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Nanga
Parbat Base Camp |
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The Himalayas are a great mountain range formed by the collision of
Indo- Pakistan tectonic plate with the Asian Continent. The central
Himalayan mountains are situated in Nepal, while the eastern mountains
extend to the borders of Bhutan and Sikkim.
Nanga
Parbat massif is the western corner pillar of the Himalayas. It is an
isolated range of peaks just springing up from nothing, and is
surrounded by the rivers Indus and Astore. Nanga Parbat or "Nanga
Parvata" means the naked mountain. Its original and appropriate
name, however, is Diamir the king of the mountains.
Nanga
Parbat (main peak) has a height of 8,126m/26,660 ft. It has three
vast faces. The Rakhiot (Ra Kot) face is dominated by the north and
south silver crags and silver plateau; the Diamir face is rocky in the
beginning. It converts itself into ice fields around Nanga Parbat
peak. The Rupal face is the highest precipice in the world. Reinhold
Messner, a living legend in mountaineering from Italy, says that
"every one who has ever stood at the foot of this face (4,500m/14,764ft) up above the 'Tap Alpe', studied it or flown over it, could
not help but have been amazed by its sheer size; it has become known
as the highest rock and ice wall in the world!".
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Nanga Parbat |
Nanga
Parbat has always been associated with tragedies and tribulations
until it was climbed in 1953. A lot of mountaineers have perished on
Nanga Parbat since 1895. Even today it is claiming a heavy toll of
human lives for, the mountaineers, in search of adventure and thrill,
are becoming its victims in pursuit of their eagerness to find new and
absolutely un-climbed routes leading to its summit
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| Nanga Parbat,
Fairy meadows |
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It
was in 1841 that a huge rock-slide from the Nanga Parbat dammed the
Indus river. This created a huge lake, 55 km long, like the present
Tarbela lake down-stream. The flood of water that was released when
the dam broke caused a rise of 80 ft in the river's 3 level at Attock
and swept away an entire Sikh army. It was also in the middle of the
nineteenth century that similar catastrophes were later caused by the
damming of Hunza and Shyok rivers.
The
Nanga Parbat peak was discovered in the nineteenth century by
Europeans. The Schlagintweit brothers, who hailed from Munich
(Germany) came in 1854 to Himalayas and drew a panoramic view which is
the first known picture of Nanga Parbat. In 1857 one of them was
murdered in Kashgar. The curse of Nanga Parbat had begun.
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| Day 1 |
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Arrive Islamabad.
Overnight in hotel. |
| Day 2 |
Briefing at the Ministry of
Tourism. Meeting
with LO (Liaison Officer). |
| Day 3 |
12-15 hours
drive to Chilas. Overnight in hotel. |
| Day 4 |
1/2 hour drive
to Gonor Farm. 1/2-1 hour jeep to Zangot. 4-5
hours jeep to Kachal. Overnight in tents. |
| Day 5 |
5-6 hours trek
to Nanga Parbat basecamp. Overnight in tents. |
| Day 6-45 |
Climb Nanga
Parbat. No. of days depends on
weather, fitness, and experience of the climbers. |
| Day 46 |
Trek
to Kachal. |
| Day 47 |
Trek
to Zangot and drive to Chilas. |
| Day 48 |
Drive to
Islamabad. |
| Day 49 |
De-briefing in
the ministry of tourism. |
| Day 50 |
Fly hometo
destination. |
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