Snow Lake, or Lukpe Lawo, is a high-altitude glacial basin in the Karakoram mountain range

Karakoram

The Karakoram, or Karakorum , is a large mountain range spanning the borders between Pakistan, India and China, located in the regions of Gilgit-Baltistan , Ladakh , and Xinjiang region,...

 in the Northern Areas

Northern Areas

Gilgit-Baltistan , is the northernmost political entity within Pakistan. It borders Pakistan's Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province to the west, Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor to the north, China to the east and northeast, Azad Kashmir to the southwest, and Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir to the...

 of Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

. It is not a lake

Lake

A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...

.

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

Biafo Glacier

The Biafo Glacier is a long glacier in the Karakoram Mountains of the Northern Areas, Pakistan which meets the long Hispar Glacier at an altitude of at Hispar La to create the world's longest glacial system outside the polar regions. This highway of ice connects two ancient mountain kingdoms,...

 and Hispar

Hispar Glacier

Hispar Glacier is a long glacier in the Karakoram Mountains of the Northern Areas, Pakistan which meets the long Biafo Glacier at the Hispar La at an altitude of to create the world's longest glacial system outside of the polar regions. This highway of ice connects two ancient mountain...

 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. In 1899, the husband-wife team of William Hunter Workman and Fanny Bullock Workman

Fanny Bullock Workman

Fanny Bullock Workman was an American geographer, cartographer, explorer, and mountaineer, notably in the Himalayas. She was born in Worcester, Massachusetts and usually travelled in conjunction with her husband Dr. William Hunter Workman...

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

Polar region

Earth's polar regions are the areas of the globe surrounding the poles also known as frigid zones. The North Pole and South Pole being the centers, these regions are dominated by the polar ice caps, resting respectively on the Arctic Ocean and the continent of Antarctica...

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

Getting there

The journey to Snow Lake typically begins in Skardu

Skardu

Skardu , is the main town of the region Baltistan and the capital of Skardu District, one of the districts making up Pakistan's Gilgit Baltistan....

, which can be reached by plane or jeep from Islamabad

Islamabad

Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...

. From Skardu, a jeep takes travellers through the Braldu Gorge to the village of Askole

Askole

Askole or Askoly is a small town located in the Braldu Valley in the most remote region of Karakoram mountains in Northern Areas, Pakistan. It is the last settlement before the wilderness of the Karakoram. Askole is the gateway to four of the world's fourteen highest peaks known as Eight-thousanders...

. The trek from Askole initially proceeds towards K2

K2

K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest...

, then turns northwest up the Biafo Glacier

Biafo Glacier

The Biafo Glacier is a long glacier in the Karakoram Mountains of the Northern Areas, Pakistan which meets the long Hispar Glacier at an altitude of at Hispar La to create the world's longest glacial system outside the polar regions. This highway of ice connects two ancient mountain kingdoms,...

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

Hunza Valley

The Hunza Valley is a mountainous valley in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan. The Hunza valley is situated to the north of the Hunza River, at an elevation of around . The territory of Hunza is about...

 and ending in Gilgit

Gilgit

Gilgit is a city in northern PakistanGilgit may refer to other terms related with the area of the city:* Gilgit River* Gilgit Valley* Gilgit District* Gilgit Agency * Gilgit Airport...

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