Pakistan, the ride report (2025)

[N4teTheGreat]

The road opened up after this and some of us near the front picked up the pace, while not a power house by any means, the 450s could hustle along just fine and felt pretty planted in the corners. The reason the road was improving was that we were nearing the intersection of with the Karakoram Highway which is a trade route for Pakistan and China, and is jointly maintained by both countries. As it was explained to us, the KKH is a popular toruing route much like route 66 in the US used to be as it can be taken from the south to the north of the country.

Our fearless leader explaining the significance of the KKH.

As you can see in the background this intersection was a popular stopping point. There were folks taking pictures and even a small group doing some traditional dances on the roadside.

We took off again, and to me it seemed that villages and towns along the roadside were more frequent now, requiring a bit of a slow down to navigate around cars, people, etc.

We eventually stopped in Gulmet for lunch. The town is at the base of Rakapushi, a mere 25,551 feet tall. Lunch was great, the view of the mountain and glacier was also fantastic, despite it's fully glory being somewhat hidden in the clouds.

A quick post lunch gas stop, with even the road side gas stations having good views.

The views continued to be massive, and in every direction as we proceeded further north. I had to balance stopping for photos with avoiding delaying the group. I have a lot of gopro footage I need to process, so that may be added as an addendum eventually.

The scale of the landscape was really striking.

We eventually arrived at China-Pakistan Friendship Tunnels, a 15 mile long series of tunnels built after a 2010 landslide blocked the Indus river, flooding local villages and the blocking highway travel. China partnered with Pakistan to build the tunnels and bridges used to bypass the landslide and it was certainly a trip to ride through such a long series of tunnels.

As we emerged on the other end of the tunnel, I was taken back by views seemingly even more massive than anything we'd seed on the other side of the tunnel. It certainly helped that the clouds were breaking as well.

This was Passu, home of the famous Passu Cones, a very striking mountain formation that kind of reminded me of the Sierra Crest. As I was stopped taking pictures of the mountains, I realized the reason this spot was busy was because there was a glacier seemingly just off the road.

I definitely exclaimed "wow!" in my helmet quite a few times.

We were off again and just as I was starting to look longingly at road side lodging, we were directed into or accommodations.

The view was acceptable, as was the Chai.

 

[gixxerjeff]

Dude, you are a god to me.
I love your travel threads.
If your "long term unemployment" vocational treatment plan doesn't pan out, you can always fall back on this travel blog thing.
Stay safe and keep 'em coming!

 

[budman]

Noted the fearless leader has both index fingers exposed on this gloves.
Phone perhaps?

 

[Escape pod]

I’ve been enjoying your ride. What are some of the elevations you’re riding and staying at?

 

[budman]

Chuck are you only look at the pretty pictures??

The town is at the base of Rakapushi, a mere 25,551 feet tall.

 

[Escape pod]

No,/ though they are attractive pictures.
To single out, I like the Goat pic. , / and have been goat butted.

At 25,551 feet (7,785 meters), the air pressure is extremely low, and oxygen levels are insufficient for humans without supplemental oxygen. Without acclimatization or supplemental oxygen, a person can only survive for a few minutes due to the risk of hypoxia, which leads to unconsciousness and death.
Even with acclimatization, prolonged exposure at this altitude is dangerous. Mountaineers refer to altitudes above 26,247 feet (8,000 meters) as the "death zone," where the body deteriorates rapidly. With supplemental oxygen, survival can be extended to several hours, but risks of altitude sickness, pulmonary or cerebral edema increase significantly.

 

[atoyf]

Note, they have converted @N4teTheGreat from beer to chai - amazing!!

 

[N4teTheGreat]

Dude, you are a god to me.
I love your travel threads.
If your "long term unemployment" vocational treatment plan doesn't pan out, you can always fall back on this travel blog thing.
Stay safe and keep 'em coming!

Thank you, but I doubt anyone is gonna pay me to ride and write, too many better options out there! I'll just keep doing it for teh BARFs.

Noted the fearless leader has both index fingers exposed on this gloves.
Phone perhaps?

Naw, they're just worn out and tarrifs in Pakistan make anything not made in the country stupid expensive. He'd ordered new gloves which Butch brought in with him, but they ended up being the wrong size. The gloves I bought for the ride fit Moin so I I left those with him.

I’ve been enjoying your ride. What are some of the elevations you’re riding and staying at?

We ranged from ~7300 feet in Skardu up to 15,000 feet at the China border. I think the highest elevation we stayed overnight at was ~12,800 on the Deosai plain.

Note, they have converted @N4teTheGreat from beer to chai - amazing!!

