K2 Base Camp & Gondogoro La Trek overview
Same approach as the classic trek, entirely different exit. Instead of walking back down the Baltoro you climb out of it, over the Gondogoro La at 5,585 m, and drop into the Hushe valley on the far side.
From the pass, on a clear morning, you can see K2, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum I and Gasherbrum II at once. It is the finest view in the range and you earn every metre of it.
The shape of it: The classic approach, then out south over the 5,585 m Gondogoro La into Hushe instead of retracing the glacier.
Why choose the K2 Base Camp & Gondogoro La Trek?
Who it suits: Trekkers who want the harder line and the better story.
K2 Base Camp is all we do. One trek, six ways to walk it, and nothing else on our books.
- Grade — Severe · technical pass. Technical ground: yes — fixed ropes.
- Highest point — 5,585 m.
- Season — Jul–Aug. 21 days, 20 nights from Islamabad and back.
- The full classic approach first, so you reach the pass already acclimatised.
- A weather buffer day is built in — the pass only goes in good conditions.
- Exits through the Hushe valley: new villages and new country on the way out.
- Fixed group departures in 2027, ten places each, from $2,600.
K2 trek gallery
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Our mess tent at Base Camp, under the south face. -
A group below the Trango Towers. -
Camp at Concordia, the junction of the Baltoro and Godwin-Austen. -
Broad Peak, 8,051 m, from Concordia. -
A rest stop on the moraine. -
Last light on the Baltoro.
K2 BC + Gondogoro La prices and dates
| 2027 dates | Places | Deposit | Full | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Jun – 21 Jun, 2027Group 02 | 6 of 10 places | $250 | $2,600 | Book |
| 20 Jun – 10 Jul, 2027Group 03 | 9 of 10 places | $250 | $2,600 | Book |
| 26 Jun – 16 Jul, 2027Group 04 | 7 of 10 places | $250 | $2,600 | Book |
| 15 Jul – 4 Aug, 2027Group 05 | 5 of 10 places | $250 | $2,600 | Book |
| 9 Aug – 29 Aug, 2027Group 06 | 8 of 10 places | $250 | $2,600 | Book |
Private and customised groups
Solo (1 person)
$7,500
Fully private, one-on-one with a dedicated guide, entirely flexible pace.
2–3 persons
$5,200/pp
Semi-private with personalised pace, for couples or close friends.
4–6 persons
$3,800/pp
The balance of value and personal attention, in a small team.
7–10 persons
$2,600/pp
Best value. Full support staff, porters, cooks and guides throughout.
Have a question or ready to book?
Whether you are just curious about this trek or ready to hold a place with a $250 deposit, send us the essentials below. We come back with dates, a firm price and an honest read on whether this route suits you.
Who leads The K2 Trek?
Zulfiqar Ali
Founder, Karakoram Venture · licensed mountain guide
Zulfiqar Ali founded Karakoram Venture, the Skardu company behind The K2 Trek, and is a licensed mountain guide with more than ten years of experience in Pakistan's mountains. A product designer by profession, he leads the Balti team that plans and runs these treks.
The K2 Trek exists because one route deserves its own company. K2 Base Camp is usually sold as one line in a long catalogue. Here it is the whole catalogue. Every itinerary we write, every kit list we send and every departure we run is for the same glacier, so everything we know goes into one route.
Highlights of the K2 BC + Gondogoro La trek
Concordia 4,500 m
The junction of the Baltoro and Godwin-Austen glaciers, named by Aleister Crowley in 1902 after its Alpine namesake. Four eight-thousanders stand around it.
K2 Base Camp 5,150 m
Up the Godwin-Austen to the foot of the mountain and the Gilkey Memorial, the cairn of plaques for those who did not come down.
Ali Camp 4,800 m
The high camp below the pass. Kit check, an early meal and a start in the dark.
Gondogoro La 5,585 m
Fixed ropes on a 45–50° slope to the crest, then the view: K2, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum I and II in one panorama. The highest point of the trip.
Hushe valley 3,350 m
Down through Khuspang, Dalsampa and Saicho to Hushe — grass, streams and villages after two weeks of ice.
