Kachura Lakes Skardu (Most Beautiful Lakes of Pakistan)

The Kachura Lakes are two lakes in the Skardu District of Gilgit-Baltistan, Northern Pakistan. The lakes, at 2,500 meters (8,200 ft) in elevation, are Upper Kachura Lake and Lower Kachura Lake. The latter is also known as Shangrila Lake and is within a tourist resort named Shangrila Resort outside the town of Skardu.
Shangrila was named after a book titled “Lost Horizon” by James Hilton. In the novel, the author narrates a tale in which an Aeroplane crash landed near a riverbed, in the early 1920’s.

Location, Area & Surrounding:

It can be easily accessed from the Skardu City. Kachura Lake is a beautiful lake in Skardu District at a distance of about half hour drive from the Skardu City. The lake contains the fresh water with a depth of 70m surrounded by the forest mainly consisting of the Apricot and Conifer forest.

It can be accessed from the Skardu City easily. The Indus River (Pakistan’s Largest River) passes nearby at lower elevation.

Specialty In Meal:

One can enjoy the view of the snow-capped mountains and can enjoy the trout fishing, hiking and mountaineering of the Western Himalayas. Surrounded by the forest mainly consisting of the Apricot and Conifer forest.

There are two Kachura lakes in the Skardu District of Gilgit-Baltistan, northern Pakistan.

The Two Beautiful Kachura Lakes:

Upper Kachura Lake
Lower Kachura Lake

The lakes are in the Karakoram mountain range of the western Himalayas, the greater Kashmir region, and in the Indus River basin.

01 – Upper Kachura Lake

Upper Kachura Lake is of clear water and has a depth of 70 meters (230 ft). The area is has a rich flora of the Western Himalayan Subalpine conifer forests eco-region, and also known for its wild apricot Prunes Armeniaca Orchards. In winter the surface is frozen solid. The upper Indus River flows nearby at a lower elevation. In summer it has a temperature of 15 °C (59 °F).

The beauty of the Upper Kachura Lake is almost unhampered and mostly unexplored by travelers, due to lack of infrastructure owing to its rough land Recreation activities at Upper Kachura Lake include hiking, trout fishing, and Himalaya mountaineering.

02 – Lower Kachura Lake

Shangrila Lake or Lower Kachura Lake is a part of the Shangrila resort located at a drive of about 20 minutes from Skardu (nearly 2,500 m or 8,200 feet) town. Shangrila was established in 1983 with the opening of the first Resort Hotel in Skardu, Baltistan. It was named “heaven on earth” because of its spectacular beauty, and breathtaking view and peaceful atmosphere. Shangrila Resort Hotel was founded by the late Brig. (Rtd) Muhammad Aslam Khan, the first commander of the Northern Scouts of the Pakistan Army.

It is a popular tourist destination, and has a unique restaurant that is built on the fuselage of an aircraft that had crashed nearby. The surviving passengers came across some Buddhist monks from a nearby temple and sought their help. They were taken to a beautiful lamasery filled with a variety of fruits and flowers. The monks looked quite young, although they claimed to be hundreds of years old. The idyllic place was called Shangrila, a Tibetan word meaning “Heaven on Earth”.