Concordia (Karakoram)

Concordia is the great glacial confluence at about 4,600 metres where the Baltoro and Godwin-Austen glaciers meet in the heart of the Karakoram. Ringed by an extraordinary concentration of giants, it has been called the throne room of the mountain gods, and no other place on earth crowds so many high peaks so close together.

Its grandeur is unmatched: K2, the world's second-highest mountain, rises directly ahead, flanked by Broad Peak and the four Gasherbrums, with Masherbrum and the Trango Towers guarding the approach. Standing on the ice amid this amphitheatre of 8,000-metre summits is the goal of one of the planet's finest treks.

On the trail the route runs about seven to nine days each way from Askole, following the rubble-strewn Baltoro glacier through camps such as Paiju and Urdukas to Concordia. Graded strenuous, it involves long days on moraine and ice, glacial stream crossings and high altitude; the trek to K2 base camp continues a little further up the Godwin-Austen.

Practical notes: this is a fully supported expedition with porters, cooks and camping, and a trekking permit plus a registered agency are mandatory in the sensitive border region. The short season runs from June to August, when the passes and the glacier are workable; outside it, cold, snow and avalanche risk make the Baltoro impassable for trekkers.