While Zia and Jan were checking out the landslide, more rubble came tumbling down...lucky for them, they were able to scramble to the other side of the road to safety

Finally, a bulldozer came to the rescue!

Everyone watches on in curiosity as the bulldozer clears through the landslide in just over an hour

We kept our distance and watched as the road became passable once again

Luckily, no one was injured in this landslide

Zia and Jan decided to walk down to the rubble to check out whether the damage was extensive

Dozens of "Jingle" trucks were pulled up off the roadside patiently waiting for the road to be cleared

There is barely enough room for a typical jingle truck on this narrow road...somehow Jan made driving past them look easy!

The view looking back towards Astak

Jingle trucks all stuck patiently waiting for the road to clear

The all seeing eye on the front of this Gilgit jingle truck caught our attention

At last...the first jingle truck zooms its way past the just cleared road!

We glance out at all the passengers waiting for the rush of traffic to subside before they continue their journey

The chicken truck stunk to high heaven in the early morning heat

Traffic resumes on this crowded stretch of road

We stop to buy some fresh grapes...a bargain at 10 Rupees!

The dramatic scenery never fails to impress

We finally make it to Raikot Bridge where this signpost indicated that Fairy Meadows Cottage on a mere 14 km away

Several small villages appear on the route up to Jhel

The jeep trek up to Jhel is a bit nerve wracking...we put all our trust in our driver's capable hands

Only local certified drivers are allowed to transport passengers up and down from Jhel to Raikot Bridge via the jeep trail

The locals have no qualms about asking to hitchhike along the trail

It was a nice afternoon when we finally started out trek up to Fairy Meadows from Tato

A view of the trail we hike to reach Fairy Meadows

We have to make way for the donkeys that are carrying goods down from Fairy Meadows

Another view of the "donkey convoy"

Robby is happy to see that we are almost there!

Nanga Parbat is covered beneath clouds but still a sight to behold

Becky walks across a makeshift bridge on our short trek up to Fairy Meadows

One final push and we arrive...Fairy Meadows here we come!

A picturesque view from Raikot Sarai Cabins

We were quite happy staying at the welcoming Raikot Sarai Cabins for the night

Becky stands at the entrance gate of Raikot Sarai Cabins

The boys are out playing polo in the nearby field

We manage to take a few inconspicuous photos before the boys notice us and come running over

Summer dwellings for locals at Fairy Meadows

The boys are polo crazy, competing quite fiercely with each other

Even though the boys are barefoot, they run like the wind and play an agressive game of polo

The boys absolutely love having their photos taken

We get a lot of requests for individual portraits and try to accomodate everyone's request

The boys love clowning around in front of the camera

The grazing cattle don't pay us any mind...what a setting!

The boys show off their best polo pose

Fairy Meadows is an appropriate name for this incredibly scenic corner of Pakistan

The afternoon light was fading fast, so we broke free from the polo boys and wandered around Fairy Meadows to take in its beauty

This three horned sheep was perfectly content muching away

With the world's 9th highest moutain looming in the backdrop, this makes for an especially scenic shot

The children check us out in curiosity

The sky appears to be clearing up and we are thrilled to have a cloud free view of beautiful Nanga Parbat

Picture perfect! Nanga Parbat takes our breath away with its stunning and raw beauty

View of Nanga Parbat from our wooden cabin at Raikot Sarai

Its a brilliant morning, and a rescue team has gathered in the garden of Raikot Sarai to retrieve the body of an Iranian climber who had gone missing the week before on Nanga Parbat

The rescue team poses with the Belgian lady and Robby at Raikot Sarai

Morning view of Nanga Parbat's Raikot Face

Two choices of lodging at Raikot Sarai...wooden cabins or tents

Becky lounges after breakfast checking out the view

A picture of serenity

Becky and Robby strike a pose at Fairy Meadow's most picturesque spot

This large lake is back behind the main field

Another photo of us beneath the mighty North Face of Nanga Parbat

Another view of Fairy Meadow's Tarar Lake

Camping is a viable option for those on a shoe string budget at Fairy Meadows

We were invited as VIP guests for this impromptu polo match at Fairy Meadows

Polo is big business here at Fairy Meadows and the entire village stops to watch the match

Even though there are no "uniforms", everyone knows which team member is on their team...and a vigorous game ensues

Polo players hustle after the game ball

Polo is a tough sport! There are two halves, each lasting 25 minutes

Everyone stops what they are doing to watch the ongoing polo match

We had seen several polo matches in Northern Pakistan, but this one wins hands down for the "prettiest" setting

The players hustle after the polo ball

The players do not take these games lightly...they fight hard every time the ball is out in the open field

The stamina of polo horses is legendary...they can run for hours on end at high elevations

The players form a perfect V formation as they chase after the ball

Some of the polo horses had a mind of their own...we watched as one player got thrown off his horse!

