As well as being a remote frontier town, Skardu is also one of the three main kingdoms of Baltistan, part of the Northern Areas. Rocky summits rise 3000m above the town, dramatically enclosing it like a huge bowl. It’s a dusty, dirty, windswept place, rather reminiscent of the Wild West. It’s also very, very hot – again!! Either side of the main road, hundreds of little shops offer a plentiful supply of goods and several bustling bazaars can be found in the older quarter. Wherever we have been so far the locals have all been incredibly friendly and hospitable and Skardu is no exception, especially if you attempt to speak the language, no matter how little – or badly! The crowded streets are filled with a surprisingly diverse mix of peoples, mostly Balti but Pashtuns and Punjabis are also to be found in large numbers here. Even my room-mate, an American, has had no problems – though we have agreed to offer him up as a sacrifice should we run into trouble with any of the more radicalised natives!
Tomorrow we head out to the road-head at Askole, another hard-core road journey in jeeps. From there we start the 100km trek to base camp – and the expedition begins!
