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www.peregrineadventures.co.uk Expect incredible local hospitality and a truly exhilarating road-trip along the famous Karakoram Highway, linking China and Pakistan, during Peregrine Adventures’ new 14-day Highlights of the Karakoram tour. First departure from Islamabad 3rd June 2007.
Following a network of ancient trade routes, hacked out of some of the most impenetrable mountains, the Karakoram Highway is amongst the world’s greatest journeys.
From Islamabad to the Khumjerab Pass, wind along precipitous hairpin bends, where the road clings to the increasingly vertical sides of the Indus Gorge, discovering tiny villages tucked into the more protected valleys that adjoin the mighty Indus Valley.
On reaching the valley, even Alexander the Great was forced to concede the strength of the river and turn his troops back, not so for intrepid Peregrine Adventures!
En route, is the ancient stone petroglyphs and other monuments to invaders, traders, pilgrims and local inhabitants.
The tour continues on to the Silk Road town of Gilgit, passing the mighty peak of Nanga Parbat (8125m) - the second highest mountain in Pakistan and ninth highest in the world. Gilgit is an ancient trading post, whose bustling bazaar has been a caravanserai for many of the traders of the Silk Road.
Gilgit is also famous for polo, and locals claim that the sport was invented there. Explore the Hunza Valley, known for its breathtaking snowy peaks, and at the border town of Sost, Peregrine make arrangements with official 'border drivers' to cross the infamous Khunjerab Pass, the world’s highest border, before descending to the turquoise lakes and stark deserts of Western China.
Along travelers can meet mountain tribes, their strength and ruggedness belying their gentle, warm and hospitable characters. The final leg of the journey includes staying alongside the local Kyrgyz in a traditional yurt, beside the picturesque glacial Kara Kul Lake in the Pamir Mountains, and last but not least, Kashgar, at the crossroads of Asia, famous for its great Sunday bazaar. | 
