Trail safety in Pakistan

Many trails here cross 3,000 m and several finish well above 4,000 m. Altitude illness is not about fitness, and being fit makes it more likely that you ascend too fast. Above 3,000 m, sleep no more than 300 to 500 m higher than the night before, and take a rest day every 1,000 m.

One rule covers all three of these: if it is not getting better, go down. Descent is the only treatment that always works.

AMS (mountain sickness)

Usually above 2,500 m, 6 to 12 hours after arriving

Headache plus any of: nausea, loss of appetite, dizziness, fatigue, broken sleep.

Stop ascending. Rest at the same altitude until it clears. If it does not clear, go down.

HACE (brain swelling)

Rare below 3,500 m. Can follow untreated AMS within hours

Confusion, clumsiness, unable to walk a straight line, drowsiness, behaving out of character.

Descend immediately, at night if necessary, with someone. This kills within hours.

HAPE (fluid on the lungs)

Typically the second night at a new altitude

Breathless at rest, cough, tightness in the chest, pink or frothy spit, lips or nails turning blue.

Descend immediately. Keep warm. Do not let them walk it off.

Some areas near the borders and the Line of Control are restricted, and foreign nationals need a No Objection Certificate to enter them. An NOC takes time and is arranged in advance through the Ministry of Interior or the relevant provincial or Gilgit-Baltistan tourism department, not at the checkpost.

Peaks above 6,500 m require a separate climbing permit. National parks including Deosai and Central Karakoram charge entry fees. Carry your CNIC or passport: checkposts on the Karakoram Highway and into Gilgit-Baltistan will ask for it, and foreigners are usually registered by name.

Rules change with the security situation. Confirm the current position locally before you travel rather than relying on any website, this one included.

The high northern trails are generally walkable from late June to September, and passes can hold snow well into July after a heavy winter. Outside that window many routes are not passable and the roads to them may be closed.

The monsoon, roughly July into August, is the main hazard in Kaghan, Swat and along the Karakoram Highway: landslides and flash floods close roads at short notice and can strand you for days. Build spare days into any trip in that period.

In the Margalla Hills and the Galiyat, the risk is different: summer heat and thunderstorms. Start at first light and be off exposed ridges by early afternoon.

Glacier-fed rivers rise through the day as the snow melts and are at their lowest early in the morning. A crossing that is straightforward at 7am can be impassable by 4pm. Cross early, face upstream, unclip your pack, and if it is above the knee and moving fast, do not.

Loose ground and rockfall are the everyday hazard on these trails, not the dramatic one. Keep out of gullies when there are people above you, and do not shortcut between switchbacks.

Set a turnaround time before you start and keep it even if the summit is close. Most accidents in these mountains happen on the way down, late, to people who were tired and behind schedule.

For anything beyond a day walk, a local guide is the single best safety measure available, and it is often a legal requirement in restricted areas. They know the current state of the route, the river crossings and the weather in a way no map does.

Hire through the village or a registered operator, agree the fee, the load and who provides food and shelter before you set off, and make sure porters have proper footwear and cover for the altitude they are being asked to reach.