Last Updated on: 12th March 2026, 08:37 am
Fairy Meadows is one of northern Pakistan’s most popular destinations. And as discussed in our ‘How to Get to Fairy Meadows’ guide, getting there is arguably the highlight of the whole experience. But you should also be sure to set aside time for the hike to Behal Camp and the Nanga Parbat Viewpoint, a fun and moderately challenging hike.
In the following guide, we’ll be covering what to expect from the hike. Just bear in mind that these pictures were taken in May when much of the area was still covered in snow. Those visiting in summer may have a different (and easier) experience.
While we already covered how to reach Fairy Meadows, check the end of the article for more info on accommodation in both Fairy Meadows and Gilgit.
About This Hike
THE BASICS: This out-and-back hike takes you from Fairy Meadows to Behal Camp (also spelled Beyal Camp), and then finally to the Nanga Parbat Viewpoint. The full hike is around 11 km, with an elevation gain of around 450 m.
It could be considered a moderate hike. But considering how you’ll end up at nearly 4000 m above sea level, altitude sickness could be a major concern for those who’ve just arrived in the region.
All in all, this hike took me 7 hours, but that included plenty of stops and a break for chai at Behal camp.
As mentioned, I did this hike when there was a lot of snow on the ground which added to the challenge significantly. Those doing this hike in summer should have a much easier time.
WHAT TO BRING: You’ll want to have a decent pair of hiking shoes for this hike, but they’re not totally essential given the moderate elevation gain. A trekking pole, however, definitely comes in handy for the river crossing and other potentially steep and slippery sections of the trail.
As I was hiking on a gloomy day, this wasn’t an issue at the time, though you should definitely apply lots of sunscreen if the sun is out. The strength of the sun at over 3500 m above sea level is no joke!
You’ll also want to bring plenty of snacks, which you should prepare ahead of time in Gilgit.
RECOMMENDED APPS: This hike isn’t featured on AllTrails, but you should be able to navigate using offline map apps like Organic Maps or Maps.me.
From Fairy Meadows to Behal Camp
In Fairy Meadows, I was staying at Green Land Hotel. And a group of Pakistani travelers staying there and I decided to do this hike together. After a hearty breakfast, we departed around 9:00.
Green Land is located in the southern part of Fairy Meadows. And given how this hike takes you south, we got a small head start.
We hiked along some back trails past Fairy Meadows Cottage. And we then found ourselves walking along a ridge overlooking the Raikot Glacier. As we’ll cover below, this glacier stretches all the way out to the Nanga Parbat Viewpoint and beyond.
Ordinarily, one would be able to enjoy an excellent view of Nanga Parbat – the world’s 9th tallest mountain – while looking in this direction. But it was foggy and cloudy, and the mountain was completely obscured.
I was the only one with any sort of useful map on my phone, and so I ended up as the navigator. But early on, I made a crucial mistake.
In the beginning, the trail simply ran along the ridge. And looking at Organic Maps, it looked like we just needed to keep following it.
But eventually, the trail disappeared, and we found ourselves stuck in a forest surrounded by patches of snow.
While far from obvious – especially considering the complete lack of trail markers – you’re supposed to follow the trail downhill. (See the picture above, which was taken upon reaching this section during the return hike).
The few pictures below depict the forest we found ourselves in. We knew something was off when there didn’t seem to be any way to proceed.
But looking down, we saw a group of hikers walking along a well-defined trail in the valley. Rather than backtrack, we just carefully made our way down a steep hill to get there.
This ultimately worked out, but our challenges were only beginning.
The next hour or so of the hike was fairly straightforward. And given the popularity of Fairy Meadows – especially with domestic travelers – this was a great place to meet people and chat about various topics during the walk.
We passed through some snowy and wet sections but got through them with relative ease. And before long, the cabins of Behal Camp had already come into view in the distance.
By this point I’d gotten separated from my original group, but I arrived at the camp at around 11:30, or 2.5 hours since departing from Fairy Meadows.
Fortunately, I was already acclimated to high altitudes by this point, having spent a while in Skardu. And so I found the hike to Behal Camp rather easy overall.
But as we’ll cover shortly, the next section of this hike turned out to be a much bigger challenge.
Behal Camp was mostly still closed due to the season. Despite how crowded Fairy Meadows was, there only seemed to be a handful of other people staying here during my visit in May.
Some of my new hiking companions and I stopped in one of the little cabins for chai (which was fantastic, by the way). They were serving food here as well, but I’d brought enough snacks to tide me over.
Finishing my chai, I spotted some members of my original group in the distance, making their way toward the Nanga Parbat Viewpoint. And so I left Behal Camp to catch up with them.
To The Viewpoint
The distance from Behal Camp to the Nanga Parbat Viewpoint is about 2.6 km. And this portion has a majority of the hike’s total elevation gain, with 350 m out of the total 450 m.
