Among the Karakoram Giants

The road from Karimabad to Passu hugs the Hunza river the entire way, with the Karakoram peaks rising so close it feels like you could reach out and touch them.

We stopped at Attabad Lake first — its turquoise water still stops me in my tracks every single time, no matter how many years I've lived here.

By the time we reached the glacier, the afternoon light had turned everything gold. I sat on a boulder for an hour just watching the ice creak and shift.