Rush Lake

Rush Lake sits at roughly 4,700 metres on a shoulder above the Barpu and Miar glaciers, and it is usually described as one of the highest alpine lakes in the world reached by a standard trekking route. The trek from Hopar takes two to three days each way, crossing the Bualtar and Barpu glaciers and climbing through the summer pastures of Miar, where Nagar herders graze yaks and goats, before the final pull to the lake and the Rush Pari peak above it. The reward is one of the great panoramas of the Karakoram: Spantik, Malubiting, Miar Peak and the Golden Peak group stand across the glacier trench, and sunrise from Rush Pari, an easy scramble from camp, lays out fifty kilometres of ice and seven-thousanders. The lake itself is a modest tarn; the position is everything.

The landscape

• The high tarn - a small lake at extreme altitude above the glaciers.
• Rush Pari viewpoint - the sunrise panorama of Spantik and the Golden Peak group.
• Glacier crossings - the Bualtar and Barpu crossed en route.
• Miar pastures - yak herding camps used by Nagar villagers in summer.

When to go

Mid-June to mid-September; outside that, snow closes the route and the pastures empty. Even in season, weather windows matter and parties sit out storms at Miar. Nights at the high camps are below freezing all summer.

Before you go

This is a genuine high-altitude trek: the altitude gain is serious, acclimatisation days are needed, and altitude sickness turns parties around every season. Glacier crossings require a guide who knows the current route. There are no lodges; everything is carried. The lake without the peaks around it would not justify the walk, and in cloud there is nothing to see.

Nearby

Hopar glacier and villages are the trailhead; Karimabad lies across the valley.

Key facts