Mountains in Pakistan are its integral part that serve greatly in building its Eco system. Mountain ranges like Himalaya, Hindu Kush and Karakorum contribute in large way to manage the better topography as well as balanced Eco system. Cluttered with immense forests, housing plenty of rare flora and fauna, the rocky mountains in Pakistan offer precious asset in heaps. All these mountain ranges offers tremendous scope for many Eco adventurous activities like Trekking, Mountaineering, River Rafting, Nature Walk, Mountain Biking and Camping. They are one of the favoured sites for viewing hundreds of species of Birds, Butterflies, Brown Bears, Blue sheep, Snow Leapard and other several wild animals.
The Northern Areas of Pakistan are called Roof of the World . Nowhere in the world is such a great concentration of high mountains, peaks, glaciers, and passes except in Pakistan. Of the 14 over 8,000 meters high peaks on our earth planet, four occupy an amphitheatre at the head of Baltoro Glacier in the Karakoram Range: K-2 (8,611 meters, originally called Chogo-ri which in Balti language means ‘king of the mountains,’ of all the world’s mountains second only to Mount Everest), Gashabrum-I (8,068 meters), Broad Peak (8,047 meters) and Gashabrum-II (8,035 meters). There is yet another, which is equally great, Nanga Parbat (8,126 meters), located at the western most corner of the Himalayas. There are 42 other peaks which are higher than all the highest peaks of the other continents. In addition to that, there are 160 peaks over 7,000 meters and 700 others over 6,000 meters. The Northern Pakistan is also home to some of the longest glaciers outside Polar region; Siachen (72 kilometers), Hispar (61 kilometers), Biafo (60 kilometers), Baltoro (60 kilometers) and Batura (64 kilometers). Besides the high mountains, Northern Areas’ longest glaciers including the Godwin Austin, Abruzzin and Baltoro which meet at Concordia forms the largest glacial lake at a height of 4720 meters. Two more ranges, by unique comparison minor in size, thrust their sinews and limbs into the Pamir Knot: the Pir Panjal with its peaks of just over 20,000 feet, and China’s celestial mountain, the Kun Lun. Where these ranges merge, they form what many regard as the most impressive landscape that sometime recalls Shangri-La. This concentration makes northern Pakistan a trekkers’ paradise.