But the biggest challenge here was not the elevation. As we began to approach an altitude of 4000 m, the snow got thicker and thicker, obscuring much of the trail. And in the center of the valley was a wide river.
At some points, we had to walk on sloping, wet ground that was both steep and slippery. One misstep and we would’ve fallen right into the snow and water!
But if you’re traveling sometime in July or August, it’s possible that the snow be totally clear.
To push onward, we had to make two or three tricky river crossings, walking across rocks to get to the other side without getting wet.
Finally, once we were past the river, what remained was a steep uphill climb over some boulders to reach the viewpoint.
As we ascended, the snow got thicker and thicker. But it was fortunately still manageable to walk through without any special gear or footwear.
You’ll know you’re approaching the viewpoint when you spot some manmade structures near a large flat platform.
Unfortunately, the sky still hadn’t cleared up throughout the entire hike, and the massive Nanga Parbat – which stands at a staggering 8,126 m high – was barely visible at all from the viewpoint.
We could, at least, enjoy clear views of the Raikot Glacier.
The Raikot Glacier is 15 km long, covering a total area of 39 km². But it’s only the third largest glacier on the Nanga Parbat massif.
We stood for a while to admire the views and eat some snacks. But before long, it started raining, and we hurried to make our way back to the trail.
The return journey turned out to be just as confusing. Not wanting to brave the slippery riverside portion again, we decided to walk along the ridge near the viewpoint, as the trees also provided cover from the rain. But eventually, we’d have to make our way downhill into the valley.
And even after making it past Behal Camp, we got moderately lost a couple of times – usually due to the trail disappearing under snow.
Fortunately, the rain subsided eventually, but it was already around 16:00 by the time we made it back to our hotel.
All in all, it was an enjoyable hike, but largely due to the people I met along the way. Hopefully you’ll have better luck with the weather and with the views.
The next morning, at least, we’d get to enjoy clear views of Nanga Parbat from Fairy Meadows.
Additional Info
The autonomous territory of Gilgit-Baltistan is part of the broader Kashmir region, which, before the Partition of 1947, was part of the Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir.
Today, Gilgit-Baltistan is controlled by Pakistan and can only be entered from within Pakistan or via the land border with China. While we won’t be getting into politics here, many maps of India include Gilgit-Baltistan in its territory, which can make trip research especially confusing.
Pakistan actually controls two Kashmiri territories, the other being Azad Kashmir. To make matters even more confusing, when many Pakistanis use the word ‘Kashmir,’ they’re often specifically referring to Azad Kashmir – not the entire region.
As its name suggests, Gilgit-Baltistan consists of two main divisions. Skardu is the capital of the Baltistan division, and the city of Gilgit is the capital of the broader Gilgit division (and also of the entire Gilgit-Baltistan territory).
Accordingly, these are the two main transport hubs of the region. You can find direct buses from Islamabad to both cities, while both Skardu and Gilgit are home to the region’s airports.
But though Gilgit may have plenty of hotel and shopping options, it should only really be thought of as a place to pass through. Skardu, on the other hand, is also a destination in its own right, with plenty to do around the area.
Another must-visit destination in Gilgit-Baltistan, meanwhile, is the Hunza Valley, with its main hubs being Karimabad and Aliabad. Part of the Gilgit division, that region is a lot closer to Gilgit than it is to Skardu.
Check out our upcoming Gilgit-Baltistan itinerary guide to learn more about how to both get around and plan your time in the region.
Accommodation at Fairy Meadows is difficult to book online, as most hotel managers don’t bother with the traditional booking websites. One exception I can find, however, is BroadView Hotel.
I also tried contacting some establishments I’d read about online via WhatsApp, such as Fairy Meadows Cottages, though they quoted me around PKR 10,000 per night.
Still anticipating the possibility of having to pay for the entire Jeep ride on my own, I wanted to spend as little as possible on accommodation, and so I decided to do things the old-fashioned way: show up and ask around.
In the end, this worked out fine. The first hotel I approached was Green Land, which had been recommended online by other travelers. Despite it being a weekend, they had available rooms, and, after a bit of haggling, I brought the price of a private room down to PKR 3500 per night. (Prices, of course, can always fluctuate due to the season, inflation, etc.)
I had a nice stay at Green Land, and met a friendly group of Pakistani travelers with whom I hiked up to Behal Base Camp the following day. The shower water could’ve definitely been warmer, but I feel that way about most hotels in South Asia.
Note that most hotels in the Fairy Meadows area have on-site restaurants, so you can just eat at your hotel. Sure, meals will cost more than in Gilgit, but expect to pay around $5 USD per meal – still very reasonably for such an isolated location.
But you should also purchase plenty of snacks in Gilgit for your hikes. If you run out, there are said to be a couple of general stores at Fairy Meadows, though I didn’t end up needing to do any shopping.
