The Biafo Glacier is a 67 km (42 mi) long glacier in the Karakoram Mountains of Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan which meets the 49 km (30 mi) long Hispar Glacier at an altitude of 5,128 m (16,824 ft) at Hispar La (Pass) to create the worlds longest glacial system outside the polar regions. Biafo is a balti word which means Hencock .This highway of ice connects two ancient mountain kingdoms, Nagar (immediately south of Hunza) in the west with Baltistan in the east. The traverse uses 51 of the Biafo Glaciers 67 km and all of the Hispar Glacier to form a 100 km (62 mi) glacial route. The Biafo Glacier presents a trekker with several days of very strenuous, often hectic boulder hopping, with spectacular views throughout and Snow Lake near the high point. Snow Lake, consisting of parts of the upper Biafo Glacier and its tributary glacier Sim Gang, is one of the worlds largest basins of snow or ice in the world outside of the polar regions, up to 1,600 m (0.99 mi) in depth. The Biafo Hisper Glacier combination is the worlds longest glacier outside of the polar regions. Campsites along the Biafo are located off of the glacier, adjacent to the lateral moraines and steep mountainsides. The first three (heading up from the last village before the glacier, the thousand-year-old #Askole village) are beautiful sites with flowing water nearby. Mango and Namla, the first two campsites, are often covered in flowers and Namla has an amazing waterfall very near the camping area. Baintha, the third camp site, is often used as a rest day. A large green meadow, it has a few running streams near the camp and many places to spend the day rock climbing or rappelling. Evidence of wildlife can be seen throughout the trek. The Ibex and the Markhor Mountain Goat can be found and the area is famous for brown bears and snow leopards, although sightings are rare.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Dec 2014 17:41:16 +0000
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