Five 8,000 m base camps — the Big Five
Overview
A thirty-two-day journey to the base camps of all five of Pakistan’s eight-thousanders: K2, Broad Peak and both Gasherbrums on the Baltoro, then across to Nanga Parbat at 8,126 m on the far side of the Indus. It is the longest trip in this catalogue and the only one that reaches every one of them.
Two mountains ranges, not one
The Baltoro section is the four base camps trek: a fortnight on glacier from Askole, through Concordia, out to the Gasherbrum base camps and back. The Nanga Parbat section is the Fairy Meadows trek, and it feels nothing like it — forest, meadow and a mountain that stands alone rather than in a crowd.
The drive between them is the Karakoram Highway down the Indus gorge, past the marked viewpoint where the Karakoram, Himalaya and Hindu Kush meet. Having walked in two of the three, the junction stops being a signpost.
Why thirty-two days
Because sixteen walking days on the Baltoro and four more at Nanga Parbat is twenty, and the rest is the approach, the acclimatisation, the road between them and the buffer the Skardu flight demands. Operators sell this at twenty-four and twenty-nine days. It fits at twenty-nine with nothing spare, and nothing spare on the Baltoro is how people end up walking out in bad weather on a schedule.
When it runs
June to September, and the window is set by the Baltoro rather than by Nanga Parbat, which has a longer season.
What is inside the price
All permits and park fees for both ends, every kilometre of road on our own vehicles, full camp with cook and mess on both sections, separate porter crews under our published porter charter in Baltistan and at Diamir, guides on our payroll for the whole month, satellite comms wherever the signal stops, and a written evacuation plan for every camp. See the rest of the Baltoro and Concordia and our other Karakoram treks.
- Duration
- 28 – 32 days
- Trek days
- 20
- Maximum altitude
- 5,150 m
- Grade
- Very hard
- Group size
- Max 10
- Guides
- 2 certified, 1 WFR
- Season
- June – September
- Starts / ends
- Islamabad / Islamabad
- Accommodation
- Hotels between sections, full camp on both treks
- All five of Pakistan's eight-thousanders, each from its own base camp
- Two ranges in one trip — the Karakoram on the Baltoro, the Himalaya at Nanga Parbat
- Two nights at Concordia and the Upper Baltoro beyond it
- The Karakoram Highway between the two, through the Indus gorge
- Thirty-two days with real buffer, rather than twenty-nine with none
Private departures and group pricing
Your party, your dates. The per-person figure falls as the party grows, because the guides, the vehicles and the camp cost the same split more ways. Everything in the inclusions list applies, and the safety standard is the one published above.
| Party size | Price per person | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | USD 5,150 | A full crew for two people |
| 3 – 4 | USD 4,300 | |
| 5 – 8 | USD 3,600 | Second guide joins at six |
Deposit is 25% of the trip price. The payment schedule and the cancellation terms are published and sent with every quote, before you pay anything.
Day by day
Buffer days are built in, not padding. If the weather takes them, nothing downstream collapses and you are not charged twice.
01 Arrive Islamabad Hotel · 540 m
Met inside the terminal. Briefing, SIM and cash.
02 Islamabad to Skardu Hotel · 2,230 m
By air when the weather allows. Buffer held if not.
03 Skardu — permits and kit check Hotel · 2,230 m
Paperwork, loads weighed, full kit inspection.
04 Skardu to Askole Camp · 3,000 m
Up the Braldu by jeep. The last road for a fortnight.
05 Askole to Jhola Camp
Onto the trail along the Braldu river.
06 Jhola to Paiju Camp
Up the valley with the Trango group ahead.
07 Paiju — rest and glacier briefing Camp
Acclimatisation day. Crampon and rope briefing.
08 Paiju to Khoburtse Camp
Onto the Baltoro. The surface changes and so does the pace.
09 Khoburtse to Urdukas Camp
The meadow above the glacier, Trango towers opposite.
10 Urdukas to Goro II Camp
Long day on open glacier.
11 Goro II to Concordia Camp · 4,600 m
Into Concordia, K2 at the head of the Godwin-Austen.
12 K2 Base Camp and back Camp · 5,150 m
The Gilkey memorial and K2 Base Camp. First of the five.
13 Broad Peak Base Camp Camp
Short day on the Godwin-Austen. Second of the five.
14 To Gasherbrum Base Camp Camp
South-east onto the Upper Baltoro.
15 Gasherbrum I and II base camps Camp
Third and fourth. The quiet end of the glacier.
16 Back to Concordia Camp · 4,600 m
Second Concordia camp and the weather buffer.
17 Concordia to Goro II Camp
Down the glacier on tired legs.
18 Goro II to Urdukas Camp
Back to grass.
19 Urdukas to Paiju Camp
Off the glacier.
20 Paiju to Jhola Camp
Long day down the Braldu.
21 Jhola to Askole Camp · 3,000 m
Out to the roadhead. Crew settlement.
22 Askole to Skardu Hotel · 2,230 m
Jeep down the Braldu. A bed, and a shower.
23 Skardu — rest and re-kit Hotel · 2,230 m
A full day off between the two halves. Laundry, resupply, and a different porter crew briefed for Diamir.
24 Skardu to Chilas Hotel
Down the Indus gorge on the Karakoram Highway, past the junction of the three ranges.
25 Chilas to Fairy Meadows Camp
The Raikot jeep road, then up on foot to the meadow. Nanga Parbat above it.
26 Fairy Meadows to Nanga Parbat Base Camp Camp · 4,000 m
Out to the Raikot face base camp and the fifth of the five.
