the Indus past the confluence of the three ranges and up the gorge to Skardu at 2,500 metres. Night in a hotel.

4. 4Day 4Skardu to Kanday

   Five to six hours east through Khaplu and then south towards the Hushe valley, turning off to Kanday. Camp at the village, and the porters are engaged this evening. The mouth of the Nangma valley is directly above.

5. 5Day 5Kanday to Mingulo Broq

   Four to five hours up into the valley on a good path through birch and juniper, then out into the first meadows. Camp at Mingulo Broq, where the walls start to close in on both sides and the scale becomes obvious.

6. 6Day 6Mingulo Broq to the Amin Brakk meadow

   Three to four hours up the valley to the meadow camp beneath Amin Brakk, at around 4,100 metres. A short day and a spectacular arrival: a flat green campsite with a thousand metres of granite standing straight out of it.

7. 7Day 7Amin Brakk — a day at the walls

   A full day to walk up the moraine below Amin Brakk and Shingu Charpa, as close under the faces as the ground allows. In season there will be climbing teams on the walls and base camps to visit. Binoculars earn their weight today.

8. 8Day 8The upper valley and the side cirques

   A second day out from the same camp, up the head of the valley towards the Green Tower and the cirques above, for the full amphitheatre. Longer or shorter as the group prefers — this is the day the itinerary keeps flexible.

9. 9Day 9Amin Brakk meadow to Mingulo Broq

   Turning down the valley, three to four hours back to the lower meadows, with the light coming the other way onto the walls.

10. 10Day 10Mingulo Broq to Kanday

    Four to five hours back down to the village. The last walking day. Settle up with the porters and spend the evening in Kanday.

11. 11Day 11Kanday to Skardu

    Back out through Khaplu to Skardu, five to six hours. Hotel, hot shower and a bed. The afternoon is free for Kharpocho Fort or the bazaar.

12. 12Day 12Skardu to Chilas

    Back down the Indus gorge on the Karakoram Highway. Night in Chilas.

13. 13Day 13Chilas to Islamabad

    The last day on the highway, through the gorge and out into the plains. Night in Islamabad.

14. 14Day 14Departure

    Transfer to Islamabad International for your flight home.

Good to know

This is the gentlest trek in our Karakoram collection and the one to choose if the Baltoro sounds like more than you want. The walking days are four to five hours at most, the highest camp is around 4,100 metres, there is no glacier to cross and nothing technical anywhere on the route. Camps are on grass beside running water rather than on ice. We take people from fourteen on this trek, and fit families do it.

Be aware that at fourteen days it is the one itinerary here with no separate contingency day. The Karakoram Highway closes for landslides from time to time and the jeep road to Kanday is rough. If your onward flight from Islamabad is tight, add a day at your own arrangement — we would much rather say that now than have you miss a connection.

Come for the walls and give yourself the two days at the top. The temptation with a short trek is to compress it further; the whole value of Nangma is sitting in the amphitheatre for forty-eight hours rather than walking through it. If there are climbing teams in the valley, an evening at a base camp is one of the better things this trip offers.

The two lists above are what we commit to. Confirm anything that matters to your decision with us in writing when you book.

Questions about this trip

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