Snow Lake ( ur, برف جھیل), or Lukpe Lawo, is a high-altitude glacial basin in the Karakoram mountain range in the

Gilgit-Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative units of Pakistan, administrative territory, and constituting the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region which has ...

region of northern

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. It is not a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much lar ...

, despite its name. Snow Lake is located 16,000 feet (4,877 m) above sea level and is approximately 10 miles (16 km) wide. The basin lies at the head of the Biafo and Hispar glaciers, which spread down from the Hispar Pass in opposite directions, forming a 61-mile (100 km) river of ice that is among the world's longest continuous glacier systems outside of the polar regions.

Famous visitors

Martin Conway, The first foreign visitor gave Snow Lake the name in 1892. Conway described Snow Lake as "beyond all comparison the finest view of mountains it has ever been my lot to behold, nor do I believe the world can hold a finer." Snow Lake is very difficult to reach, however, and only about 200 people manage to reach it per year.David Noland.
Pakistan: Snow Lake
."''Outsideonline.com. Retrieved on 2006-07-24. In 1899, the husband-wife team of William Hunter Workman and

Fanny Bullock Workman Fanny Bullock Workman (January 8, 1859 – January 22, 1925) was an American geographer, cartographer, explorer, travel writer, and mountaineer, notably in the Himalayas. She was one of the first female professional mountaineers; she not only ...

came and speculated that Snow Lake might be an ice-cap like those in the

polar region The polar regions, also called the frigid zones or polar zones, of Earth are the regions of the planet that surround its geographical poles (the North and South Poles), lying within the polar circles. These high latitudes are dominated by flo ...

s, from which glaciers flowed out in all directions, and estimated its total size at 300 square miles (116 square kilometers).

Getting there

The journey to Snow Lake typically begins in

Skardu , nickname = , motto = , image_skyline = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Gilgit Baltistan#Pakistan , pushpin_label_position ...

, which can be reached by plane or jeep from

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capita ...

. From Skardu, a jeep takes travelers through the Braldu Gorge to the village of Askole. The trek from Askole initially proceeds towards K2, then turns northwest up the

Biafo Glacier The Biafo Glacier ( ur, ) is a -long glacier situated in the Karakoram mountain range in Shigar district, Gilgit−Baltistan, Pakistan. Geography Biafo Glacier meets the -long Hispar Glacier at an altitude of at Hispar La to create the worl ...

to Snow Lake. The descent differs from the ascent, going through the

Hunza Valley The Hunza Valley ( bsk, , Wakhi: '; ur, ) is a mountainous valley in the northern part of the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan, formed by the Hunza River, bordering Ishkoman to the northwest, Shigar to the southeast, Afghanistan's Wak ...

and ending in

Gilgit Gilgit (; Shina: ; ur, ) is the capital city of Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. The city is located in a broad valley near the confluence of the Gilgit River and the Hunza River. It is a major tourist destination in Pakistan, serving as ...

, from where a return to Islamabad can be arranged by plane or jeep.

References

Lakes of Gilgit-Baltistan Lakes of Pakistan {{Pakistan-geo-stub