K2 BC + Gondogoro La itinerary — day by day
Day 1: Arrive Islamabad 540 m
Welcome and briefing in Islamabad, including a first look at the technical kit you are bringing for the pass.
Day 2: Fly to Skardu 2,500 m
The mountain flight to Skardu, weather permitting — the road up the Karakoram Highway is the fallback.
Day 3: Skardu preparation 2,500 m
Permits, and a fitting of crampons and harness with your guide while there is still a town to fix anything in.
Day 4: Skardu to Askole 3,000 m
By 4x4 through Shigar and up the Braldu gorge to Askole, the last village on this side of the pass.
Day 5: Askole to Jhola 3,050 m
An easy opening day beside the Braldu river, setting the slow pace that pays off at the pass.
Day 6: Jhola to Paiju 3,420 m
Up the valley to Paiju at the snout of the Baltoro, with its last stand of trees.
Day 7: Rest at Paiju 3,420 m
Acclimatisation day. The pass is still ten days away, and this is where the groundwork for it is laid.
Day 8: Onto the Baltoro 3,795 m
The first day on the glacier itself, over grey moraine to Khoburtse.
Day 9: Urdukas 3,930 m
To Urdukas, a grassy ledge opposite the Trango Towers and Cathedral spires.
Day 10: Goro II 4,295 m
Out onto the open ice to Goro II, with Masherbrum behind you.
Day 11: Concordia 4,500 m
Concordia: K2 at the head of the Godwin-Austen, Broad Peak and the Gasherbrums around you.
Day 12: K2 Base Camp 5,150 m
To K2 Base Camp and the Gilkey Memorial and back — the last big day before the crossing.
Day 13: Rest at Concordia 4,500 m
A rest day at Concordia to recover before moving up to the high camp under the pass.
Day 14: Ali Camp 4,800 m
Move up to Ali Camp below the pass. An early night — the crossing starts in the dark.
Day 15: Gondogoro La 5,585 m
The crossing. Fixed ropes, crampons, ice axe and harness on a 45–50° slope, then a long multi-pitch descent to Khuspang. The highest point of any version of this trek.
Day 16: Khuspang to Dalsampa 4,150 m
Down the Hushe side, out of the glacier world and back towards grass.
Day 17: Weather buffer day 4,150 m
Held in reserve. The pass does not go in bad conditions and we would rather wait than push.
Day 18: Dalsampa to Saicho 3,350 m
A long descent through the Hushe valley.
Day 19: Hushe and Skardu 2,500 m
Walk out to Hushe village, then drive to Skardu.
Day 20: Fly to Islamabad 540 m
Return flight to Islamabad.
Day 21: Departure 540 m
Onward departure.
Packing list for the K2 BC + Gondogoro La trek
Everything on the list below, plus the technical kit for the pass: crampons, ice axe, harness, helmet and ascender — and you need to have used them before, not bought them at the airport.
- Broken-in trekking boots, plus camp shoes
- Four-season sleeping bag — nights on the glacier fall well below freezing
- Down jacket and a warm mid-layer
- Waterproof shell, jacket and trousers
- Sun hat, glacier glasses and high-factor sun cream — the Baltoro reflects light like a mirror
- Trekking poles and a 30–35 litre daypack
- Head torch, water bottles and water treatment
- Personal first aid and any prescription medicines
The full kit list for your month is sent when you book; the long version is in our K2 Base Camp packing guide.
What the trip includes
- Balti mountain guide and full local crew
- Porters or pack animals, and all group equipment
- All camping equipment, tents and cooking gear
- All meals on trek, cooked by our own kitchen crew
- Satellite phone carried with the group
- Trekking permits and paperwork, filed by us
- Transport between Skardu and Askole by 4x4
- International flights and Pakistan visa fees
- Travel and rescue insurance — mandatory, and it must cover helicopter evacuation above 5,000 m
- Personal trekking equipment, boots and sleeping bag
- Hotels and meals in Islamabad and Skardu
- Helicopter evacuation costs, if you need one
- Tips for the crew
- Personal technical kit for the pass: crampons, ice axe, harness, helmet and ascender
What people have to say
The K2 Trek is run by Karakoram Venture, rated 4.9 out of 5 from 39 Google reviews. Read the reviews on Google.