Well, you can't easily find booze there. I did later realize that maybe drinking Chai in the evening wasn't conducive to sleeping well

 

[N4teTheGreat]

Speaking of Chai, as we were all sitting around basking in the glory of a great day or riding, the beautiful surroundings and all that, a woman on an Africa Twin spotted us from the roadway and rolled into the parking lot.

She had initially thought we were a different group, but decided to join us for some Chai after Moin offered. Turns out, she and her partner had started their ride in Romania, eventually crossing through Afghanistan (resulting in some very sketchy times) and eventually making it to Pakistan only to get stuck when the conflict with India closed borders. They have a pretty slick site that gives all the details and chronicles their trip.

Moin invited her to bring her partner for dinner, as well as join us on our ride the following day to Shimshal Village should they be interested. Simona was helping to put on an event the following evening so she wouldn't be able to join us, but her partner Dragos would join us on his GS.

Dinner included Yak meat along with the usual lentil staples and was quite good.

I stayed up for about an hour after dinner before I gave into my jet lag and went to bed. On the flip side, I was up quite early the next morning and had some to enjoy the weather before breakfast, and it was beautiful out.

Figs (?) ripening in the back of the guest house

The clouds offering some dramatic lighting

Simona did an ad hoc yoga session for the group prior to our departure to demonstrate methods we could use to stretch with a partner or our bikes. It was an unexpected, but kinda grounding way to start the day. It also had us a little behind schedule, so afterwards it was time to gear up and roll out.

By the time we got to the check point for Shimshal Valley road is was properly hot. Luckily we'd be gaining a few thousand feet in elevation which, along with some clouds, would help keep things reasonable.


Regrouping to clear the checkpoint.

The road, which took 20 years to build from what was originally just a walking path suitable for foot or pack animals, was chock full of amazing views.

I stopped quite a bit early on to capture photos... it was definitely one of the highlights of the trip.

As with everything in Northern Pakistan, the scale of the place was striking.

A roadsign of some sort, I assume?

There was a box that looked as though maybe a toll was requested or money was collected for some reason. Could be for the "cab" (a van) that runs daily from Passu to Shimshal and back.

I think we crossed at least 4 of these suspension bridges, some moved more than others once the bike was lofted up onto the bridge platfrom.

Butch and Dragos chatting while we waited for the rest of the group. Turns out we'd missed a Chai stop at a remote stone house along the road which was occupied by a guy who's provided with a living in order to live out there and help maintain the road. I'd seen him and given a wave, guess I should have stopped.

Still waiting... Butch eventually went back to look for everyone.

There are of course, less scenic places to find yourself waiting around in.

 

[N4teTheGreat]

Everyone finally showed up and it was time to get moving.

And before too long, it was time stop for another photo because I'd been seeing these flowering bushes and wanted a shot of one.

Welcome to Shimshal Valley

A final regroup before riding into the village.

This bridge required a little goose of the throttle to get the front tire up on the platform. I followed Butch and that platform was movin' and shakin' when I rode onto it, probably what riding in a mild earthquake would feel like

Despite all these bridges there were about 4 water crossings on the way to the village, my boots were a bit damp.

We had a (very late) lunch at a local home on the village. The home is also a guest house and was amazing to be inside of. The food was all home made and delicious. If people look tired in this picture it's because we were.

After lunch we got to our guest house and got showered and changed before taking a walk around the village led by the first local kid Moin saw..

The village was beautiful and very rustic. Hard to imagine people living here year round with snow and below freezing temperatures most of the winter.

Homes are made either out of mud bricks or chiseled rock if you have the extra money. Both building methods provide pretty effective insulation.

The scouting office seemed to be not quite finished.

Our guide got us to a nice grassy hill side with a view of the village below.

Kid gets 5 stars, well actually, he and his friend got candy from the local market afterwards. They were instructed to share.

We ended the day with a decent sunset, and a glass of the local Moonshine referred to as "Hunza Water". Hunza being the province we were in.

Dinner was excellent, though mostly by flashlight as the power struggled to stay on that night, this is not uncommon. I ate what I could but I was quite full from lunch, and feeling a little under the weather, or run down, or something. I eventually decided to head to bed early and see of a good nights sleep would find me feeling better the next day.

 

[bcj]

If you've seen the classic Adam & Eve pictures, those are fig leaves.
Maybe pomegranate or guava if they weren't plain old apples.
edit: yeah, no. not apple branching chars.

 

[prymnumber]

Nate you forgot to mention the homemade mango ice cream lol

 

[zanshin]

Great photos and write-up!

 

[N4teTheGreat]

Nate you forgot to mention the homemade mango ice cream lol

And I forgot to take a picture! Double fail, but yes, that ice cream was quite the hit, what an amazing meal.

