Our Gilgit hotel...the Hotel Riveria is a stone's throw away from the Gilgit River

NATCO bus stop with a "Welcome to Gilgit" stencil

We crossed the raging Gilgit River on our way up to Naltar

Becky instantly fell in love with Naltar, which she aptly nicknamed "Little Switzerland"

Naltar's alpine scenery

Our jeep was perfectly suited for Naltar's rough roads

Jan decided to take us up to the Naltar Lake

Rock walls are constantly collapsing and being rebuilt

Gorgeous veiws abound in Naltar

Our first glimpse of Naltar Lake

Close up view of a Naltar elder

Donkey transport is a reliable (and cheap) means of carrying firewood

Becky, Jan, Robby and Zia at Naltar Lake

What a serene part of Northern Pakistan...Naltar has the reputation of being one of Gilgit's loveliest valleys

Zia, Robby and Jan pose beside our dependable jeep

A donkey and her new born calf strike a pose nearby another Naltar Lake

The fantastic blue hue of this lake is totally eye catching

Becky thought Naltar was one of the prettiest places in N Pakistan!

What a view!

These goats crossed over the wooden bridge all by themselves!

Can you imagine a larger vehicle attempting this river crossing?

After enjoying our time around Naltar Lake, we headed back down to check into our hotel

Upper Naltar is a popular destination in the summer...would you believe all the hotels were fully booked shortly after we checked into the 4 View Hotel?

Becky and Jan walk towards an impromptu polo match; Naltar

It was a fairly short walk to reach the polo playing field

A super packed van zooms on past us, with the school boys waving in greeting

What a magnificent setting for a polo match!

Water is plentiful in scenic Naltar

We thought the Naltar Valley was even more beautiful than Shandur for a polo match

Villagers live in Naltar year round, although we can certainly see its appeal in the summer

The Naltar polo players were hard charging, but not as skilled as the Gilgit and Chitral teams

The polo horses are hardy animals, often raced for hours on end

Naltar fans climb atop a rock wall to watch the polo match

The polo player who invited us to come watch him play cuts a fine figure on the field

Polo in Pakistan is akin to soccer in Europe...its wildly popular

After the polo match was over, we were invited to strike our best polo pose

Young fans crowd their polo heroes...its every boy's dream to become a top polo player

A close up of Becky atop her polo horse

Afterwards, it was Robby's turn

He looked at ease on the polo horse

We all enjoyed our chicken karai dinner at the Hilltop Hotel

Our overnight lodgings in Naltar at the 4 View Hotel

We pulled over for breakfast at this road side stop

Robby even got settled in underneath a shady tree...however, Zia informed us they had no eggs, so we decided to press on

Our first view of Rakaposhi (7788 meters)

This woman was busy laying out apricots to dry

Everyone told us the scenery of Northern Pakistan was mind blowing, but seeing is believing

We stopped at the Rakaposhi View Restaurant for a cup of tea, paratha, and fried eggs

And had a nice view of Rakaposhi Mountain while we dined on breakfast

Zia, Robby and Jan pose beneath the looming Rakaposhi Mountain

Jan pours us another cuppa tea

The Rakaposhi View Restaurant had a small souvenir stand displaying various wares for sale

Snow capped mountains are a common sight in Northern Pakistan

We couldn't take our eyes off the passing scenery

And it didn't take too long to finally reach the fabled Hunza Valley (Karimabad)

Quaint, narrow alleyways abound in old Karimabad

Pakistan Post conveniently located outside Baltit Fort

Robby and Becky pose outside the Potala Palace inspired Baltit Fort; Karimabad

Zia buys our entrance tickets to Baltit Fort

Zia hands our entrance tickets over to the Baltit Fort guard

Check out his massive mustache!

