📷 The Land of High Mountains: Pakistan. Day 2. Acclimatization

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In the morning I had to get up at 4 a.m. in order to understand the exact time of dawn and try to photograph it. I wanted to sleep terribly, just had to grab myself by the hair and pull out of bed. Since there is almost no hair on my head, so it didn't hurt at all. It was completely dark outside at that time, but is it right to go out before dawn, and not in the midst of it, isn't it? I stood over the cliff, feeling the freshness of my whole body — oh, it would be better if I grab my jacket. All was quiet around, everyone was asleep, even the birds, alone I wandered along the slope and tried to find a good view point.

After about half an hour, the top began to emerge. Dark blue sky and glowing snow, just like after sunset — the peak seems to be the most beautiful at this moment, but I think I already said this somewhere at sunset of the last day.

A little later, the peak caught the golden rays of dawn, and the air began to slowly warm up. I really wanted to see clouds that would be illuminated by the sun, but the sky was absolutely cloudless. In any case, the desired shot has been received, so I could go to the bed! There were still a few hours before the others wake up.

At eleven in the morning, after breakfast, we go for a walk. It is easier to breathe, the body adapts to the height. We walk along the forest paths near the camp — the locals lived and live here till now. Some houses are destroyed, some look habitable, but we, on the advice of the local guide, pass by, and people are still not visible.

Men with donkeys are walking around. What are these cute animals when they are silent, drink or are busy with their own affairs. But as soon as they get bored, the nightmare immediately begins! Even the locals complain that they are already tired of their screams.

I started traveling since childhood: my mother took me to the sea, and to the mountains, then I started hiking myself, but one problem haunted me all the time — I could not properly tie my shoelaces so that they would not be untied. My friend Petrovich even periodically tied them to me right on the trail, can you imagine the show? :)

But now, today, my problems are over. Oleg (he goes last), seeing that I was doing it wrong, described the method in a nutshell. As per the link, only at the very beginning the second turn is also made. I tried it and it worked! Now even on the most terrible scree I walk calmly.

But all the screes is still far away, and that's great! After all, even though we are just slowly walking around the base, it is quite difficult to walk. Yesterday, a little sleep and height are making themselves felt.

After wandering through the forest, we come out to the mountain lake Tarar Jheel at an altitude of 3300 meters above sea level.

Here, on the slopes, edelweiss grows in huge numbers ...

... and very photogenic guys are walking. Some of them should have become photo models, but it seems they have a different fate. Which one? I don't know, but I hope they will be happy.

Trekking today was short, we spent a lot of time laying on the shore of the lake in a heap of pine needles and cones. The sun was shining brightly, I didn't want to go anywhere, and I didn't have to go.

But soon we wanted something else: we got hungry and headed to the base through a local attraction — Lake of Reflections. The lake itself is to the left, but these puddles are also quite photogenic :)

Young Pakistani Padawan. Almost immediately as he realized that I was going to photograph him, he took the pose of a staunch tin soldier and froze, raising his chin.

There are a lot of children in the district.

One of the tourist shops.

Many Raikot Sarai tourist lodges on one side of the valley.

We reached our base NANGA PARBAT BROAD VIEW Hotel & Camping Site. In the foreground is our dining room. Lunch today was lovely: meat, fried potatoes, tomato and onion salad with peppers and other local specialties.

The most persistent went on a new small trekking after lunch, somewhere along the glacier, while @kibela and I stayed to be at sunset near the Lake of Reflections. And just take a little nap before that!

After lunch, I don't want to go anywhere, and even the weather is bad — the sky is covered with clouds, the wind rise, and it starts to rain. We are resting in the house, but what about the whole group that went on the trail? Hope they're okay!

I don't know who regulates the weather there, but after an hour it returned to normal. The sun came out again, and goats galloped around the base.

And we went to look at the sunspots on the glacier that flows down from Nanga Parbat.

From above it is covered with a stone crust, from time to time something breaks inside and rattles: the glacier lives its own life.

In general, some people probably would not even say that this is a glacier, rather a large stone glade.

People are building new houses on the slope of our base. The base is clearly expanding, apparently, the demand is increasing. More than two years after our arrival, I think it has grown a lot and has changed in some way.

Flowers and greenery light up under the rays of the sun!

By evening, the sky cleared, and there was no trace of that small daytime storm. We went down to the Lake of Reflections again. In fact, this is not a lake, but rather a small pond or even a large puddle, but it is located so well that it reflects the mountain and becomes an excellent viewpoint.

Soon sunset, the valley is slowly sinking into shadow. We stand on the shore, arranging tripods, and look around, occasionally running away from the water.

I was standing there photographing a horse, not bothering anyone, and at that moment a Pakistani in a fashionable leather jacket came up to me and in a very serious tone told me not to take pictures of local ladies, they say, this is prohibited. Yes, I was not going to, although I really want to — the forbidden fruit is sweet. In general, men like to be photographed, but women, even just seeing tourists, immediately cover their faces, only very little girls go without headscarves.

To the right of the cheerful photogenic Pakistani men is our local guide Ishaar. It is immediately clear who is more likely to work and communicate with Europeans and other tourists :)

Evening falls, and in the village they begin to prepare dinner: many hearths are ignited and smoke spreads throughout the valley.

Nanga Parbat is in sunset light. I waited, now I ran to the "Roerich's house" — we gave this name to the house in the vicinity, from where an excellent view of the seven-thousanders of the Karakorum opens.

But for the second time we have not made it to the other side for the sunset play of light. It is hard to break between the peak of Nanga Parbat and the peaks of Karakorum in the distance.

Landscapes look like a painting by the great Artist!

We looked at a Pakistani village and went back to dinner in the dark. They cook very tasty here: rice, chicken, dal, stewed potatoes, and for dessert there was a wonderful creamy yogurt-pudding with some kind of citrus "gravy".

And after dinner, for the second dessert, there were stars by the lake. The sky is amazingly clear, I can't even believe that it was raining a few hours ago.

It is too dark by the lake, so Dima decided to "light it up" :)

And tomorrow we will go trekking to the Nanga Parbat base camp. Will we get there?...

To be continued...

Parts of the journey:

Camera: OLYMPUS E-M1 Mark II

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