A few other details to note:
- Fairy Meadows is developing rapidly, and lots of new hotels were under construction at the time of my visit. So you’ll likely have even more options than what you’ve read about online.
- Don’t expect any Wifi at Fairy Meadows. And even if you have an SCOM SIM card (more below), reception will randomly disappear for hours at a time.
- Though I had no issues finding an apartment on the spot during a weekend in May, you may have problems finding a place if you’re visiting during summer peak season.
- Be sure to bring enough cash for everything in advance.
- It gets quite cold at night, so pack warm clothing.
Gilgit can be accessed directly by bus or plane from Islamabad. While less frequent, you may also be able to find direct flights from Lahore.
If you’re already in the region, you can also take a direct minivan or shared taxi from Skardu, a journey which should take 3-5 hours.
As for direct buses from Islamabad, the journey can last anywhere from around 18-24 hours! And that’s if there are no major incidents, such as landslides or traffic jams, along the way.
The plane from Islamabad to Gilgit, meanwhile, takes just one hour. So why even consider such a grueling bus ride?
One simple reason is cost. Flights can cost up to $90 one-way, while the bus ride costs roughly $20.
But another reason is reliability. Flights frequently get cancelled or delayed due to weather or visibility issues. Therefore, if you have limited time in the region, it can be very hard to make concrete plans knowing that your flight may repeatedly get delayed.
In my case, I already had plans to take the bus both ways. But during my trip, a brief war between India and Pakistan happened to break out, and all flights were cancelled for a couple of weeks!
The buses, on the other hand, were running daily as scheduled. So, in contrast to numerous stranded travelers that I met, my plans didn’t get interrupted at all.
Let’s talk more about the bus ride. There’s no way to sugarcoat it – this ride really, really sucks. But it is a way to travel over 600 km for next to nothing, while you’re bound to meet friendly locals during the journey.
Most bus companies weren’t even accepting foreign passengers at the time of my visit, leaving NATCO, a state-run bus company, as the only option. Unfortunately, a lot of NATCO buses are in pretty bad shape.
In my case, aside from the general discomfort of sitting in a cramped bus for so long, the ride mostly went as planned. But if you’re traveling shortly after heavy rain, landslides may delay the journey tremendously.
Another important thing to be aware of is the security situation. There are a lot of security measures in place to keep tourists safe, especially in the province of KPK, through which this bus passes as it travels along the Karakoram Highway.
Before your journey, you must prepare around 15 photocopies (or even more if you can) of both your passport and Pakistani visa. You’ll give these to the driver as the trip starts, and he’ll then pass a copy to police or security personnel at various checkpoints along the way. Fortunately, this means you won’t have to get woken up by the guards.
(Pakistan doesn’t really do centralized digital databases, so oftentimes these officers are just snapping a photo of your papers with their phone and then distributing it to a WhatsApp group with other officers!)
For the record, I felt completely safe while in Pakistan, and a lot of these practices are just extra precautions to keep foreign tourists safe.
If you’re a Chinese national, however, there are extra security precautions in place for you. I don’t have the updated information, so please look that up on your own.
All in all, the best way to get the latest information is to follow various Pakistan travel-oriented groups on Facebook.
Note that even if you already have a Pakistani SIM card, it’s probably not going to work in Gilgit-Baltistan. But there is a dedicated telecom company operating in the territory known as SCOM.
It’s easy enough to obtain a SIM card there upon your arrival – even as a foreign tourist. As I obtained mine in Skardu, I’m not sure exactly where to find one in Gilgit. But you’ll probably need to go to the MAIN office and not a branch, as not all offices can sell SIM cards to foreigners. (Most locals don’t realize this and may direct you to the wrong shop.)
In any case, you’ll definitely want to download Gilgit-Baltistan maps for offline use in advance of your trip.
The city of Gilgit is Gilgit-Baltistan’s largest city and transport hub, and there are plenty of hotel options here (though not many are actually on Booking).
I originally booked a night at a place called Duroyo Hotel, which I chose precisely because it seemed within walking distance of the bus station.
It turned out to be a fairly long and steep uphill walk – especially with all of my luggage. And it was only after my arrival that the staff decided to tell me that no rooms were available!
They did, at least, give me a ride to another location.
In the end, I stayed at ‘Hotel Express and Restaurant’ (not to be confused with Avari Xpress Hotel located a block east). While you need a taxi or public transport to get to and from the station, it’s in a central area along Shahre-e-Quaid-e-Azam Rd, near plenty of shops, restaurants and ATMs.
There was even a coffee shop right next door. And if you’ve traveled through South Asia before as a coffee lover, you know how hard it is to find real coffee!
In the end, the mishap turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as there didn’t seem to be any shops or restaurants near Duroyo Hotel.
Importantly, the staff at Hotel Express also let me keep my luggage in the staff room for a few nights while I was at Fairy Meadows. I then returned and stayed an additional night before moving on to Minapin.