Written by: Hareem Zafar
Posted on: May 25, 2021 | 
River near Borith Lake
When people ask me about the most thrilling experience of my life, I can’t help but recall my trip to the Borith Lake and the trek we took on a total whim, to the Passu Glacier mountain top.
The family trip that my cousins and I had been planning since we were fifteen years old, had finally turned into reality, and we were more than ecstatic to venture on a journey of exploring Northern Pakistan. One of the most memorable experiences of my summer trip was the visit to the Borith Lake, in Upper Gojal, Hunza.
It was a hot July day; we had been staying at one of the traditional Hunza cottages in the Khyber district (an unplanned stay on our way from Khunjerab towards Gulmit). After exploring the Khyber area and meeting the warm and friendly locals, we took off on our journey towards Borith Lake- the lake between two mountains.
The lake lies in Gulmit, upper Hunza Valley in Gilgit-Baltistan district, approximately 2 km north of the Gulkhin village. Borith Lake is located 2,600 metres (8,500 ft) above sea level. This entire area is called Gojal, and encompasses of Gulmit, Hussaini, Passu, and several other small villages.
As we exited the Hussaini Village, we saw a crowd of blue-eyed children excitedly watching our van passing by, waving at us with beaming faces. After travelling along the river, we reached one of the most populated villages of Gulmit. The sun was shining brightly upon us, the leaves were dancing in the hot July wind, and the golden-bathed Passu Cones were always in sight.
Subsequently, after spending about an hour in the van, we finally reached the small road that cuts off the main highway, and mounts over a steep ridge to Borith Lake. The lake can only be accessed through a 2 km, rocky, unpaved jeep route, steep enough to traumatize an average Karachite for about a week. We parked our van at the foot of the ridge, hired two jeeps and reached the much awaited destination.
After an hour on the dry, deserted road, the beautiful lake was a sight for sore eyes! Tucked in between two glaciers, the Passu Gar Glacier and the Gulkhin Glacier, Borith Lake is one of the most exquisite natural saltwater bodies this country has. The green-blue colored water body was glittering in the bright midday sunlight, surrounded by dry and rocky mountains, while ducks and birds swam on the lake’s surface.
We spent about an hour at the lake, clicking stunning pictures and witnessing a group of locals joyously diving into the lake. We sipped tea bought from the restaurant situated on the bank of the lake. Next, we decided to take a boat ride across the length of the lake. Once that was through, the five of us geared up for our first ever trekking experience, up the Passu Gar glacier. The Passu Gar Glacier flows from the mountain tops and melts into a lake above the Passu Village, while the Borith Lake receives melted water from the Gulkhin Glacier.
We were obviously not prepared for a trek, since we took this decision on a total whim. We craved an adrenaline rush, and failed to realize the herculean task ahead of us. Our jeep driver drove us via the trail going up the moraine ridge, on a steep, thin track along a rock wall and halted after 20 minutes. From here on, we had to climb all the way up on our own. We tightened our shoe laces, splattered sunblock on our faces and took off! Treading on the rocky mountains, the trail became increasingly dangerous. After an hour, with the sun shining on our heads, and the dry, blazing mountains staring at us, we were dehydrated and couldn’t go any further.
Our driver kept motivating us, but by this time we were scared, for one wrong step and we would fall all the way down the steep edges. But the thought of witnessing the mighty Passu glacier, or any glacier for that matter, kept us going. As we strode further, the gorgeous white glacier came more and more into view, and all we could hear in the silence was the sound of our feet as the air turned cooler.
As we looked up at the valley walls, we saw that the giant glacier was coming closer, but we were still quite far from our final destination; the trek would have taken us four more hours and we felt completely spent already. Tired and shaken, we decided to stop and enjoy the serenity of the place we had reached. We stayed there for about an hour, and our spirits calmed down in the breeze.
The glacier had melted down hundreds of feet from where it begins, and we admired it in all its rugged glory. The part of the glacier visible to us consisted of white spikes protruding towards the sun, melting the mighty block of ice as the water trickled down underneath, while giant boulders rested around it. We had forgotten all about the difficult trek down the glacier by now, but too soon it was time to go back. We plucked juicy apricots on our way back to the lake, and filled our hearts and minds with a nerve-racking memory we’ll cherish for the rest of our lives.
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