Four 8,000 m base camps
Overview
A twenty-six-day trek up the Baltoro glacier to the base camps of four eight-thousanders: K2 at 8,611 m, Broad Peak at 8,051 m, and Gasherbrum I and II beyond Concordia. It is the K2 Base Camp trek with the Gasherbrum side added, and it is a fortnight on ice rather than a week.
What the extra days buy
Most people walk the K2 Base Camp trek to Concordia, go up to K2 Base Camp, and turn round. This trek carries on south-east up the Abruzzi and Upper Baltoro glaciers to the Gasherbrum base camps, then comes back through Concordia. The extra ground is the quietest part of the Baltoro and the part almost nobody sees, because it adds a week that a three-week holiday does not have.
Concordia at about 4,600 m is where the Baltoro and Godwin-Austen glaciers meet, and on a clear morning four eight-thousanders stand around it at once. We camp there twice, going out and coming back, because one night at Concordia is a gamble on weather and two is a reasonable bet.
The ground
From Askole it is glacier moraine almost the whole way — loose, uneven, and more tiring than the distances suggest. There is no technical climbing on this route and no rope. What there is instead is sixteen days of walking on bad ground at altitude, carrying a daypack, with no road, no village and no way out but on foot.
When it runs
June to September. July and August are the settled months; late September is colder, clearer and emptier, and the walk out can be cold enough to matter.
What is inside the price
All permits and Central Karakoram National Park fees, jeeps and drivers on our own plates to Askole, full camp with cook and mess for the whole trek, a Balti porter crew under our published porter charter with loads weighed in front of you, guides on our payroll, satellite comms from the moment the signal stops at Askole, and a written evacuation plan for every camp on the glacier. Our acclimatisation and turn-back criteria are published before you pay. Add Nanga Parbat and this becomes the Big Five; see the rest of the Baltoro and Concordia and our other Karakoram treks.
- Duration
- 23 – 26 days
- Trek days
- 16
- 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 either side, full camp on the glacier
- Base camps of four eight-thousanders — K2, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum I and Gasherbrum II
- Two nights at Concordia rather than one, because one night is a gamble on the weather
- The Upper Baltoro beyond Concordia, which is the quietest ground on the glacier
- Sixteen walking days with no road, no village and no vehicle access at any point
- A Balti porter crew under our published charter, loads weighed in front of you
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 3,750 | A full crew for two people |
| 3 – 4 | USD 3,150 | |
| 5 – 8 | USD 2,600 | 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 day held in reserve if it does not.
03 Skardu — permits and kit check Hotel · 2,230 m
Paperwork, load check and the full kit inspection. Nothing leaves Skardu unweighed.
04 Skardu to Askole Camp · 3,000 m
Seven to nine hours by jeep up the Braldu. The last road of the trip.
05 Askole to Jhola Camp
Onto the trail along the Braldu river. A long first day, deliberately flat.
06 Jhola to Paiju Camp
Up the valley with the Trango group and Paiju Peak ahead.
07 Paiju — rest and glacier briefing Camp
A day held for acclimatisation and for the crew to prepare. Crampon and rope briefing.
08 Paiju to Khoburtse Camp
Onto the Baltoro itself. The surface changes and so does the pace.
09 Khoburtse to Urdukas Camp
Up to the meadow above the glacier, with the Trango towers opposite.
10 Urdukas to Goro II Camp
A long day on open glacier with Masherbrum south of the route.
11 Goro II to Concordia Camp · 4,600 m
Into Concordia, where the Godwin-Austen comes in and K2 appears at the head of it.
12 Concordia to K2 Base Camp and back Camp · 5,150 m
Up the Godwin-Austen to the Gilkey memorial and K2 Base Camp. The high point of the trek.
13 Concordia to Broad Peak Base Camp Camp
A short day on the Godwin-Austen to Broad Peak. Second of the four.
14 To Gasherbrum Base Camp Camp
South-east up the Abruzzi and Upper Baltoro. The quiet half of the glacier begins here.
15 Gasherbrum I and II base camps Camp
Both Gasherbrum base camps, and the view back down the whole Baltoro.
16 Gasherbrum to Concordia Camp · 4,600 m
Back down the Upper Baltoro. Second Concordia camp, and the weather buffer.
17 Concordia to Goro II Camp
Down the glacier, faster than the way up and harder on the knees.
18 Goro II to Urdukas Camp
Back to the meadow. The first grass in a fortnight.
19 Urdukas to Paiju Camp
Off the glacier and back onto the moraine trail.
20 Paiju to Jhola Camp
Long day down the Braldu valley.
21 Jhola to Askole Camp · 3,000 m
Out to the roadhead. Crew settlement and the end of the walking.
22 Askole to Skardu Hotel · 2,230 m
Back down the Braldu by jeep. Kit return and debrief.
23 Skardu — buffer day Hotel · 2,230 m
Held against the flight. If it is not needed, it is yours.
24 Skardu to Islamabad Hotel · 540 m
By air if the weather allows, by road if not.
25 Islamabad — buffer Hotel · 540 m
Second buffer against the Skardu flight, which is the single least reliable link in the trip.
26 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
Sixteen days of walking, six to nine hours a day, almost all of it on glacier moraine that is loose and uneven and punishes ankles. You need to be able to do that day after day with a daypack and still be functional on day fourteen, which is the one that finds people out.
There is no technical ground, no rope and no climbing. The difficulty is duration and surface, not skill. The honest test is whether you can walk a long hard hill day, sleep badly in a tent, and get up and do it again — eleven more times. If you have not done a multi-day trek before, take the K2 Base Camp trek first; it is the same ground for half the time.
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 four base camps trek?
Twenty-six door to door, of which sixteen are walking. Operators sell it at twenty-four and it fits, but with no buffer at either end — and the Skardu flight is the least reliable part of any Baltoro trip.
How is this different from the K2 Base Camp trek?
It is the same walk as far as Concordia, then carries on south-east to the Gasherbrum base camps instead of turning round. About a week longer, and that week is the quietest ground on the Baltoro.
How fit do I need to be?
Six to nine hours a day on glacier moraine for sixteen days, with a daypack, on consecutive days. No technical ground and no rope — the difficulty is duration and surface, not skill.
How high does it get?
5,150 m at K2 Base Camp, with Concordia at about 4,600 m. Nothing on the trek requires supplementary oxygen, but we carry it, and we check pulse and oxygen saturation every evening above Urdukas.
What permits does it need?
A trekking permit, Central Karakoram National Park fees and a registered guide. We obtain all of it and it is in the price. You need a Pakistan visa and we send a sponsor letter within 48 hours of your deposit. Fee schedules were revised recently, so we quote live figures at enquiry rather than from memory.
What does it cost and what moves the price?
Porter stages dominate, because sixteen days of food and fuel have to be carried in and the crew fed walking out as well as in. Then party size, then the Skardu flights. Deposit is 25 per cent and the balance is due before departure.
When is the best time to go?
July and August are the settled months. Late September is colder, clearer and far emptier, and the walk out can be cold enough to matter. We do not run it outside June to September.
What happens if the weather stops us short of the Gasherbrums?
We turn round, which is a normal outcome rather than a failure. The decision belongs to the lead guide and cannot be overruled by the office. There is no refund for an unused portion, which is on the payment and refunds page before you pay.
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