Postcard from Skardu - one day, two lakes

Upper Kachura Lake

Sadly our time in Gilgit-Baltistan is coming to an end.  We have one full day left in Skardu before flying back to Islamabad.  Skardu is a city surrounded by mountains sitting next to a wide valley floor at an elevation of 2,500 metres.  In the local language of Balti Skardu means ‘a low land between two high places’. I was also told it could mean ‘star stone’ or ‘meteorite’.  The landscape is dramatic as the Indus and Shigar Rivers meet here.  The rivers keep changing shape as erosion from the Karakoram Mountains has left large deposits of sediment in the valley.    We drive through the busy city and get caught in traffic jams caused by cars, people, and cows.  

We are staying at the Shangrila Resort built around Lower Kachura Lake.  When the sun hits the lake it is a bright green in colour.  Upper and Lower Kachura Lakes sit side by side.   We drive closer to Upper Kachura Lake and take the short walk down to the water’s edge.  Boats sit ready to take visitors out on the lake, but we decide to enjoy the peace and quiet and sit and enjoy the wonderful view.   On our way back to the car the path is filled with goats returning from grazing.  We quickly move over and stand on a low wall and watch as they wander past.  

The sun is beginning to set as we head back to the Shangrila Resort.  We stop and buy some local dried fruit: cherries; sultanas; apricots; and walnuts.  We sit outside our cabin and eat some dried cherries and start planning our return to this beautiful part of Pakistan.  

Skardu Valley

Skardu City

Lower Kachura Lake, Shangrila Resort

Boating on Lower Kachura Lake

Lower Kachura Lake

Path on way to Upper Kachura Lake

Upper Kachura Lake

Flag with the face of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, known as the ‘Father of the Nation’

Flying out of Skardu

In the clouds, dreaming of our next visit north