Concordia & K2

Unrivalled high mountain scenery and breathtaking views of Pakistan's K2

Concordia has possibly some of the most spectacular mountain vistas. Situated at the confluence of the Baltoro and Godwin Austen glaciers, it is an extraordinary place, dominated by K2, the world's second highest mountain. Gasherbrum 4, Broad Peak, Mitre Peak and Chogolisa form the rest of an astounding circle of mountain giants which has been called 'the throne room of the Gods'. This stunning trek starts in Askole and follows the Braldu gorge to the snout of the Baltoro glacier, which we then follow to Concordia. We have an optional day walk to Gilkey Memorial (just below K2 Base Camp) and Broad Peak Base Camp. This is one of the world’s most stunning mountain treks and is wild and remote with a scenery of unmatched grandeur.

People, Places & Planet

We work hard to create trips that have a positive impact on the people and places we visit and look after the planet we explore. Learn more about our sustainable travel ethos and practice here and find out about the work of the Exodus Travels Foundation here.

Some sustainable travel highlights of this trip include:

People

How this trip helps improve life for local communities.

• Local guides keep you well informed about local traditions and cultural-social sensitivities.
• This trip brings income and opportunity to the destination community through the inclusion of locally owned hotels, restaurants, and other enterprises, and by championing locally produced food wherever possible.
• Porters and their mules from nearby villages carry luggage on this trip which provides an income for local families.
• Read more about our other initiatives here.

Places

How this trip helps protect and conserve local landscapes and nature.

• By travelling in a small group we ‘tread lightly’ to minimise our impact on local resources and the environment.
• We work with our partners on the ground to proactively reduce waste; this includes eliminating all single-use plastic water bottles by providing refills for re-usable bottles.
• The payment of entrance fees to natural reserves generates income which is used for upkeep and development of these important sites. Fees are paid to the Central Karakorum National Park(CKNP) for cleaning and upkeep of the Baltoro area. CKNP in turn hires locals to clean the trekking route and bring all the plastic and organic waste back to the villages.
• A trekking fee is paid to Gilgit Baltistan Government which is used to fund the infrastructure around the trekking area.
• We rewild 100 square metres per passenger to compensate for all trip and flight emissions.
• Read about our commitment to nature protection and restoration here, including our rewilding commitment for every customer who travels with us.

Planet

How we seek to keep the carbon footprint of this trip low.

• Accommodation and restaurants in the itinerary use locally sourced food which has not been transported long distances.
• Walking trips like this have very little detrimental impact on the environment and the locals, as it is a quiet, low impact activity requiring comparatively few resources to support.
• Read about our climate action here, including our carbon reduction and compensation commitments.

Tips for sustainable travel on this trip

• Leave no trace: we do all we can to ensure we leave no rubbish in the wild and beautiful places we visit; we ask that you do the same. If there are no recycling facilities in-country, consider bringing recyclable materials home with you.
• Plastic waste reduction: please bring a re-usable water bottle on this trip, also consider avoiding single-use hotel toiletries, which generate a large amount of plastic waste.

Visa

Pakistan

Travellers from most countries normally need a visa to enter Pakistan – costs vary depending on nationality. Please note, visa requirements often change and it is your responsibility to obtain any required visas for this trip. Therefore, we recommend that you check with the nearest embassy or consulate of your chosen destination(s), including any countries you may be transiting or transferring through.

Some local governments provide guidance on what visas their citizens need. To help, we’ve gathered a selection of useful links below.

• Australia: www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/asia/pakistan
• Canada: www.travel.gc.ca/destinations/pakistan
• United Kingdom: www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/pakistan/entry-requirements
• USA: www.travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Pakistan.html

Please refer to our Pakistan visa information sheet for further details. Please note, all nationalities require a full passport that must be valid for six months beyond the intended length of stay.

Vaccination

Pakistan

There are no required vaccinations. However, you may want to consider vaccinations for hepatitis A, polio, tetanus, typhoid, cholera, hepatitis B, Japanese encephalitis, rabies and tuberculosis. There is also a low risk of malaria. Consult your doctor or travel clinic on the best course of action for all the above.

Furthermore, dengue fever and chikungunya, tropical viral diseases spread by daytime biting mosquitoes, are known risks in places visited on this trip. There are currently no vaccines or prophylaxes available for either; therefore, we recommend you take the usual precautions to avoid mosquito bites.

Additionally, you will need a yellow fever vaccination certificate if you're arriving from a country with risk of yellow fever transmission or transiting for more than 12 hours through a country with risk of yellow fever transmission.

And if you plan on visiting Pakistan for four weeks or more, you may be required to provide proof of a polio vaccination on an International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICVP), given four weeks to 12 months before departure, upon exit. Failure to produce this documentation may result in vaccination on departure, most likely with oral polio vaccine.

Eating and Drinking

All breakfasts, 17 lunches and 17 dinners included.

