Best Diran Climbing Guides 2025

We went to Pakistan for 4 weeks with my husband. We were picked up from the airport by Sideeq Akbar who was waiting for us with a big smile. When preparing for our trip, Sideeq always answered all our questions very quickly and took the time to explain everything during our exchanges by email and Whatsapp. He was very attentive and very patient. Our objective was the K2 base camp but there were not enough people registered. October is already late with winter starting early at high altitudes. Apricot Tours offered us 3 different treks that met our expectations! We had our personal guide Ayaz, just for the two of us during our entire trip! Ayaz was a very kind, very smiling companion with whom we exchanged a lot on many subjects. A very good guide with very good knowledge of the mountains of the Hunza valley where he is proud to be from. We had a good acclimatization starting with the trek to the Nangat Parbat base camp. The weather was with us and the discovery of this gigantic mountain and its glacier was impressive. We really enjoyed our 2nd night in the small hamlet of Beyal. Skardu is a must-see stop with its unique geographical location. The Indus Valley is splendid. A great organization for the Machulo trek. We were surrounded by 12 people: guides + cook + porters. We were able to climb to Machulo Pass but the passages covered with a small thickness of snow were very slippery. I was helped with great kindness by Ayaz and by our cook Yacob (who knew the area where he grew up very well). Unfortunately the mountains were in fog and we could not see the summit of K2. Big disappointment for my husband. The following day the storm broke up with heavy snowfall and strong gusts of wind. Ayaz decided for safety's sake to go back down to camp 1 at the beginning of the afternoon. The next day the great weather allowed us to discover this time by car the magnificent valley up to Hushe. I highly recommend the trek to Masru Rock. It's not far from Skardu. The hike is steep but upon arrival, it's great. You climb onto a rock which overlooks the entire valley with 1000 m of emptiness below! We then left for Hunza. A gloomy weather forecast for 5 days still allowed us to discover the cultural and natural richness of the region. Several treks to the "Lady finger" and above "Attabad lake" are essential. The surroundings are also splendid with the fall colors. Last trek to Rakaposhi base camp with the sun finally found. An easy hike which offers an exceptional panorama of the Rakaposhi and Diran glaciers. The night at base camp was very very cool on October 22 but the Milky Way was magnificent! Traveling in these mountains in October is more challenging due to the temperatures but there are few walkers. We came home with hundreds of images in our heads. All the people we met were very welcoming and very curious about our life as Europeans. The smiles of the many children warm our hearts as travelers. Thank you a thousand times Ayaz for introducing us to your culture, sharing your opinions and hiking in a small part of the mountains in the north of your country. Thank you Sideeq for your listening and your professionalism. Clotilde and Paul