A week on the Karakoram Highway

The Karakoram Highway is, by some measures, the highest paved international road in the world. It tops out at the Khunjerab Pass at 4,693m and threads through three of the planet's great mountain ranges: the Karakoram, the Hindu Kush and the Pamir.

We took seven days to drive its Pakistani half — slowly, with stops in apricot orchards and at glacier-fed lakes. This is what we saw.

Day 1 — Islamabad to Naran

A long road north out of the capital, climbing all afternoon. By dusk you're at the trailhead for Saif-ul-Malook, the alpine lake at 3,224m. The water is so still it doubles the mountains.