All food is provided throughout apart from lunches and dinners in Islamabad, we suggest you allow around £50 for these meals. Food on trek is simple but wholesome. Breakfasts will consist of porridge and cereal, eggs and chapatti or toast. Lunches are a picnic usually with soup, tinned meat and fish, sweets and nuts, cheese and crackers or chapattis. Dinner is 3 courses; soup, main course which is rice, dhal, vegetables, meat or pasta based. Dessert is usually jelly, cold custard, fruit, rice pudding or trifle. Snacks are provided upon arrival at camp; samosas, pakhora, tea and coffee. If you have any special dietary requirements we recommend you take along some of your own snacks or food. Pakistan is a meat-eating country (mainly goat and chicken) and does not cater as well as India for vegetarians, vegans or gluten free diets.

Drinking Water

Staying hydrated is important when undertaking any physical activity but particularly so at altitude where it is generally recommended to drink at least 3-4 litres per person per day. Drinking water will be provided on the trek but you need to treat it with purification tablets or another form of treatment. 

Handheld UV filters such as a ‘SteriPEN’ are very effective, can treat 1 litre of water in a couple of minutes and the water is ready immediately – look for lightweight lithium battery models and remember that you will need to bring a wide-mouthed bottle (e.g. Nalgene) for use with these devices.

There are also an array of water filter and purifier bottles on the market but be wary of their weight, bottles with a small capacity and the product's performance in freezing conditions. Exodus has partnered with Water-to-Go, a filtration system that eliminates over 99.99% of all microbiological contaminants from any non-salt water source – please visit Water-to-Go for more information. Exodus customers can claim 15% off your first order, and better still, 15% of the purchase value will be donated to the Exodus Travels Foundation. Please note that if the water freezes it will clog up the filter – in this event, defrost before use by sitting the filter in lukewarm water for 10-15 minutes.

Weather

The weather in northern Pakistan is very hot during the summer. Maximum daytime temperatures will depend on the altitude, but will mainly lie in the range 25 to 40°C. Most days will be hot and sunny, although the occasional severe storm and bad weather cannot be ruled out. If the days are sunny on trek with no cloud cover it can be extremely hot and make the walking quite hard as there is often no shade at all, especially on the glacier. The nights will be cooler and the night time temperatures can drop to well below freezing when higher than 3500m. Islamabad and the lower Indus valley will be very hot and humid, while Skardu, although hot, will be less oppressive.

Weather Charts

Skardu, Pakistan

Is this trip for you?

The trek is graded 'Tough' (Activity Level 7) with 13 days walking to a maximum altitude of 4,500m at Concordia (5,120m Gilkey Memorial just below K2 Base Camp - optional) and an average of 3,650m.

Previous altitude experience is necessary and you must be prepared physically (see fitness guide below). The walking on the Baltoro glacier is fairly tough and is definitely not recommended for those who have not previously been walking at a strenuous level in high mountain regions in recent years. It can also be extremely hot in the early stages of the trek and on the glacier during the day, so please also bear this in mind. There are river crossings, and if the rivers are too high we may have to use alternative trails.

Although there is a trail on the glacier nowadays, the moraine is constantly moving and sometimes new crevasses open up, so we often have to find an alternative route. Given this, the walk distances and hours given in the Trip Notes will not always be accurate and sometimes you will walk considerably further than is stated. What makes this trip particularly hard, is the often rocky and uneven terrain underfoot, which requires great concentration and balance - you must be sure-footed and wear walking boots with ankle support. There is a lot of walking on glacial moraine (rocky, boulder-strewn terrain) and at the upper reaches of the trek around Concordia and Gilkey Memorial, there is usually considerable time walking on snow or ice. 

We do not advise inexperienced walkers to attempt this trek. There is no habitation, except a couple of military posts, after leaving Askole, so conditions are more basic and remote than elsewhere. It also means that it is extremely difficult to leave the trek should you be struggling with this level of activity. 

We highly recommend that you work on your fitness to prepare yourself for this trek. You may find our Fitness Training Guide a useful reference.

As this trip spends considerable time at altitude, we ask you to refer to the altitude warning in the trip notes.

Skardu Flight Delays

Due to the mountainous conditions, it is not uncommon for flights between Skardu and Islamabad to be delayed or cancelled at the last minute. In this event, we will endeavour to get the group on the next available flight. If bad weather persists and flights are not scheduled to operate in the following day or two, or if the flights are fully booked, Exodus may (as a last resort only) consider going by road along the Karakorum Highway (KKH) to get our passengers to Skardu to begin the trek, or to get passengers back to Islamabad after the trek to meet onward international flights. However, this is only an option so long as the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office advice remains okay for travel along the KKH, and (with your safety in mind) if we are able to hire transport with working seatbelts for all passengers at short notice (sourcing vehicles with seatbelts in Skardu for travel back to Islamabad is particularly difficult). It is a 24-hour journey (with an overnight stay in Chilas) and the last 270km of road from Jaglot to Skardu is in poor condition. 

Following a review of all our trips we have categorised this trip as generally not suitable for persons of reduced mobility. However if you are a regular traveller on such trips, please contact customer services to discuss the trip and your personal condition.