Hi guys! me and my friends (a group of 7-8 people) are planning a tour of Fairy Meadows, Astore, Deosai and Skardu from 29th June to 7th July .. none of us have been there previously so that is why I am asking for suggestions from you all as how to plan our trip and what should we expect over there?
Day 1 (29th June): Leave Islamabad on NATCO, reach Chilas by night, overnight at Chilas.
Day 2 (30th June): Leave chilas and reach Fairy Meadows by evening .. overnight at FM (please tell me how much time it takes to reach Raikot Bridge and Tato village from Chilas and how many hours of trekking is to FM?)
Day 3 (1st July): Make for Beyaal Camp and overnight at FM
Day 4 (2nd July): Leave for Raikot Bridge and head towards Astore .. overnight at Astore (How much travelling is it from Raikot Bridge to Astore)
Day 5 (3rd July): Leave Astore and head for Deosai .. brief stay at Sheosar Lake and then head towards Skardu via Sadpara Lake.. stay at Skardu (is it possible to do this all in a day? really need some information about this one)
Day 6 (4th July): Explore Skardu, visit to Shangrila and Upper Kachura Lake .. stay at Shangrila
Day 7 (5th July): Leave for Chilas via KKH (How much time does it take to reach Chilas from Skardu via KKH)
Day 8 (6th July): Leave for Islamabad.
Now this is what we have planned .. need your opinions on this... is it doable? and I also need some info about the rates of hotels and food over there (rates of Hotels at Chilas, Astore, Skardu and Huts at Fairy Meadows) .. is it possible to do camping at any of these places? we have our own camps and sleeping bags and have done camping in the past at Dudipat and Kashmir..
I also need a little advice about which NATCO bus we should take? a friend told me to take the one which leaves at 3 PM .. because the 8 AM bus has to stop for a long time at besham to form a convoy.. and what are the rates till Chilas?
Really looking forward to your replies .. thanks in advance!