Patundas
Overview
A ten-day trip to the Patundas meadow in Gojal, climbed from Borith Lake across the Passu glacier to a ridge-top pasture between the Passu and Batura glaciers. Short, steep and with a view out of proportion to the effort.
The crossing
The route crosses the Passu glacier, which is the part that decides the grade. It is a white glacier with real crevassing, not a rubble-covered one you can stroll over, and we rope it and brief it properly. On the far side the climb to the meadow is steep and sustained.
The meadow
Patundas is a summer pasture on the ridge between two glacier systems, which is why the view works: the Passu on one side, the Batura on the other, the Passu cones and Shispare around them. There are few places in the Karakoram where a trek this short delivers this much.
Why ten days for a three-day walk
Because the walking is three to four days and the rest is getting to Gojal, acclimatising there, and holding a buffer against the Gilgit flight. Operators sell a three-day Patundas trek, and that is accurate about the walking and misleading about the trip. Hunza, Attabad and Passu covers the same valley by road if walking is not the point.
When it runs
June to September. The glacier crossing is condition-dependent and we will reroute or turn back rather than cross badly.
What is inside the price
Permits and fees, transport on our own vehicles, hotels in Gojal, full camp with cook and mess, a porter crew under our published porter charter, guides on our payroll with rope and glacier hardware for the crossing, satellite comms above Borith and a written evacuation plan for every camp. See the rest of Gojal and Khunjerab and our other Karakoram treks.
- Duration
- 8 – 10 days
- Trek days
- 4
- Maximum altitude
- 4,300 m [confirm]
- Grade
- Hard
- Group size
- Max 10
- Guides
- 2 certified, 1 WFR
- Season
- June – September
- Starts / ends
- Gilgit / Gilgit
- Accommodation
- Hotels in Gojal, full camp on the mountain
- A ridge-top pasture between the Passu and Batura glaciers, with both in view at once
- A genuine white-glacier crossing, roped and briefed rather than strolled
- The Passu cones and Shispare from the meadow
- One of the best returns on effort of any short trek in Gojal
- Short walking days, which makes it the gentlest glacier trek we run
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 2,600 | A full crew for two people |
| 3 – 4 | USD 2,150 | |
| 5 – 8 | USD 1,800 | 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 Gilgit Hotel
Met at the airport or off the highway. Briefing, SIM and cash.
02 Gilgit to Gojal Hotel
Up the Karakoram Highway past Attabad to Gulmit or Passu.
03 Gojal — acclimatisation and Borith Hotel
A short walk at Borith Lake. Height gained gently and the glacier looked at before it is crossed.
04 Borith to Passu glacier camp Camp
Up to the edge of the glacier. Rope and crampon technique at camp.
05 Cross the Passu glacier, climb to Patundas Camp · 4,300 m
The crossing in the morning while the surface is firm, then the steep climb to the meadow.
06 At Patundas Camp · 4,300 m
A day on the ridge with the Passu on one side and the Batura on the other.
07 Patundas to Borith Hotel
Down and back across the glacier. Hard on the knees and quicker than you expect.
08 Gojal to Gilgit Hotel
Down the highway with stops you choose. Kit return and debrief.
09 Gilgit — buffer day Hotel
Held against the flight. Yours if it is not needed.
10 Gilgit, and onward —
By air or road, and on to whatever comes next.
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
Four walking days, of which two are steep and sustained. Five to seven hours on the longer ones. The climb from the glacier to the meadow gains most of the height of the trek and does not relent.
The glacier crossing is what lifts this from Moderate to Hard. The Passu is a white glacier with real crevassing, not a rubble-covered one you can walk over unroped, and you will be in crampons and tied to other people for part of the day. We teach the technique before the crossing. If you would rather not be on a rope at all, the Batura glacier trek is the better choice from the same valley.
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
- Harness, two locking carabiners and a prusik loop
- Crampons that fit your boots, fitted before you travel
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 Gilgit
By air when the weather allows, which is the short way and the one that cancels. By road up the Karakoram Highway when it does not — long, reliable, and scenery rather than dead time.
On the ground
Our own vehicles and our own drivers from Gilgit onward.
Questions people actually ask
How many days is it, and why ten when the walk is three?
Ten door to door, of which three to four are walking. The rest is reaching Gojal, acclimatising there and holding a buffer against the Gilgit flight. Operators sell a three-day Patundas trek, which is accurate about the walking and misleading about the trip.
How hard is the glacier crossing?
Hard enough to set the grade. The Passu is a white glacier with real crevassing, not a rubble-covered one you can stroll over. You will be roped and in crampons, and we teach the technique at camp the day before.
How fit do I need to be?
Four walking days, two of them steep and sustained, five to seven hours on the longer ones. The climb from the glacier to the meadow gains most of the height and does not relent.
How high is Patundas?
Around 4,300 m. We have one source for that figure and have not matched it against a second, so it prints with a marker until we have.
Do I need a permit?
No restricted-zone permit — Gojal is an open trekking zone. Local and park fees apply and we pay them. Your Pakistan visa is the paperwork that matters and we send a sponsor letter for it.
What does it cost and what moves the price?
Party size, then porter stages, which are short here. One of the better-value treks we run because the approach is a road. Deposit is 25 per cent.
When should I go?
June to September. The glacier crossing is condition-dependent and we will reroute or turn back rather than cross badly, so a departure may change shape on the day.
Is there a version without the glacier?
Yes — the Batura glacier trek works the same valley with no roped crossing, and it is the better choice if being tied to a rope is not something you want to do.
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.
- Gojal & Khunjerab · Day excursion Duikar, Eagle’s Nest and Borith
- Gojal & Khunjerab · Riding & cycling Cycling the KKH — Gilgit to Khunjerab
- Gojal & Khunjerab · Jeep safari Hunza, Attabad and Passu