 

[N4teTheGreat]

I definitely had a mild fever overnight, but I managed to get a few hours of sleep (yay jetlag) and felt like I was on the mend the following morning. I ate some breakfast had some coffee and chai and made sure I had electrolytes in my ever so fancy reusable water bottle. The weather was overcast with a little bit of drizzle. I was happy for the moisture to keep the dust down, but wondering if it had rained more heavily at higher elevations and made our water crossings deeper...

For whatever reason I'd been a little worried about the return ride on Shimshal road, but once I got on the bike I was feeling more or less fine, if a little clammy.

I don't know if I've mentioned this, but they are like, A LOT of tall mountains in Pakistan. As such, there is ample opportunity for anyone bold enough to be the first to summit them. The man who owned our guest house is a bit of an overachiever. He was also a great host and provided us with a glass on Hunza water that had seen a bit more refinement than the stuff we tried before dinner. It had an almost floral quality to it. I didn't manage to get a photo of that, but I got his signs! While these are all for one pass, he'd summit-ed a few as I recall.

I don't remember why we stopped here, but I snapped a photo on Moin about to get back on his bike and Butch looking ready to go.

We all stopped to regroup at a set point so that a drone shot of the group could be recorded. It was a nice spot to take a break, and while there was no Chai on offer today, this was the house where the rest of the group got Chai yesterday.

Butch enjoying the rock bench that even had animal pelts to sit on. Fancy.

After the break we decided to do the shot at a bridge crossing just up the road. There was a bit of a lip to get onto the bridge as well as 2x4s laid out for vehicles, of course, one does want to look cool for the drone. Of course, I did not look cool for the drone. The rider in front of me had a bit of a wobble getting onto the bridge and I focused on that wobbling a bit myself and bouncing the front tire off the 2x4 once before getting settled. I am told the drone what high enough up that this won't be obvious, but I am dubious of that

A ways after that I decided to pull off for a photo, and also take a water break. As I pulled onto the loose rocks and applied the brakes I was confused by the ABS engaging and my much slower than expected stop followed by the engine dying. I realized later I'd been spaced out and hadn't pulled in the clutch, considering the drop to the river below was a foot or so away, that could have ended badly. Guess I wasn't feeling quite 100% yet, but I'm thankful for the good luck.

And it was a pretty cool picture. Not pictured, the plunge to the river below. Seems as though I wasn't as close to the edge as I remember, but it felt pretty sketchy at in the moment.

The stop afforded me the change to catch Butch and Irene in action. While most ADV riders stand for the camera, Butch apparently ONLY sits down when I have the camera out

Irene just pretty much always stood up.

The overcast weather added a dimension to the views along the road, just stunning. It was also nice to have a break from heat for the day.

Seriously. Stunning.

The return trip seemed to go by much quicker than the ride in. Maybe it was because I knew what was coming up, or maybe it was the cooler temps, whatever the case before long I was at a waterfall / crossing that I didn't get a shot of the day before. It was worth a stop and everyone ended up there getting photos and videos and whatnot.

Not my ride, but it was in the right spot for a good shot.

You could tell by the erosion of the rock that heavier flows must be really impressive, and possibly sketchier to cross.

Everyone doin' it for the 'gram.

We arrived back at the checkpoint and waited for everyone to regroup before passing through.

Our Romanian friend Dragos had apparently paid for the add on BMW roadside service as his was the only bike that got a bath while we waited.

 

[N4teTheGreat]

Back on the highway we made a b-line for Passu and lunch which was to be Yak Burgers.

Decent views from the restaurant..

The burgers were delicious.

The guys that run the place are two Pakistani twin brothers, but their man buns and beards, along with their rather muscular physic had us thinking they looked like hipster vikings.

After lunch we headed to go see a women run rug weaving shop which was not too far down the road. Moin swapped bikes with Nick and showed us how to hustle a 150 down the road. Then we got entertained with wheelies while we waited for everyone to catch up.

We kinda took over parking wherever we went.

The shop was cool, and I think just about everyone bought something.

The women offered to make us Chai but moin had a coffee stop planned for us so we headed off.

The coffee was good, but it was one cup at a time X the 12 of us, so it took a while. Some folks passed the time playing Jenga, I decided to find a comfy place to sit. The coffee was pretty darn good.

After coffee Moin took us to a local lake, initially the plan was just a quick stop to enjoy the view, but when Moin told people they could see a glacier just over the ridge behind the lake a few ambitious souls went for it. It was however a joke, there was no view. I just sat back and enjoyed the actual views from the lake.

The road to the lake...

The lake, which is fed by glacial spring water from the Passu glacier (which as noted, could be be seen from the ridge).

The views you could see were just fine while we waited on folks to return from their ridge hike.

Passu Cones on full display.

