As we’re not great outdoor people (eg. treks of several days), we decided on day-trips (or half day-trips) for our stay here in Karimabad. We called into a shop last night and they recommended the Hopper (or Hoper) Glacier some 1h30 mins away by Jeep.
We drove down to the Hunza River before going along the Nagyr River valley till we reached Hopper Glacier. Our driver walked us up to a lookout point. A guide, Abbas, asked if we wanted to take a walk down to the glacier. He didn’t give us a price but said “it is up to you”. In any other country, that would be a turn-off but in Pakistan I know that common sense and hospitality prevails.
We descended down to the glacier and saw it up close. We then walked on the ice. Hopper Glacier isn’t the prettiest as it looks quite grey due to all the gravel on it; fortunately this gives some traction when walking on the ice. One still has to be careful as melting ice can easily cause the gravel to slide off.
It feels strange that having been to glaciers in New Zealand, I’m walking on one in Pakistan instead. My visit to glaciers at Fox and Franz Josef in the South Island didn’t coincide with the best weather. The price we paid for a private guide (for the both of us) is a fraction of the price in New Zealand as part of a large group. We got back to Karimabad mid-afternoon and took it easy for the day.
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- On the way to Hopper Glacier.
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- On the way to Hopper Glacier.
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- On the way to Hopper Glacier.On the way to Hopper Glacier.
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- On the way to Hopper Glacier.
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- On the way to Hopper Glacier.
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- View at the lookout for Hopper Glacier looking the wrong direction.
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- View at the lookout for Hopper Glacier looking the right direction; here’s the glacier.
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- Hopper Glacier is quite grey due to a lot of gravel.
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- Commencing our walk to Hopper Glacier.
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- Commencing our walk to Hopper Glacier.
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- Looking up towards the mountain and ice field.
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- Close up of Hopper Glacier.
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- Walking to Hopper Glacier.
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- Close up of Hopper Glacier.
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- Reaching the glacier and standing on the ice finally; with Abbas our guide.
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- Close up of Hopper Glacier.
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- Close up of Hopper Glacier.
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- Looking up towards the mountain and ice field.
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- Reaching the glacier and standing on the ice finally; with Abbas our guide.
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- I didn’t realise we had descended this far until when we tried going up again.
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- Hopper Glacier again. Circle shows the size of people.
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- Nagyr River; on the way back to Karimabad.
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- View of Karimabad from across the Hunza River.
