Fairy Meadow - Part 1

Fairy Meadow, and the trek to Nanga Parbat Base Camp, is said to be one of the most beautiful and easily accessible treks to the base camp of an 8000+ meter mountain. I'd heard so many people say how good it was, I headed off from Gilgit to make the trip.

The only way to reach Fairy Meadow is by taking the public bus to Raikot Bridge, and then taking a tiny jeep track that clings to the side of one of the world's deepest gorges.

Given that it's the deepest gorge over the shortest distance anywhere in the world - I'd decided to walk the track rather than pay the 4000 rupees to hire a jeep for the trip. Every person I talked to told me it wasn't possible to walk that far because of the elevation gain and the heat – but the more people told me it couldn't be done – the more determined I was to give it a try :-)

So I set off up the steep road for the 20.5km, 1962 meter climb. It was sweltering as I headed out of Raikot Bridge, and I was grateful to have an umbrella with me to keep the heat off. As I was planning to go to Islamabad after I'd been to Fairy Meadow – I also had the pleasure of having to carry both my bags up as well.

But the views – were incredible – and the higher the track climbed the more spectacular they became. The valley falls away, as the river crashes in the steep gorge hundreds of meters below. And when Nanga Parbat comes into view – it made the effort worth while.

Looking back towards Gilgit:



And the view towards Nanga Parbat:



I met these men on the way up to Fairy Meadow – they were blasting the side of the mountain to improve the road, and I hid with them behind some rocks while they set off the explosives:







I arrived at Jhel and while eating excellent chappati and dhal had my experience of meeting the Taleban. It turned out to be a fortuitous meeting in many respects, because I really hit it off with one of the men, Khaliq Jan, and would end up spending a great deal of time with him over my remaining time at Fairy Meadow.

After an hour or so of chatting and drinking tea, Khaliq and I set off for the final 5.5km pull up to Fairy Meadow, along a beautiful path through pine trees, clear running brooks, and always ahead: Nanga Parbat.

The view of Nanga Parbat from the pond in the middle of the village:



Fairy Meadow sits on top of a huge flat plateau at 3306 meters, and makes an ideal place to graze cattle and grow crops. While everyone is sweltering in the valley below, Fairy Meadow's climate during the summer is pleasant.

The opposite is true in winter, when the area sees deep snow falls and significant falls in temperature. When the weather turns, the people who live here migrate on mass to Chilas in the valley to escape the harsh winters. I was curious as to whether this was a new development now the jeep track was open, but Khaliq said that it had been this way right back to his great-great-grandfather's time.

Fairy Meadow is a stunning place. Heavily wooded, with amazing views of the Raikot Glacier with it's unique S bend and the main peak of Nanga Parbat – and the other peaks of it's ridge line. In the other direction, Rakaposhi at 7788 meters dominates the skyline.

The village is simple – rustic even – a polo field in the centre with two rudimentary shops. Children play cricket, or practise Polo – it's no surprise that they won the area's Polo Championship this year.

Children at Fairy Meadow:



I stayed at Broad View and this was the view from my basic but comfortable wood cabin:



Nights are spent around camp fires – and I was lucky to be sharing Broad View with a group of Pakistani men who were on vacation together, and who quickly adopted me into their group.

As the sun set, the fire would be lit, and meat would be barbecued on the open fire, as people discussed everything from work to religion, or shared jokes that would have everyone roaring with laughter.

I was extremely well looked after. A five star hotel couldn't have done a better job.

The view at sunset:



And looking back towards Rakaposhi: