Rush Lake (Pakistan)

Rush Lake is an alpine tarn at about 4,694 metres above the Nagar valley in the Karakoram, ranked among the highest lakes in the world. It lies beneath Rush Pari peak, and from its shores the ice pyramids of Spantik, Malubiting and the Diran and Rakaposhi massifs fill the skyline.

Its reward is a genuine high-altitude panorama for a relatively short trek. The route climbs from the twin villages of Hopar past the tumbled Miar and Barpu glaciers onto open pasture, where the lake sits amid grazing herds, its stillness reflecting some of the Karakoram's most striking peaks.

On the trail the trek runs about two to three days round trip from Hopar, gaining height steadily across glacier and meadow to a camp near the lake, with an optional scramble up Rush Pari for an even wider view. Graded moderate, it is far less technical than the region's glacier traverses, though the altitude and the glacier crossing demand fitness and a careful pace.

Practical notes: guides and porters are easily arranged in Hopar or Karimabad, and the trek is done with camping since there are no lodges above the villages. June to September is the season, when the pasture is green and the weather most stable; earlier the snow lingers around the lake, and by autumn cold nights and shortening days close the high camp.