Interior kitchen; Baltit Fort

Robby peers out from behind the entrance way portal; Baltit Fort

The Baltit Fort was painstakingly reconstructed to its original state in the 1990s and remains a jewel of the Hunza Valley

Becky has to crouch to crawl through a passageway

Roof top view of Baltit Fort

Large ibex horns are mounted to the exterior of the fort

We were surprised that we were allowed to take photos inside the fort, but our guide urged us to snap away

Close up view of the throne terrace, Baltit Fort rooftop

The Baltit Fort construction has been inspired by Tibet's Potala Palace

From the top of Baltit Fort, there is a fine bird's eye view of the Hunza Valley

Reception room; Baltit Fort

A snapshot of Karimabad (below Baltit Fort)

Mir Nazim Khan added his personal touch to this section of the Baltit Fort

This room has several old photos of Baltit Fort rulers as well as their royal outfits

Robby and Becky dressed up in traditional Hunza garb

A picture perfect day to visit the beautiful Baltit Fort

One final look at the interior of Baltit Fort

It is easy to imagine that Baltit is Hunza's ancient capital, with its magnificent fort

An old cannon sits atop Baltit Fort

Karimabad locals stuffing potatoes into sacks, getting them ready for the market

A long windy road leads to the Hunza Valley

Sun dried apricots line the rooftops of just about every house in Karimabad

Old Ganish Village...a popular stop along the old Silk Route

Village boys horsing around old Ganish Village's water tank

Another view of Ganish Village, which won a UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage award in 2002

A cluster of wooden mosques in old Ganish Village

Local villagers are busy drying apricots on their rooftops

A richly carved wooden mosque; Ganish Village

Interior view of Ganish Village...today about 31 families live here

Our guide's family mosque; Ganish Village

Our guide, Robby, and Zia strike a pose on the rooftop of a Ganish Village dwelling

Rooftop view of a typical Ganish Village house (notice the opening in the ceiling to allow sunlight to filter into the upstairs "summer" room)

A man peacefully snoozes under the trees at Ganish Village

Renovations for the Altit Fort should be complete by 2009, according to our local guide

Festival flags adorn the alleyways of the Altit Fort area

Dried apricots galore!

A lady hard at work sorting out apricots to dry

The Altit Fort families are a laid back and relaxed group

Entrance portal to the Altit Fort area...explore the narrow alleyways and labyrinth layout of the town!

We drove up to Duikar sunset point to catch the sunset

But we had spent too much time exploring Altit Fort, so the sun had already set

View of Altit Fort area as seen from Duikar Sunset Point

It was a 45 minute mad dash to reach Duikar sunset point from downtown Karimabad

Its often cloudy at these majestic peaks, but here is a rare moment of clarity

Robby and Becky marvel at the view; Duikar Sunset Point

Becky hides in one of the many "caves"; Duikar

Becky's cave has Robby's beat!

The following morning, we woke up early and drove out towards Passu Glacier

To reach our first destination, Borit Lake, we had to drive up a steep incline

Afterwards, we headed out to Passu Glacier and had to hike uphill

Yes...this is the rocky path up to Passu Glacier!

Robby pauses for a breather up in Passu

Robby joins Zia and Jan for a glacier photo (it doesn't look that steep but they are literally on the edge of a very dangerous cliff with the glacier far below)

The view looking back down from Passu Glacier

Robby and Zia are dare devils striking this crazy pose on the edge of this rocky outcrop; Passu

Borit Lake looks like an oasis of calm

Ummm, holy cow! This is our first view of the Hussaini bridge, which Zia claims we will traverse across. Our first thought is "no way"

Zia stops to load us up with a handful of fresh apricots

The fabled Hussaini suspension bridge

Jan crossed the bridge with ease

Robby immediately starts monkeying around, striking his best "Indiana Jones" pose

Becky is absolutely terrified of falling into the raging water below and focuses on keeping her footing

An elderly woman reassuringly pats Becky on the back and urges us to "be brave"

Becky takes a snapshot of the spacing of the planks of the bridge

Jan and Becky finally make it across!

View of Hussaini bridge as seen from the other side of the river bank

Becky soon feels at ease on the bridge and strikes her own crazy pose

Robby shows her how its done as he starts rocking and swaying the cables with his weight

We survived the Hussaini Bridge...a triumphant group photo celebrating our crossing!

Pretty flowers adorn the path on the way to the Hussaini suspension bridge

Our comfortable Minapin lodging, the wonderful Diran Guest House

Apples fresh for the picking; Minapin orchards (these were very sweet)

Sun dried apricots is a Northern Pakistan thing in the summer...in every town and village, we noticed blankets of apricots strewn everywhere!

Indeed, we can confirm apricots a-plenty in Minapin!

