Pakistan - Indus 2025

The infamous Indus, with a rich history linked to the Silk Road, fabled interactions of Genghis Khan and the Shahs of Persia and the more recent history of the whitewater exploration that seemingly begun with the ‘Taming the Lion’ expedition in 1990. Although there were attempted descents in the 50s and 70s in various watercraft. My personal knowledge of the river prior to going to Pakistan was snippets of the trip in 2008 and similar from Aniol’s series of trips from 2016. Prior to to putting on knowing we had higher flows, Aniol’s beta was simple, “Rhondu goes better with higher flows, get it”. In more recent years its been great to see some more Kiwi boaters, Harry, Manu, Will, Archer and others I am sure, finding their way to Pakistan and experience what I will now say is the most incredible river I have had the pleasure of paddling. 

Ari and I (Jordy) had our team slip away from us in the months leading up to our trip, but fortunately in the witching hour DK (Ryan O’Conner) signed on and made us three. This would be our first piece of advice for the indus

1. Ideal numbers would be 4-6, less and you’re isolated running rapids and more might add too much time.  That said, the American crew who lit up the Indus while we were there had 7 and their second lap was 3 days and only 5 portages. 

We planned two weeks in country, which turned out to be plenty for what we were trying to achieve on this trip. There is a lot to do if you had longer, Hunza, Astore, Shyok, Upper Indus, Gilgit and thats not even getting obscure yet. In terms on logistics, the answer is simple and the second piece of advice 

2. Contact Golden Peak Tour - Ali Khan. They will give you a loose itinerary and a reasonable estimate. You can change it on the fly if required. They provide transport, permits, organise camps or guesthouses, sort food and everything. They even have a stock of boats people can hire AND/or store the boats people leave behind so people can buy them to avoid the risk of flying (not flying) with one. 

We opted to fly to Skardu and warm up on the Upper Indus and Shyok, where the Americans did the 2 (short) day drive up from Islamabad and warmed up on the Hunza. The value of the second approach, maybe, is then you drive up the Indus to put on. So you get to see sections of the river. That said, I kind of liked the surprise of not really knowing whats coming next. 

We got kinda tangled up in bureaucracy going to the Upper Indus, it’s a little tighter there as it is the closest border to India. We paddled a short section but it was late in the day so wanted to move on, but it sounds like there is more to enjoy above what we did. The next day we did the Shyok which was a great warm up, but both these rivers mainly left us with one thought… they both felt big and they come together to from the Indus which drops into the Rhondu Gorge. 

Staging for the Indus you will be in Skardu and I would suggest (although Ali/Golden Peak will sort) staying with Ayaz at K2 Paradise. Was the best accomodation up in Gilgit-Baltistan we have. There is decent food in Skardu and plenty of supplies… although you do arrive to camp every day with everything prepared for you while on the river. That said, the third piece of advice is

3. Take some bars/river snacks you’re used to. There are plenty of dried fruit, nuts and chocolate bars but I was stoked to have some OSMs for the river. The camp kitchen does provide a lunch to take on the river, such as Roti and boiled eggs or an omelette but we found simple bars to be best. 

From here we were pretty keen to put on the Indus as it just felt like we were waiting, so we put on a day behind the American crew. This turned out to be quite cool as we shared camp with them and exchanged stories from our days. It sounds odd writing this, but we did about 3-5 hours per day on the river. Erring on the 3-4 end. And so did the Americans. It was generally putting on around 10am and taking off 2pm, and this felt like enough. It’s hard to believe when paddling it, but the first 2-3 days are the easier days. But make no mistake, there Indus can always get you. Owen and Gibby found that out, after running and rapid and give the boys a thumbs up… just to fall victim to an innocuous MASSIVE hole that swam them. I got lit up running a sneak… which turned out to be 100m of steep high-water Whitcombe like rapids. Depending who you are and what you’re preference around connectivity is, this is probably a good place for our fourth piece of advice:

4. SCOM is the only telecommunications provider that works in the Rhondu and overall is superior in Gilgit-Baltistan. You dont get this provider via your ESIM, but you can go into the store in Skardu and get a physical SIM card. The process is a little convoluted, requiring passport, visa, some top up cards etc.. but your driver/team will help you with this. 

Ryan definitely was definitely firing the hardest the first couple of days, running a few that Ari and I elected to portage. But before we got to Malupa, Ari had adjusted to the sheer size of things and he definitely beginning to become more bold. Ari and Ryan had clean lines and I decided it wasn’t for me that day. The next day, morning of day 3, I think, our small team size became an issue. We had taken out above Natural Progression the day prior and that was to be the breakfast rapid. I planned to run it first, followed by Ryan as safety for one another and Ari taking media. I got absolutely tossed, but came through all good, Ryan actually had a better line but in the process of getting power flipped caught his recently injured left shoulder and strained it. Once Ari paddled down we decided to have a short/lay over day in the hopes Ryan would recover and be able to paddle some. 

Unfortunately a nights rest did not quite give Ryan the confidence in his shoulder he needed to put on the river, so Ari and I had a day with just the two of us. This really changed the dynamic of things, may more isolated, running stuff 1-2, no media (except Ryan roadside with the team) and the thought in the back of our minds that any event now might actually end the trip for everyone. That all said, we had a good day and made up a lot of ground we had lost by taking a layover day. It was impressive to see Will Paytons drop, Ari thought about running the second part but it was blood high and quickly feed into the stuff downstream. 

Another night at camp with ample Pakistani Chai (tea) and DK was actually feeling a lot better. He had better range of motion of his left arm and so figured he would put on and see how it went. It became a slightly more conservative approach but that only goes so far on the Indus. Ari was carrying the team as we entered the last day. Jordy had a deep swim having failed to get left of a big pour over and Ryan was still protecting his shoulder some. The drone had broken, Ari had resigned to not carrying his camera and we were keen to punch it out and get it finished. We portaged the impressive Next Generation and then paddled down the left side of “Lost in the Indus’, as instructed by the Americans. Again, the sneak was long and massive and Jordy was selected as the 1 of 3 for quite a full on beat down and swim. That was quickly tided up by DK. From here we safely got down to the confluence which heralded the takeout. This place is unique in that it is where the Himalaya, Hindu Kush and Karakoram all come together. 

All in all The Rhondu Gorge section of this Indus is like nothing else we have experienced. The shear size of things, the number of rapids and how well most stuff goes is unfathomable. Essentially everything is optional and Aniol was right, maybe, in that it’s better at higher water. 

Traditionally when we finish a big river trip we would partake in some form of celebratory drink, but with Pakistan being Islamic there are very few offerings available for this. Which is out final piece of advice:

5. Foreigner can take in a measured amount of alcohol for personal comsuption. 1-2 bottles would be acceptable. We actually enjoyed there lack of after river beers while in Pakistan, but definitely felt the void once completing the Indus. Also, we were invited to a prominent persons house at the end of our trip and it would of been nice to provide them with some liquor to share, as they delved into their own personal stocks while hosting us. 

For those who have made it all the way to the bottom of this post, there is a rewards. In lieu of not having celebratory bubbles like the Saryjaz or beers like the stikine or imported liquour like after your first Myrkdalen… we had to make do with what we had. And the was a sodden pack of R6s that DK had in his dry bag. So here is it, the first and only cigarette Ari and I will ever smoke. A moment for many reasons the 3 of us will never forget.