The next morning started better again – after Andreas had showered extensively, he felt like a human being again. There was still a slight grumble in his stomach, but otherwise he felt top fit again. We had to gulp down our breakfast relatively quickly, however, because we had to take Ahmad to the local airport. Ahmad wanted to follow a Muslim custom and spend the last 10 days of Ramadan in a mosque, isolated from the outside world, to be able to experience Laylat-ul-Qadr in peace.

After saying goodbye to each other, the three of us made our way to Shangrila Resort on the (artificially created) lake of the same name. At the entrance of the resort we had to pay 1000 PKR per person (about 5€) for the entrance fee. After we parked the car, a heated discussion developed between Mudassir and the security guards. Apparently, they didn’t want to let him onto the grounds – without thinking twice about it, we paid the entrance fee for him as well, so we could enjoy the scenery together.

We explored the entire area around the lake, including the pavilion, various “grottos”, an old airplane and a small bird zoo.

Afterwards we drove to the upper Karucha Lake, where we relaxed a bit and talked to several locals. One of them was a mountain guide who knew, among others, the Hoepner twins and was involved in the winter expedition 2021 to K2, which unfortunately ended tragically. The stories of the mountain guide had something of everything – we listened with interest and were also a little scared at times.

After quite a while he said goodbye to us and after Andreas had emptied his glass of ice-cold Rooh Afza, we took another small boat trip on the lake. Mudassir’s acquaintance drove us across the lake and we stopped at a small, lonely beach. While we were enjoying the ride, we noticed the many locals who were hiking or fishing around the lake.

Also some people were doing water sports and so we could admire among other things an original Pakistani jet ski – from the appearance it resembled more a school bus than a jet ski. On the way to our next destination we stopped at a mountain stream, where we drank tea and coffee and had a snack. Critically we were eyed by 2 rabbits, which were very interested in our food.

Freshly strengthened, we drove back through Skardu, past our hotel and always further in the opposite direction than that morning. Soon the landscape began to change and we suddenly found ourselves in the middle of a desert – the so-called Cold Desert. Again, the nature of Pakistan was able to present us a new facet and to astonish us once again. We stopped at a viewpoint and could overlook the entire desert, before we drove on to Shigar to see the Shigar Fort.

Also in this, about 400 years old, fort we received again an interesting guided tour. We saw the living quarters, bedrooms, kitchens, prayer rooms of the rulers and the generously designed gardens including a pavilion and a well over 1100 years old, inside hollow, tree. While we were still relaxing a bit in the garden, we made the acquaintance of a very trusting cat and a local couple who sat down with us, asking as always if they could do us some good, and we chatted for a while before we had to head back to the hotel as it slowly began to get dark.