To Becky's surprise, hiking around in her shalwar kameez was quite comfortable

Not sure what kind of berries these are, but their vivid color caught our eye

Minapin serves as the perfect basecamp for a hike up to the looming Rakaposhi, which is rated an easy (relative term) 3 day hike

Robby decides that a hike up to this lookout point is good enough (Rakaposhi is visible in the background)

Zia agrees and strikes the same pose

Becky admires the lovely view of Minapin

On our way up, we stop to take a few breathers...its physically exerting to hike around at this elevation

But the reward is well worth it! What a view

Jan, Zia and Robby decide to take a short cut on our way back down to Minapin

A lone cow moos at us; Minapin

A final snapshot of pretty Minapin

Pretty flowers abound; Diran Guest House

Most travelers spend a few days in lovely Minapin, soaking up the scenery

Not sure what these trees are called, but they soon became our favorite. We noticed a lot of farmers use them to annotate the outer most boundary of their property

School boys dressed in their smart uniforms headed out to their daily classes

A large standing Buddha is etched into the rock face near Gilgit

The 7th Century Kargah Buddha is still perfectly preserved

We are back in Gilgit to stock up on supplies and money before our onward trip to Baltistan

The Gilgit bazaar is a bustling hive of activity

A man and his goat take a short rest; Gilgit

Everyone helps out to straighten this car...its teamwork at its finest!

Fresh grapes for sale...we buy some for 10 Rupees

The view as we drive upward to Astore

Astore village is located at 2450 meters, and serves as a popular base to hike the dangerous (and beautiful) Nanga Parbat

After we checked into our PTDC motel in Astore, we decided to hike up to Rama Lake

The lush scenery around us made it an enjoyable "short" hike (Zia would always say our hikes were short...when asked how short, he'd just say 30 minutes)

Needless to say, our hikes never were "30 minutes"...we always gave Zia a hard time about his calculations!

We decide to take a group photo on our hike up to Rama Lake

First, a brief stop to visit a local family who migrated up to Astore to take advantage of the summer grazing

The family lived simply in this stone dwelling, but immediately offered us some tea and na'an

We rejoiced upon seeing this lake but Zia insisted we keep on going...its a "short" hike, after all!

But with scenery like this, we didn't complain too much

We finally made it! Rama Lake was worth the hike

It was a whole lot easier hiking downhill from Rama Lake than uphill!

Pretty pink flowers; Rama Lake

There were several fishermen casting for trout

A laid back bull just chilling and keeping a close eye on us

These goats have a mind of their own, and bring all vehicular traffic to a halt as they walk on by

The goat/sheep herder has his hands full!

An "Astore" license plate

The precariously perched Astore bazaar literally hugs the side of a cliff

We stopped here to buy overnight supplies for Deosai National Park

Astore bazaar reminded us of one of those old towns in a western movie...all that was missing were the gun slingers and horses!

Shops are open for business but the streets of Astore bazaar remain relatively empty

Need a new sole for your shoe? Look no further than this leathersmith

We pulled over to this small ramshackle town for a cup of tea (enroute to Deosai) and the locals came out to check us out

Jan and Robby await their milk tea

Surprisingly, within the Deosai National Park, there are a few small villages such as this one

We loved this Deosai National Park sign!

An another one...we highly doubt the villagers have to pay the 585 Rupee entry fee to gain access to the Deosai National Park!

Becky lies in a bed of flowers; Deosai Lake

A "K2 Travel Service" transports locals to Deosai National Park

Becky is a mango fiend and enjoys the treat down by the lake

Our jeep ably traversed this body of water...Jan makes it look so easy!

We sit on the hood of our jeep as Jan drives us across this low slung bridge

Another angle of Deosai National Park's most famous bridge

After we decide to camp here for the night, it took us no time at all to erect our tent

Another view of the Deosai park campground

Robby and Zia enjoy some fresh fruit

Immediately after Robby took this photo, Becky lost one of her flip flops to the fast moving current...some nice boys chased it down for over a half mile to retrieve it for her!

Zia cuts up and serves our fruit on a platter

Robby poses with our rescue crew...what kind hearted souls!

Our campground at dusk

Our campground's mess tent, where we enjoyed dinner

The friendly Deosai Park Ranger...what a crazy beard!

After dinner, the obligatory cup of tea is served

Zia shows the park ranger his photo image

We thanked the park ranger for his hospitality

One last group shot before we depart Deosai National Park

A horse train; Deosai National Park

Golden marmots pop up in curiosity, watching our every move

A parting shot of the ever inquisitive marmot