Avoiding the sun...

Last stop was a bridge across the Indus that you could pay to walk across. I didn't feel the need to wait in line for that, but it made for a good photo.

And with that it was back to our guest house for the night. The next day would be the ride up to the China border and 15,000 feet.

 

[N4teTheGreat]

While we sat around enjoying our Chai and a nice sunset. A guy from Slovenia (maybe?) rolled up on a rented motorcycle.

He was promptly invited over for Chai and we asked about his trip plans. He was also headed to the border tomorrow, but mentioned he was worried sbaout his bikle running poorly and not being able to make it.

Moin told him to talk to our mechanic and next thing I knew they had the bike fully apart to troubleshoot.

Eventually they found a bad electrical connection and had the bike running much better. Not only would Moin not let our new friend pay, he invited him to join us for dinner. That's just how Moin works, he's good people.

With the sun setting, we all got showered up and met for another great meal, which I thoroughly enjoyed and forgot to take a photo of.

 

[N4teTheGreat]

The following morning started early with breakfast around 7:30 as we had a long day ahead of us, first riding to the Chinese border, and then making our way south towards Karimabad. Our Romanian friends joined us for the roll-out that morning and would ride with us to the National Park entry before heading back on their own. It was looking to be a nice clear day and I was excited.

Plenty of big views on the way up north, and the road was windy, rocky and a fun way to stay on your toes.

We stopped for gas in Sost, which is more or less the last town before you enter the park and head towards the border.

It also happens to be a "dry port" and is were all the big semi trucks coming from China stop, and in most cases transfer their loads to smaller local trucks for distribution throughout Pakistan.

Some of the trucks are pretty fancy.

Pretty good views for a gas stop.

Shortly after getting gas we were at the entrance to Kunjerab national park. Everyone needed to be present, and we had to wait for the support vehicle so folks could grab their passports to show at the check point.

We garnered a bit of attention while we waited

One of our bikes versus the average size of bike I'd see on the roads.

 

[N4teTheGreat]

It wasn't too long before we cleared security and began the ride up to the border. The park was pretty spectacular with views everywhere.

Not to long after I took this picture I entered a tunnel and saw a rider down, quickly realizing it was one of our group. They were already being helped by a few Pakistani bikers and her partner who asked me to keep riding and let the group know. I saw the rider standing so I was reasonably confident that there were no major injuries.

Subsequently I didn't take photos for a bit and carried a spirited pace until I caught one of our hosts, Jimmy and let him know about the crash. He decided to circle back and check on them and of course the support vehicle was back there as well I figured things would get sorted out one way or another.

I rode the rest of the way to the border alone, stopping for a few shots only, they don't really do the scale of the place justice.

Once at the top I let Moin know about the crash, but thankfully, before too long we saw three bikes coming up the road followed by the support vehicle. No low side was gonna stop our group from riding all the way apparently.

We were all equally popular at 15,000 feet, I got a fair amount of selfies.

These three guys had ridden from further south than us, sharing one 70cc Honda motorcycle on their trip, I was beyond impressed.

The bike.

The pass also hosts the "worlds highest atm" which is pretty much a banks publicity stunt. It collects a lot of stickers.

It collected a BARF sticker from me...

Also, my cat.

These guys were on a road trip as well and had their bikes properly loaded up.

By the time I made it to this sign I'd been in a few videos doing a dance (poorly) or a specific move for Tik Tok. I presume I have provided a good deal of amusement for the entire country of Pakistan. Hopefully I went viral.

The border.

We had some snacks back in the parking lot and then headed back down to Sost for lunch.

On the way down there was a bit of snow for just long enough to fog up my visor, that cleared up and it was nice and sunny the rest of the ride back to the check point.

Big trucks heading to the dry port while we wait to regroup.

It started to rain, but no one really had the sense to get out of the weather...

Too busy looking at something on someones phone...

Typical mountain weather meant it was sunny and warm again about 15 minutes later.

 

[N4teTheGreat]

All parked for lunch.

The food was good, but the place didn't know how to party.

Mmmm Chai

What is assume is graffiti out by the bathroom?

The local motorcycle shop.

The views as we headed south to Karimabad were spectacular with the weather really coorperating.

Best view yet of the Passu Glacier

Stunning

It was getting warm as we headed south so we stopped for ice cream by Attabad Lake

Our next stop was the Sacred Rocks which are covered in ancient pictographs from people traveling the trade routes through the region. Someone had to show off with their parking spot a bit. It did make for a good picture.

It was pretty cool to see all these pictographs...

A short ride later through the steep congested streets of Karimabad had us as our hotel. It was a spectacular spot with almost 360 degree mountain views.

We'd be here for two nights as the following day was a rest day. Sweet.