All activities / Trekking / Hiking / Concordia
Trekking / Hiking in Concordia
The junction of the Baltoro and Godwin-Austen glaciers at around 4,600 metres in the central Karakoram, ringed by more of the world's highest peaks than anywhere on earth. From this glacial amphitheatre, called the Throne Room of the Mountain Gods, four 8,000-metre peaks stand in view, K2, Broad Peak and Gasherbrum I and II, along with the Trango Towers and Masherbrum. It is the goal of the K2 base camp trek, reached on foot from the roadhead at Askole in the Shigar district.
Why here
The trek to Concordia and K2 base camp is widely called the greatest trek on earth, and the claim is hard to argue with once you are standing at the meeting of the Baltoro and Godwin-Austen glaciers. From this one amphitheatre, the Throne Room of the Mountain Gods, you can see four of the world's fourteen 8,000-metre peaks at once: K2 at 8,611 metres, Broad Peak, and Gasherbrum I and II, with the sheer granite of the Trango Towers and the fang of Masherbrum on the walk in. The route runs from the roadhead at Askole up the Braldu gorge and onto the 63-kilometre Baltoro, the longest glacier outside the poles, camping on moraine and ice at Paiju, Urdukas and Goro before Concordia. Strong parties add the Gondogoro La at 5,585 metres to cross out to the Hushe valley. It is a full expedition on foot, portered and camped, inside the Central Karakoram National Park.
Best months
The season is short, roughly late June to late August, when the Baltoro is walkable and the high camps are staffed. Even at the height of summer it is cold at night on the glacier, the weather on K2 turns fast, and the passes above Concordia, above all the Gondogoro La, hold snow and need a rope and an early start. River crossings on the Braldu approach run high with afternoon meltwater. This is high, remote glacier travel with no quick way out.
Getting there & around
Trips stage from Skardu, a short flight or a long drive from Islamabad, then a rough jeep day to the roadhead at Askole. From there it is around seven days to Concordia and K2 base camp and back, or longer with the Gondogoro La crossing to Hushe, usually 12 to 18 days on the trail. You need a licensed operator, porters, a cook and full camping kit, plus permits for the Central Karakoram National Park. There are no villages or resupply above Askole, so everything is carried. Bring cash and buffer days for weather and flights.
Skill levels: intermediate, advanced
Schools & guides (2)
Skardu Trekkers
OutfitterSkardu Trekkers is a locally owned operator based in Skardu, Gilgit-Baltistan, licensed under number DTS-GB-046 and a member of the Baltistan Association of Adventure Tour Operators. Its guides and porters come from the Balti communities of the Baltoro valleys, and it runs its own K2 Base Camp and Gondogoro La treks along with Broad Peak and Gasherbrum expeditions rather than reselling through an agency. It handles porters, permits and camp logistics for the Central Karakoram National Park.
Trango Adventure
OutfitterTrango Adventure is a Skardu-based operator on Airport Road, run by managing director Shabbir Hussain with co-founders Mehboob Ali and Gertrude Boinay, and it counts itself among the oldest trekking agencies in Baltistan with roughly forty years of Karakoram experience. Licensed as operator ID 402 and a member of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, it fields its own guides and porters on the K2 Base Camp, Concordia and Gondogoro La routes and won a TripAdvisor Best Trekking Company award in 2024.