A brilliant day for a polo match...we couldn't have asked for a more beautiful setting

It was hard for us to keep score...both sides kept scoring goal after goal

The polo sticks kept breaking as players lunged for the game ball

A fight ensues as the players try to get to the match ball

Robby throws out the match ball to start off the second half of the game

And they are off! The second 25 minute match commenses

After the polo match, we coordinated horseback rides up to Beyal

First, a brief stop at Fairy Meadows Cottages, where dozens of tents were erected in the front field

A typical cabin at Fairy Meadows Cottages (there are 9 wooden cabins and 32 tents)

The weather quickly takes a turn for the worse, with clouds moving in and covering up Nanga Parbat

Becky's horse and guide patiently wait for us to settle our business at Fairy Meadows Cottages

A view of our night's lodgings at Fairy Meadows Cottages

Robby enjoys his horseback ride out to Beyal

Zia looks quite comfortable astride his horse

Rainfall started pounding us as we headed into Beyal

Pristine views abound from "View Point", a steep 30 minute hike past Beyal

It took us just over an hour to reach Beyal

Zia smiles broadly and appears to be enjoying himself

Beyal is a popular overnight spot about 2 hours away from Fairy Meadows. It is within a day's hike of Nanga Parbat's base camp

We enjoy a leisurely horseback ride through this pretty, well trodden trail

Our guides have the most mesmerizing blue/green eyes (yes, they are all related!)

"German Himalayan Expedition of Nanga Parbat"

Circa 1937...a pre WWII era letter managed to survive intact for all these years buried within the glacier!

The letter was written in German and we attempted to translate it...

Too bad our hike up to View Point was rewarded with this cloud covered view...it was still worth it though!

The trail from Beyal to View Point starts off relatively flat

But then it cuts up a steep hill and requires a strenuous 30 minute hike to reach the top

We would have liked to stay at Beyal overnight, but only has scheduled 2 days for our Fairy Meadow excursion

Alpine flowers are in full bloom in the middle of summer

Too bad Nanga Parbat was buried beneath clouds...this would have been an amazing shot

View Point is worth the hike

Raikot Glacier is huge! The locals claim that it carries the remains of many a failed expeditionary who tried to tame the "Killer Mountain"

Robby and Zia chilling at View Point

A snapshot of the trail leading up to View Point

Robby soaks in a rare moment of sunshine; View Point

The sun is trying valiently to shine through while we sit atop View Point and admire the view

Becky and Robby strike another pose atop View Point

It was a mad sprint to set the camera on self timer and run back to pose atop the rock in time

Our horse guides waited for us in Beyal to finish our trek up to View Point

What a way to spend a day! Riding horseback through the mountains of N. Pakistan!

Becky's horse was tired on the ride back (it had played an agressive polo match earlier in the day), so we took a slow walk back to Fairy Meadows

Zia still has a broad smile on his face, thoroughly enjoying himself today

One final look at our enjoyable ride through the countryside

Dinner at Fairy Meadows Cottages...we were hungry and ate all of our dinner

Robby and Zia dressed in warm gear...it gets cold up at Fairy Meadows at night!

After dinner, we huddled by the warm camp fire and were soon joined by other tourists overnighting at Fairy Meadows Cottages

Smile! We take a self portrait in the early morning at Fairy Meadows

Robby, Zia, and Becky take a group photo our last morning at Fairy Meadows

We agreed to take a photo with the owner of Fairy Meadows Cottages before hiking back down to Tato

The guys strike an early morning pose in the front yard of Fairy Meadows Cottages

One final look back at Fairy Meadows Cottages

Nanga Parbat is normally visible from Fairy Meadows Cottages, but with the cloud cover, it was impossible to have one last view of the mighty mountain

We made great time making our way downhill from Fairy Meadows to Tato

Another snapshot of two weary travelers making their way back down the trail

Goat skins piled up awaiting transport down the trail

Robby smiles before crossing the last stream of our hike

A blue eyed hitchhiker strikes a pose with Robby on our jeep ride back down to Raikot Bridge

The jeep trail from Raikot Bridge to Tato (and reverse) is legendary for its dizzying views

If you are prone to panic, do not look out of your jeep...the jeep trail is extremely narrow and you don't even want to think of the jeep tumbling down the hill!

Robby leans out of the jeep and snaps a photo of our jeep ride back down to Raikot Bridge

We were surprised to see these donkeys roaming free on the road side

A truck loaded full of dried animal skins (to be used for leather shoes)

At one of the police checkpoints, we were invited to take a photo with the friendly guards who gave us a thumbs up when they heard we were Americans

A s-curved river rages past, and catches our attention as we drive from Raikot Bridge to Besham

Another pretty view of our surroundings

Houses cluster on the edge of a river

Not many drivers honor this "do not pass" sign along a blind spot of the road