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Nanga Parbat Photo Gallery - Islamabad to Skardu Flying by Nanga Parbat

Islamabad and the flight to Skardu flying by the Nanga Parbat Diamir and Rakhiot faces.

01 Air Canada Frankfurt, Rawalpindi Paradise Inn, Trango Adventures Office I flew via Frankfurt and Dubai to Islamabad. My Pakistani guide Muhammed Iqbal met me at the airport and I was driven to the comfortable Paradise Inn in Rawalpindi. I dropped by the Trango Adventures office before heading out for an afternoon of sightseeing.

01 Air Canada Frankfurt, Rawalpindi Paradise Inn, Trango Adventures Office

02 Islamabad Modern Buildings, Daman-e-Koh Panoramic View of Islamabad And Shah Faisal Mosque Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, is located against the backdrop of Margalla Hills at the northern edge of Potohar Plateau. The word ‘Islamabad’ is Persian for ‘inhabited by Islam’. In contrast to its twin city Rawalpindi, it is lush green, spacious and peaceful. We drove by some of modern buildings in Islamabad, went through a trek briefing at the ministry of Tourism, and then drove up to the 1100m low hill over looking Islamabad, known as Daman-e-Koh to get a panoramic hazy view of Islamabad, including the Shah Faisal Mosque.

02 Islamabad Modern Buildings, Daman-e-Koh Panoramic View of Islamabad And Shah Faisal Mosque

03 Islamabad Shah Faisal Mosque Built in 1985, the beautiful Shah Faisal Mosque was designed by a renowned Turkish Architect, Vedat Dalokay, and named after late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, who donated most of the US$50 million cost.

03 Islamabad Shah Faisal Mosque

04 Islamabad Shah Faisal Mosque The Shah Faisal Mosque in Islamabad is spread over 189,705-sq. metres with 88m high minarets and 40m high main prayer hall. The main prayer hall can accommodate 10,000 persons while the covered porticoes and verandahs can take over 24,000 worshipers. The main courtyard has space for 40,000 people.

04 Islamabad Shah Faisal Mosque

05 Nanga Parbat On Flight From Islamabad To Skardu The adventure begins with the 40-minute flight from Islamabad to Skardu. ‘We'll be flying at a planned altitude of 8,000 metres’ the captain said. Perfect I thought, we'll be exactly at the height of Nanga Parbat. The flight starts low key with the stewardesses serving drinks while we bide our time. When the pilot announces ‘Nanga Parbat is immediately ahead on the right’, all hell breaks loose. As one, all the tourists, including me, are up in the aisles, craning their necks, running for the cockpit. The sounds of cameras are everywhere.

05 Nanga Parbat On Flight From Islamabad To Skardu

06 Nanga Parbat Diamir Face And Mazeno Ridge On Flight From Islamabad To Skardu Iqbal motioned me to an area where there are only two seats with room for two people to sit on the floor. There it is, within arms reach. Nanga Parbat in perfect early morning splendor! We are passing by the Diamir Face, as I click photo after photo. The massive Mazeno Ridge runs down to the right of Nanga Parbat. The Mazeno ridge is the longest ridge on any 8000m mountain and includes eight 7000m peaks. Nobody has managed to traverse the ridge and continue to the summit of Nanga Parbat.

06 Nanga Parbat Diamir Face And Mazeno Ridge On Flight From Islamabad To Skardu

07 Nanga Parbat Diamir Face And Mazeno Ridge Wide View On Flight From Islamabad To Skardu Nanga Parbat (8125m, ninth highest in world) stands alone as the westernmost bastion of the mighty Himalayan Range. Nanga Parbat means Naked Mountain, named for its huge white massif consisting of a 20km long ridge called Mazeno on the south west and Rakhiot in the north east. It is also called Killer Mountain because of the number of people who died attempting the summit. It was finally conquered in a solo ascent without oxygen by Austrian Hermann Buhl in 1953.

07 Nanga Parbat Diamir Face And Mazeno Ridge Wide View On Flight From Islamabad To Skardu

08 Nanga Parbat Diamir Face And Summit Close Up On Flight From Islamabad To Skardu The plane continues flying around Nanga Parbat with Rakhiot Peak, the East Peak, the Silver Plateau, the North Peaks, the summit above the Diamir Face and the beginning of the Mazeno Ridge on the far right.

08 Nanga Parbat Diamir Face And Summit Close Up On Flight From Islamabad To Skardu

09 Chongra Peak, Rakhiot Peak, Nanga Parbat Rakhiot Face And Fairy Valley On Flight From Islamabad To Skardu The flight from Islamabad to Skardu has a spectacular view of the Nanga Parbat massif, all the way from the Chongra peak on the left to the East Peak, North Peaks and Summit of Nanga Parbat above the Diamir Face.

09 Chongra Peak, Rakhiot Peak, Nanga Parbat Rakhiot Face And Fairy Valley On Flight From Islamabad To Skardu

10 Nanga Parbat Rakhiot Face, Rakhiot Peak, Silver Saddle, East Peak, Silver Plateau, Summit, North Peaks On Flight From Islamabad To Skardu The flight around Nanga Parbat continues with Hermann Buhl’s route of first ascent becoming perfectly visible. Rakhiot Peak leads up to the Silver Saddle between the Nanga Parbat Southeast and East Peaks, and up to the summit with the North Peaks on the right.

10 Nanga Parbat Rakhiot Face, Rakhiot Peak, Silver Saddle, East Peak, Silver Plateau, Summit, North Peaks On Flight From Islamabad To Skardu

11 Hispar Muztagh Trivor, Distaghil Sar, Kunyang Chhist, Yukshin Gardan Sar, Kanjut Sar On Flight From Islamabad To Skardu Another tourist (a climber I met later in Khoburtse) wants in, and I switch to the left of the plane with a sweeping view of the Hispar Muztagh, including Trivor (7577m), Distaghil Sar (7855m), the highest in the Hispar Muztagh and the 19th highest in the world, Kunyang Chhist (7823m), Yukshin Gardan Sar (7469m), and Kanjut Sar (7760m).

11 Hispar Muztagh Trivor, Distaghil Sar, Kunyang Chhist, Yukshin Gardan Sar, Kanjut Sar On Flight From Islamabad To Skardu

12 K2, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum IV, Gasherbrum I, Masherbrum On Flight From Islamabad To Skardu I can see a very large mountain in the hazy distance poking above the intervening mountains – K2! To the right of K2 is Broad Peak, the Gasherbrums, and to the right Masherbrum.

12 K2, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum IV, Gasherbrum I, Masherbrum On Flight From Islamabad To Skardu

13 Landing At Skardu The plane turns right and flies over the gorge of the Indus River, over Skardu and doubles back to reduce altitude and we land. I'm exhausted! And it's only 10 am.

13 Landing At Skardu