Makra Peak Trek

30^th November 2016

Hike to Makra Peak — Looking down from Makra Peak

Makra Peak's height of 3,885m makes it one of the highest mountains in the Mansehra District, Pakistan. I summitted Makra Peak in November 2016 on a 3 day trip. In Urdu language, 'Makra' literally means spider. Although the true reason behind this strange name is not certain, one of the reasons could be the fact that numerous routes can be taken to climb this peak, just like the numerous legs of a spider.

Hike Overview

Hike Difficulty: Moderate
Typical Hike Duration (One-way): 4 Hours
Trail Head: Paye Meadows
Trail Head Altitude: 2,895 m (9,500 ft)
Makra Peak Height: 3,885 m (12,746 ft)
Elevation Gain: 990 m (3,248 ft)
Hike Season: All year around
Guide: Available from Shogran or Paye
Porters: Available from Shogran or Paye
Car Parking: Available at Shogran

Trip Overview & Itinerary

Day	Time	Journey	Duration
Day 1	11:00am to 05:00pm	Islamabad to Shogran	6 hours
Day 2	08:00am to 08:30am	Shogran to Paye	30 mins
	08:30am to 01:30pm	Paye to Makra Peak	5 hours
	02:00pm to 05:00pm	Makra Peak to Paye	3 hours
	05:30pm to 06:00pm	Paye to Shogran	30 mins
Day 3	10:00am to 04:00pm	Shogran to Islamabad	6 hours

Reaching Makra Peak

Makra Peak's location is near Shogran which is located at a distance of 222 km from Islamabad. The journey from Islamabad to Shogran takes about 5 hours. We set-off from Islamabad in a Toyota Coaster just before noon and reached Shogran by evening.

At shogran a hotel was already booked for us where we stayed the night. There are many options for hotels in Shogran where you can spend the night before heading to Paye the following day.

Makra Peak Hike

The next morning we took a 30 min jeep ride from Shogran to Paye meadows from where the hike begins.

Paye meadows is one of the best tourists attractions in the region. In the summer, Paye is a lush green hilly meadow with amazing views of the surrounding mountains and valleys. In the winter season, the meadows are covered in snow which is equally pleasing to the eye. However, in the autumn season when we hiked to Makra, the grass had turned brown and the area was not appealing at all.

The mountain right behind Paye meadows is the Makra. We trekked across the "meadow" and once on the other side, we could see the trail that headed up the mountain.

For the first hour or so the trail had a very slight gradient and can largely be considered flat. Later on, at the base of the mountain, the trail disappeared. Makra Peak's route seems basically up to the hiker. You can choose to climb up however you like, as long as you are going up. Different members of our group took different routes to reach the top. The entire hike is above the treeline so you better choose a clear day to hike Makra. In case you run into bad weather, there won't be anything to take shelter under.

Makra Peak Trekking — Hiking up Makra Peak

Throughout the hike we were able to see the surrounding snowcapped peaks. Climbing Makra Peak in winter is common due to the added challenge of snow. This was supposed to be a snow hike as well but it hadn't snowed in the region yet. Near the very top the steepness reduced and the last 40 mins or so weren't that difficult. In the winter season, however, I imagine that there would be deep snow and covering even short distances would take a lot of effort.

After a total trekking time of about 4 hours we had scaled Makra Peak's elevation of 3,885 m. Makra Peak's weather was very windy and cold hence we did not spend more than 30 mins there before heading back down.

Because its a high altitude, cold weather hike, one can easily become dehydrated because we don't feel as thirsty in the cold even though our body is continuously losing fluids. So remember to keep taking small sips of water on a regular basis. Failure to do so might render you prone to headaches or illness which will spoil the hike and may even cause you to abandon the summit push. You can check out the recommended drinks and snacks to be taken along on such hikes.

The downwards journey obviously took far less time and we reached the jeeps in about 3 hours. We returned to our hotel and the next morning we headed back to Islamabad.

Equipment