Ultar Peak The Monster Peak in Hunza

The precariously dangerous Ultar Peak is another attraction for adventuring mountaineers. With a height of about 7388 meters Ultar Peak has taken many lives of mountaineers. Indeed, it portrays the most challenging of climbs which many have tried and failed.

It can be reached from Hunza, (Karimabad) where irrigation canals can be seen carrying the grey glacial water from the Ultar stream and Glacier, descending from Ultar Peak, which towers dramatically above the Baltit Fort. The runoff from its glacier is carefully directed into centuries-old irrigation canals thus, forming a whole capillary system of them for every shallow terrace.

The glacial water from Ultar carries brightly reflecting mica and other minerals, locally called “water flowers”, which give the liquid a glittering life of its own even as it quietly slips by in an irrigation canal miles away from the steep ‘Ultar Nala’.

Near Kareemabad and Baltit you can see Bubelimating (“Bubela’s Peak”), a granite pinnacle and next to it is the rounded Ultar Peak which frustrated all climbers. The narrow gorge of Ultar conceals pastures and a glacier that cannot be seen from the valley floor. The walk up Ultar’s steep nala can be an unforgettable experience. Nonetheless, Ultar seems to be a peculiar crucible for the foreigners who approach it.