Pakistan has tonnes to offer both domestic and foreign travellers, with its incredible landscapes and many hidden gems, one of which we explore today. This is Blind Lake.

Leaving Shigar Fort, we turn back on ourselves. Our journey continues through the windy, dusty roads of Northern Pakistan, where we enter those gorgeous valleys once again. Remember, this is a place so unventured that it took them years to find Osama there, and in truth, he wasn’t even in the true north but more at the door to the north. Pakistan is an expansive country with so much to see; it really did humble us.

Pakistan has jaw-dropping views which become easily accessible with car hire (Including driver and petrol) for under 50USD a day! Let’s not forget about the enjoyable cheap eats and the lovely smiles! All of which makes Pakistan an affordable and beautiful destination to visit. But is Pakistan safe to travel to? We also made a video on that, so please let us know what you think.

What may surprise you is that Northern Pakistan is significantly more developed than you would think, so much so that you could even work remotely in Pakistan if you so wish, as the area boasts 4g reception. The data is incredibly cheap here also; however, please note, if you backpack the north of Pakistan, you will need a different SIM card than for the cities such as Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi.

The place on today’s agenda is definitely a competitor for most unheard-of places in the world, let alone North Pakistan. During your backpacking trip to Pakistan, ask a local about it, and they will happily explain the serenity and calmness of the place. We are talking about Blind Lake, and you can watch our full vlog here.

We weaved through the dusty valley and witnessed natural beauty at its finest. Forget about Canada, Germany and, dare I say it, even Argentina because Pakistan is the place to see the best landscapes on Earth! Picture this; an open plain, jagged mountain peaks are your backdrop, the sun is beating down heavy to your left, you have unobstructed 360-degree views, and you can’t hear a sound. Well, except for a random chicken that reminded us of the Chicken from Moana, that Disney movie. I sound like a broken record, but sincerely the landscapes are jaw-dropping! Check out Natalie’s photo shoot on Instagram! Ok, I mean, I took a couple of photos as it was 36 degrees Celsius when we visited on that August afternoon, so that’s my reason for not capturing even more footage. Plus, we hadn’t even broken a full four days in Pakistan at this point!

Amazing how much you can do in life with such little time. 

After that tranquil moment, we continued our drive along the bumpy roads as we drew nearer to the lake, just in time to witness the clouds separate whilst the sun illuminated the area. However, once we entered the area of Blind Lake, the wind swept in and boy, as you can see from our Pakistan travel vlog, it REALLY swept in! We scampered for our face masks to avoid inhaling dust, rocks and more dust, but as you can tell from the footage, we didn’t let that put us off. The wind slowly withdrew, and tranquillity replaced it; it was as calm and serene as we had been told earlier that day. We did an entire loop of the lake and found a moment to ourselves, discussing the beauty and our upcoming adventures in Pakistan.

After an hour or so, with the darkness looming as the sun faded away, we had to leave. Our drive back in the moonlight still sticks with me as I write this over six months later. I can assure you even as a memory; we are both still in awe of the landscapes of Northern Pakistan that we saw that day and what we would see in the following weeks. It turns out we hadn’t even touched the surface. 

We approached Safaranga desert in the moonlight where we were scheduled to do quad biking in Pakistan, but we chose against it, partly due to the light issue, but mainly due to that you weren’t riding on sand dunes; it would just be in a semi-straight line going back and forth for twenty minutes. I felt that if we were to do it, the excitement would fade quickly. We’ve been fortunate enough to do quad biking in Peru, and THAT WAS SPECTACULAR; this wouldn’t compare. If you haven’t ridden a quad bike in a desert, please take the next opportunity to do so, making sure it isn’t in a flat line, though. That’s significantly less fun.

All in all, this was a terrific end to a day that included so much. We drove thru the beautiful valleys of Thorgu and Shigar, overpaid for mango juice and had such a peaceful, serene experience in a country that, at best, is regarded as being noisy, over-polluted and crowded. Pakistan for sure has those elements, and we witnessed that in abundance during our visit to Lahore in particular; however, Pakistan is also one of the most beautiful places on the planet, if not THE most beautiful place on this planet. The landscapes are truly mesmerising. Visit. Just promise me, you’ll avoid the roadside ice cream. 

Toodles.

USEFUL TIPS FOR BACKPACKING PAKISTAN:

How to Visit Blind Lake, Skardu, Pakistan 

So it’s essentially pretty easy to head to Blind lake. Firstly you will need to head to Skardu, Pakistan. Skardu will be the central point for a lot of your excursions. Skardu certainly was for us, as you can tell from the numerous videos we have filmed there. We documented our flight from Islamabad to Skardu, showing you how to do that journey.

Once in Skardu, ask your hotel for a driver. We paid 5,000 PKR for this trip with a 4×4, including a driver and petrol. Ensure that whichever vehicle you book, driver and gasoline are included. As with anywhere, some companies can be a tad cheeky, so to avoid surprises later, it’s best to be upfront. Also, for those of you thinking, “Can I join a tour?” Yes, yes, you can. However, Urdu will be a prerequisite, and the travel conditions are unlike anywhere else in the world. I am sure there are expensive tours, too, but our recommendation would be to hire a driver, travel in a 4×4 and then explore the beautiful valleys surrounding Skardu. Please bring your friends to Pakistan next time they want to go on a backpacking adventure; that will help keep the costs down. 

Your itinerary for the day will consist of Safaranga Desert, Shigar Fort and finally Blind Lake. The reason is that Blind lake is at its best near sunset, it’s a large open space, and as we know, the Pakistan sun can be very unforgiving. This itinerary also ensures that you see Shigar Fort whilst the sun is at its strongest. 

Enjoy! and don’t forget to tag Calamity Travels on Instagram. We’d love to see if you enjoyed backpacking Pakistan as much as we did!