Rupal Face and Herrligkoffer Base Camp
Overview
A twelve-day trek up the Rupal valley from Tarashing to the Herrligkoffer Base Camp, directly beneath the Rupal face of Nanga Parbat. The face rises around 4,500 m from the valley floor to the summit at 8,126 m and is generally reckoned the highest mountain wall on earth. The walking to reach it is moderate.
The face
Nothing prepares people for the scale. The Rupal side is a single sweep of rock and ice from the meadow you are standing on to a summit a vertical two and a half miles above it, and the first reaction is usually that it cannot be one mountain. Reinhold and Günther Messner climbed it in 1970; Günther died on the descent. Climbing the mountain is a different proposition entirely. The base camp carries Karl Herrligkoffer’s name from the expeditions he led here.
Why it is only graded moderate
Because the valley does the work. The path follows the Rupal river through meadow and pasture with a steady, gentle gain, and the base camp sits at the foot of the face rather than up on it. There is no glacier crossing, no rope and no pass. The hardest thing about this trek is getting to Astore, which is a long road day with no flight alternative.
Shaigiri and Latoba
Beyond the base camp the valley runs on toward Shaigiri and the Mazeno base camp, and we include a day out that way. It is the best view back along the whole face and the point at which the scale finally resolves.
When it runs
June to September. The Rupal side is greener and later than the Diamir side, and September is clear and cold.
What is inside the price
Permits and fees, every kilometre of road on our own vehicles, full camp with cook and mess, a Rupal porter crew under our published porter charter with loads weighed in front of you, guides on our payroll, satellite comms above Tarashing and a written evacuation plan for every camp. For the Raikot side of the same mountain see Fairy Meadows, and to walk right round it, the Mazeno circuit. The rest of the Rupal valley and our other Karakoram treks.
- Duration
- 10 – 12 days
- Trek days
- 5
- Maximum altitude
- 3,600 m [confirm]
- Grade
- Moderate
- Group size
- Max 12
- Guides
- 2 certified, 1 WFR
- Season
- June – September
- Starts / ends
- Islamabad / Islamabad
- Accommodation
- Hotels either side, full camp in the valley
- The Rupal face — around 4,500 m of mountain wall, generally reckoned the highest on earth
- Nanga Parbat's summit at 8,126 m directly above the base-camp meadow
- Moderate walking: no glacier, no rope, no pass at any point
- A day out toward Shaigiri and the Mazeno base camp for the view back along the face
- The Rupal valley, which is greener and quieter than the Fairy Meadows side
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 2,650 | A full crew for two people |
| 3 – 4 | USD 2,250 | |
| 5 – 8 | USD 1,850 | 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 Astore Hotel
The long road day down the Karakoram Highway and up into Astore. No flight serves this side.
03 Astore to Tarashing Camp
Up the Rupal valley by jeep. Crew and loads meet us at the village; first sight of the face.
04 Tarashing to Herrligkoffer Base Camp Camp
Along the valley to the base camp beneath the Rupal face. A gentle day with an unreasonable view.
05 At the base camp Camp · 3,600 m
A day under the face. Walk up onto the moraine for the full sweep of it.
06 Toward Shaigiri and Latoba Camp
Further up the valley toward the Mazeno base camp. The best view back along the whole wall.
07 Back to Herrligkoffer Camp
Down the valley to the base camp, with the face from the other direction.
08 Base camp to Tarashing Camp
Out to the village. Crew settlement and the end of the walking.
09 Tarashing to Astore and Rama Hotel
Down by jeep, with Rama meadow and the lake on the way if the day allows.
10 Astore to Gilgit Hotel
Down to the Karakoram Highway and north. Kit return and debrief.
11 Gilgit — buffer day Hotel
Held against the flight. Yours if it is not needed.
12 Gilgit to Islamabad, and home —
By air if the weather allows, by road if not.
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
Five walking days, four to six hours on most of them, on a good path through meadow and pasture with a steady and forgiving gain. There is no glacier crossing, no rope, no pass and no technical ground anywhere on this trek.
It is one of the two treks in the catalogue we will take a first-timer on without hesitation. The genuinely demanding part is the road: Astore has no airport, so reaching the valley is a long day down the Karakoram Highway and up a rough jeep road, and that is harder on most people than any of the walking. Tell us about back trouble rather than about your legs.
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 Astore
The long road day down the Karakoram Highway to Jaglot, then up into Astore. There is no flight to this side.
Astore to Tarashing
Several hours by jeep up the Rupal valley on our own vehicles.
From Tarashing
On foot, with a Rupal porter crew from the valley.
Questions people actually ask
Is the Rupal face really the highest wall in the world?
It is generally reckoned so. Around 4,500 m of continuous mountain from the valley floor to the summit at 8,126 m. Whether it is formally the highest depends on how you define a wall, but standing under it the argument stops mattering.
How many days is it, and when does it run?
Twelve door to door, of which five are walking. June to September — the Rupal side is greener and later than the Diamir side, and September is clear and cold.
How fit do I need to be?
Four to six hours a day on a good path with a steady gain, for five days. No glacier, no rope, no pass. One of the two treks here we will take a first-timer on without hesitation.
How high does it get?
Around 3,600 m at the base camp. We have no reliable second source for that figure, so it prints with a marker until we do. Altitude is not a consideration on this trek.
How hard is it to get to Astore?
Harder than the trek. There is no airport, so it is a long road day down the Karakoram Highway and then a rough jeep road up the valley. If you have back trouble, this is the part to tell us about.
Do I need a permit?
No restricted-zone permit — the Rupal valley is an open trekking zone. Local and park fees apply and we pay them as part of the trip. 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 road days, which are long on this side because there is no flight. Porter stages are short. One of the better-value treks in the catalogue. Deposit is 25 per cent.
How does this compare with Fairy Meadows?
Same mountain, opposite side, and a completely different experience. Fairy Meadows looks at the Raikot face across a meadow; Rupal puts you under the biggest wall on the mountain. Rupal is quieter and harder to reach.
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 harder Charakusa valley and K6/K7 Base Camp