Laila Peak Base Camp
Overview
A thirteen-day trek from Hushe up the Gondogoro glacier to the base camp beneath Laila Peak at 6,096 m — a face so steep and so symmetrical it looks drawn rather than built. You stand under it without climbing it, which for most people is the right relationship with this mountain.
The face
Laila Peak is one of the most photographed shapes in the Karakoram and one of the least climbed. The reason is the same in both cases: the face is sustained at an angle that does not relent. Standing at its foot is the only way to understand why the photographs do not look real, and it asks nothing of you but the walk in — climbing the face is a separate expedition with a very different requirement.
The route
From Hushe up the Gondogoro valley and onto the glacier, to the base camp used by expeditions on the face and by parties heading for the Gondogoro La. Six walking days, five to seven hours on the longer ones, on moraine that is loose and uneven.
This is the Hushe side of the Gondogoro La. If you want to cross the pass to Concordia rather than turn round at the base camp, the Gondogoro La crossing is a different and much harder trip.
When it runs
June to September. The pass season is narrower than the valley season, so a base camp trek has a wider window than a crossing does.
What is inside the price
Permits and fees, jeeps and drivers on our own plates from Skardu to Hushe, full camp with cook and mess, a Hushe porter crew under our published porter charter with loads weighed in front of you, guides on our payroll, satellite comms above the village and a written evacuation plan for every camp. See the rest of Hushe and the Charakusa and our other Karakoram treks.
- Duration
- 10 – 13 days
- Trek days
- 6
- Maximum altitude
- 4,900 m [confirm]
- Grade
- 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
- Laila Peak at 6,096 m, from directly beneath the face
- One of the most photographed and least climbed shapes in the Karakoram
- The Gondogoro glacier without committing to the pass crossing
- Six walking days, and a wider season than the Gondogoro La itself
- A Hushe porter crew from the village, under our published charter
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 2,900 | A full crew for two people |
| 3 – 4 | USD 2,450 | |
| 5 – 8 | USD 2,050 | 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, kit inspection.
04 Skardu to Hushe Camp
Through Khaplu and up the valley by jeep. Crew and loads meet us at the village.
05 Hushe to Shaicho Camp
Up the Gondogoro valley. A short first day, deliberately.
06 Shaicho to Gondogoro Base Camp Camp
Onto the glacier and up to the base camp, with the face above it.
07 At Laila Peak Base Camp Camp
A day under the face. Walk higher along the moraine if the weather holds.
08 Base camp to Shaicho Camp
Back down the glacier.
09 Shaicho to Hushe Camp
Out to the village. Crew settlement.
10 Hushe to Skardu Hotel · 2,230 m
Down the valley by jeep. Kit return and debrief.
11 Skardu — buffer day Hotel · 2,230 m
Held against the flight.
12 Skardu to Islamabad Hotel · 540 m
By air if the weather allows, by road if not.
13 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
Six walking days, five to seven hours on the longer ones, on loose glacier moraine. A steady climb rather than a steep one, but sustained, and the descent is harder on the knees than the ascent is on the lungs.
No rope and no technical ground on this trek — that is the difference between walking to the base camp and climbing the peak above it, and it is a very large difference. If you are considering the Gondogoro La crossing instead, understand that the pass adds fixed rope, crampons and a midnight start, and roughly one group in five turns back at it.
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. Briefing the same evening, SIM and cash sorted.
Islamabad to Skardu
By air when the weather allows, or by road when it does not. A buffer day either way.
Skardu to Hushe
Six to seven hours by jeep through Khaplu and up the Hushe valley, on our own vehicles.
From Hushe
On foot, with a Hushe porter crew from the village.
Questions people actually ask
Do I climb Laila Peak on this trip?
No. This trek walks to the base camp beneath the face and turns round. Climbing the face is a separate expedition with a different requirement and a different price, and most people who come here should be doing this one.
How many days is it?
Thirteen door to door, of which six are walking. It is the shortest of the three Hushe base-camp treks.
How fit do I need to be?
Five to seven hours a day on loose moraine, on consecutive days, with a daypack. No rope and no technical ground.
How high does it get?
Around 4,900 m at base camp, which we are still confirming against a second source and which prints with a marker until we have. Laila Peak itself is 6,096 m and you are looking up at all of it.
How is this different from the Gondogoro La crossing?
Same valley, different commitment. This stops at the base camp; the crossing goes over the pass to Concordia on fixed rope with crampons and a midnight start, takes three weeks rather than two, and turns about one group in five back.
Do I need a permit?
Hushe is an open trekking zone — no restricted-zone permit and no liaison officer. Trekking and local fees apply and we pay them. Your Pakistan visa is the paperwork that matters.
What does it cost and what moves the price?
Party size, then porter stages, which are short here by Karakoram standards. One of the better-value real treks we run. Deposit is 25 per cent.
When should I come?
June to September. The base-camp trek has a wider window than the pass crossing, because it does not depend on the Gondogoro La being in condition.
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 Rush Lake and Rush Pari
- A step harder Four 8,000 m base camps
You have already chosen the region, which is the harder decision. These run from the same roadhead.
- Hushe & Charakusa · Expedition Gondogoro Peak expedition
- Hushe & Charakusa · Expedition Laila Peak expedition
- Hushe & Charakusa · Expedition Hushe valley first ascent — unnamed 6,000 m objectives