Shangrila & Upper Kachura Lakes

Lower Kachura and the Shangrila Resort

The Shangrila Resort opened in 1983 as the first resort in the region. It was founded by Brigadier Aslam Khan, the first commander of the Northern Scouts, and is still run by his family. Its best-known curiosity is a restaurant built inside the fuselage of an aircraft that crashed nearby.

The resort sits right on the lake, and a walk around its gardens and bridges is a gentle way to spend an hour. Whether non-guests pay to enter, and how much, depends on the resort's current policy, which we check before your visit.

Upper Kachura

Upper Kachura is a deep lake, around 70 m according to published sources, with water clear enough to see well below the surface near the shore. It is less developed than its neighbour, and the appeal is simply sitting by the water, walking the shoreline or, where available, taking a small boat out.

When to go

Skardu's main season runs from May to October. Summer is warm and green; late September and October bring autumn colour and very clear air. In winter the area is cold and quiet, and parts of the lakes can freeze, which some travellers come specifically to see. If you are visiting in winter, read our guide to Skardu in winter first.

The lakes are at their calmest early in the morning, when the water can be still enough to mirror the slopes around it. Midday light is harsh at this altitude and softens again in the late afternoon. If you fly into Skardu, the lakes make an easy first outing while you get used to the altitude, because they involve very little walking.

Combining the lakes with the rest of Skardu

Because the two lakes are so close, they are almost always visited together, usually as a morning or an afternoon. They pair well with the Katpana cold desert near the airport, and with a day in Shigar to see the fort and valley. Longer trips add the Deosai plains, where Sheosar Lake sits above 4,000 m, once the road opens in summer.