Hopar Glacier

Hopar Glacier descends from the high peaks of the Nagar Valley on the south bank of the Hunza River. It is a debris-covered glacier, the surface ice is largely hidden beneath a thick layer of dark morainic rock and sediment, which insulates it and slows its melt. The result looks, from a distance, like a rocky hillside. Get closer and the scale reveals itself: ridges of moraine twenty metres high, meltwater channels cutting through gravel, the occasional ice cliff glinting where debris has fallen away.

The drive from Karimabad crosses the Hunza River at Ganesh and climbs through the Nagar Valley, a separate valley from Hunza proper, less visited by tourists, with a distinct feel. The village of Hopar is the last settlement before the glacier; from here local guides lead visitors along the lateral moraine to the accessible section of the snout where it is safe to walk on the surface.

For most visitors, Hopar Glacier is the first time they have stood on a glacier. The experience is memorable in a way that is hard to anticipate: the sound of water running inside the ice, the crunch of debris underfoot, the sense of being on something ancient and slowly moving. It is a half-day addition to any Hunza itinerary that changes the texture of the trip.