27 At Nanga Parbat Base Camp Camp · 4,000 m
A day held at the mountain, for weather and for the view that makes the month worth it.
28 Back to Fairy Meadows Camp
Down to the meadow and the last camp of the trip.
29 Fairy Meadows to Chilas Hotel
On foot to Tato, then the jeep road down to the highway.
30 Chilas to Islamabad Hotel · 540 m
The long road day down the Karakoram Highway.
31 Islamabad — buffer and debrief Hotel · 540 m
Buffer against the road, and a proper debrief over dinner.
32 Islamabad, and home —
Airport transfer.
What is included
- Visa sponsor letter
- All permits, park fees and NOCs
- Met inside the terminal, all transfers
- Our own 4x4s and drivers
- Certified guides and insured crew
- Camp equipment, cook and all meals on trek
- Porter crew under our published charter, loads weighed
- Medical kit, oxygen where the route calls for it
- Satellite comms and a daily message home
- International flights
- Visa fee itself
- Travel insurance covering evacuation and repatriation
- Personal equipment
- Tips
If our price is wrong for you we will move you to a lower tier or remove a named inclusion. We do not discount a published price, and we do not cut the crew.
Fitness and difficulty — read this honestly
Twenty walking days spread over a month, the hardest of them six to nine hours on Baltoro moraine. This is the most sustained trip in the catalogue and the demand is cumulative: it is not the hardest single day that decides it, it is the fourteenth consecutive one.
No technical ground and no rope on either section. What you need is the fitness to keep walking well after two weeks of camping, broken sleep and altitude, and the temperament for a month away with no road for much of it. We will ask about previous multi-week trips at enquiry, and if this would be your first long trek we will say so rather than take the booking.
Kit list
The full list with quantities is sent with your quote. Rental is available in Skardu for most of it, priced separately. Your kit is checked item by item in Islamabad, not the night before the trek.
Group — we provide
- Sleeping, mess, kitchen and toilet tents
- Group first aid and the medical kit
- Satellite phone and messenger
- All cooking and camp equipment
Personal — yours
- Sleeping bag rated to −15 °C or better
- Insulated jacket and waterproof shell
- Walking boots, worn in before you arrive
- Trekking poles
- Sun hat, glacier glasses and high-factor sunscreen
- Headtorch with spare batteries
- Water bottles or bladder, two litres minimum
- Personal medication and a declared medical history
Safety, evacuation and insurance
Helicopter rescue in the Karakoram is not guaranteed. Weather, altitude, daylight and clearance all decide whether a helicopter flies, so every stage carries a named drive-out or walk-out plan. Your insurance must cover helicopter evacuation and repatriation to the maximum altitude on your itinerary, and we verify the certificate before the trip starts.
A graded medical kit sized to the trip, oxygen, a portable altitude chamber, a satellite phone and a messenger, and a wilderness first responder in the crew.
The lead guide’s decision to turn back is final. Not a guest, not an agent, not this office — whatever has been paid.
Getting there
Islamabad
Met inside the terminal by a member of our team, not a driver with a sign outside it. Briefing the same evening, SIM and cash sorted.
Islamabad to Skardu
A short flight that is weather-dependent, or two days by road that are not. We build buffer days either way and quote both.
Skardu to Askole
Seven to nine hours by jeep up the Braldu valley on a road that is regularly blocked by landslide. Our own 4x4s and our own drivers.
From Askole
On foot. There is no road beyond it and no vehicle access at any point on the trek.
Questions people actually ask
How many days is the Big Five trek?
Thirty-two door to door, of which twenty are walking. It is sold elsewhere at twenty-four and twenty-nine. Twenty-nine fits with nothing spare, and nothing spare on the Baltoro is how people end up walking out in bad weather on a schedule.
Is this five separate treks or one?
Two. A fortnight on the Baltoro reaching four of them, then a road day and a four-day trek at Nanga Parbat for the fifth. There is a full rest day in Skardu between the halves.
How fit do I need to be?
Fit enough that the fourteenth consecutive walking day is the same as the fourth. Six to nine hours a day on Baltoro moraine is the hardest of it. No technical ground, no rope — the demand is cumulative, not technical.
How high does it get?
5,150 m at K2 Base Camp, 4,600 m at Concordia, 4,000 m at Nanga Parbat Base Camp. No supplementary oxygen is needed, though we carry it and run saturation checks every evening at the high camps.
What permits are needed for both ends?
A trekking permit and Central Karakoram National Park fees for the Baltoro, and park and community fees at Raikot for Nanga Parbat — two separate sets, both obtained by us and both in the price. You need a Pakistan visa, and a month-long trip is worth starting the visa file early.
What does it cost and what moves the price?
Porter stages on the Baltoro, which are long and carry a month of supplies, then party size, then two separate crews rather than one. Deposit is 25 per cent.
When should I go?
June to September, and the window is set by the Baltoro rather than by Nanga Parbat, which has a longer season. July and August are the settled months.
Can I do just one half?
Yes, and most people should. The Baltoro half on its own is our four base camps trek; the Nanga Parbat half is the Fairy Meadows trek. The Big Five is for people who want all five and have a month.
If this one is not quite right
The commonest reason a trip is wrong is that it is too hard or too easy, not that it is in the wrong place.
- A step easier Charakusa valley and K6/K7 Base Camp
You have already chosen the region, which is the harder decision. These run from the same roadhead.
- Baltoro & Concordia · Expedition K2 and Broad Peak — double-header expedition
- Baltoro & Concordia · Expedition Gasherbrum I and II — double-header expedition
- Baltoro & Concordia · Expedition Chogolisa expedition