Karakorum Highway and the Himalaya by Bike

Islamabad here we come Abbottobad to Islamabad in one day is our challenge today. It’s really hot and humid now with temperature reported at 43 degrees. Not great for trying to haul a 45 kilo touring bike 75 miles on uneven roads. Motorways are not an option for us.   We passed many interesting sights as we plugged away at about 12 miles an hour, things as diverse as some horrible smoky smelly brickworks, a guy who we helped bump start his bus and one a guy with a small scythe and a wheelbarrow happily harvesting cannabis plants, they were growing wild out here. He gave us a big smile and a wave and even posed for a photograph.   Every day brings so many adventures. That night exhausted but at least in Islamabad we called up a guy Pedr met in Tajikistan. He happened to the the Vice President of the National bank of Pakistan and was based in Islamabad. He immediately agreed to take us for drinks out at the Margalla hills (snake hill). This ‘hill’ at 5,262 f...

Welcome to Abbottobad   Mohamad welcomed us to Abbottabad with joy and excitement although the city was really overcrowded with rubbish all over the road, was very dirty, quite in contrast to the beautiful mountains we had been through.   Mohamad’s mother father and sister were all welcoming and very interesting. We learned a lot through conversations with them all. It’s great to be able to talk openly with such intelligent and interesting people in a place so strange and interesting to us like Abbottobad.   Pakistanis are very proud of their nuclear missile capability to such an extent that this roundabout had a missile on it. There were also a number of Indian military hardware items we assumed that were captured, like a helicopter and a tank. Quite strange to us but there are clearly a lot of problems between India and Pakistan. It is of course famous for being Bin Larden’s home/operation centre and interesting was only a few streets ...

Babusar pass with armed police in a truck with bars The British foreign office recommended against travel in the area between Reikot bridge and Islamabd so we waited until first light before setting off along paved and dirt roads... it was hard going and the sun was baking hot even at 8am. We almost made it to Chilas before being picked up by the police, 'for our safety', and taken to the Babusar pass checkpoint. Here we were promised a police lift to the top of the pass and they refused to let us cycle it. Time went by and the police lift didn’t materialise so we started hitching a lift in any passing truck. When we got one all of a sudden a policeman with AK 47 jumped in the front seat, secured our bikes flat in the back and we were to stay out of sight in front of the bikes in the back of the truck. Ok well that works, but what’s the fuss all about, we were about to find out...  Men with big wooden poles with whips on the end were waiting at a broken ...

Hello  Himalayas! 45 miles of pretty hot cycling despite the early start. We bumped into the only other cycle tourists since arriving in Pakistan. They were true veterans of the touring world having been on the road on bikes for the past 16 years. Hats off to them.  Stay at the "Green Meadows Hotel" at Fairy Meadows on the way to the Nanga Parbat basecamp w as great advice. It was really lovely to meet some fellow cyclists and swap stories and experiences along the way, shame we didn't have time to make a night of it. We took a short break at the ‘triple point’ in the mountain ranges. This is where the Karakoram mountains the Hindu Kush and the Himalayas all meet. We have now crossed into the Himalayas. Getting some well earned rest at Raikot bridge we hired a jeep and driver to tackle the 2nd most dangerous road in the world. Equipped with a professional driver, police bodyguard and short wheelbase jeep was the only way up. Two hours of steep rough and f...

Highest border crossing in the world... There was a huge cheer from our packed bus as we went over the Khunjerab pass. 4732 meters, the highest crossing in the world marking the official border between China and Pakistan.  The relief was palpable and genuine. It is weirdly stressful to be watched and monitored so closely by everybody around you 24*7, police, citizens, cameras and even drones while you just try to have a holiday.  The bus was not allowed to stop until Sost some 50 miles from the border into Pakistan and at a height of 2200 meters below the pass.  Wanting to cycle the pass we vowed to cycle back up from Sost to the Khunjerab pass despite the huge effort required.  The plan was to take two days to cycle up and down camping when we were tired. However after only 20 miles and 500 meters higher the Police wouldn’t let us continue that day saying we couldn’t camp above the checkpoint.  What’s more we needed a permit to camp ...