K2 BC + Gondogoro La trek FAQ
Why book with a K2 Base Camp specialist?
K2 Base Camp is all we do. We run all six variations of this one route, so we have no reason to push you onto any of them — we tell you which fits your fitness, your days and your altitude history. And every buffer day, acclimatisation day and turn-around rule in our itineraries exists because of something this particular glacier does.
How hard is the Gondogoro La pass?
It is a technical crossing, not a walk. The pass is 5,585 m, the final slope runs at 45–50° on fixed ropes, and the descent is long and steep. Crampons, ice axe, harness, helmet and ascender are mandatory, and you need to be competent with them before you arrive.
When is the Gondogoro La open?
Only while the fixed ropes are up. They are installed at the start of each season by a rescue team from Hushe and taken down at the end of it, and even inside that window the pass only goes in good conditions. That is why this itinerary carries a weather buffer day.
What can you see from the top of the Gondogoro La?
On a clear morning, four eight-thousanders at once — K2, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum I and Gasherbrum II — with Masherbrum close by. It is the most complete view of the range anywhere on the trek.
Do I need climbing experience?
You need to have used crampons, an ice axe and an ascender on fixed ropes before — a winter skills course or a guided alpine route is enough. You do not need to have climbed a technical peak.
What if the pass is closed when we get there?
Then we do not cross it. The guide’s call on the pass is final; the group returns the way it came, down the Baltoro, exactly as the classic trek does.
What does it cost?
Fixed departures of the K2 Base Camp & Gondogoro La Trek run at $2,600 per person, with a $250 deposit to hold a place. Private groups are priced by size — from $3,800/pp for four to six people up to $7,500 for a solo trek. The full table is under Prices and dates on this page.
What visa do I need?
Trekking in this region generally requires a Trekking and Mountaineering visa rather than an ordinary tourist visa, and the Baltoro is a controlled area with its own paperwork. The exact requirements vary by nationality and they change, so tell us your passport and we will tell you what you actually need before you book flights.
Is there any phone signal or internet?
No. Askole is the end of the network. Past that the satellite phone we carry is the only communication, and it is for operational and emergency use. Tell people at home they will not hear from you for the duration.
What happens if I get altitude sickness?
Your guide watches for it and has the authority to turn you around or send you down, and that decision is not negotiable by the person who paid for the trip. Descent is the treatment. For anything serious we have a satellite phone and established helicopter-rescue contacts for the Baltoro — which is exactly why insurance covering helicopter evacuation above 5,000 m is a condition of joining.
More photos from the K2 trek
K2 the mountain — abridged
K2 stands at 8,611 m on the border of Gilgit-Baltistan and China, second only to Everest. It got its name from a surveyor’s notebook: in 1856 Thomas Montgomerie of the Great Trigonometric Survey sketched the Karakoram’s two most prominent peaks from Mount Haramukh, some 210 km away, and labelled them K1 and K2 — K for Karakoram.
The first ascent came on 31 July 1954, when Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni of an Italian expedition led by Ardito Desio reached the summit by the Abruzzi Spur. A year earlier an American expedition had lost Art Gilkey on the mountain; the stone cairn of plaques near Base Camp that you walk past on the trek carries his name.
The trek itself follows the Baltoro — in Balti, “bone breaker” — to Concordia, the glacier junction Aleister Crowley named in 1902 after its namesake in the Bernese Oberland. K2 and three more of the world’s fourteen 8,000 m peaks rise within about 20 km of the Baltoro.
Additional resources
Compare this route
- Take the 21-day classic K2 Base Camp trek if you would rather avoid technical ground entirely.
- Take the short K2 trek via Hushe for the same pass in reverse, five days shorter — experienced trekkers only.
Plan the trek
- What is the K2 Base Camp Trek?
- What is the Baltoro Glacier?
- How hard is the K2 Base Camp Trek?
- How long is the K2 Base Camp trek?
- Can a beginner do the K2 Base Camp trek?
- How high is K2 Base Camp — and how do you acclimatise?
Other ways to reach K2 and Concordia
- Gasherbrum I & II Base Camps Extension — Strenuous · longer
- K2 Base Camp — Mule and Horse Supported — Strenuous · lighter load
- Fast Trek to Concordia — Severe · athletes only