At an altitude of 3800 meters, the ice melt Rama Lake is one of the famous and high altitude lakes situated right above Rama Meadows in Astore district of Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan. The lake is surrounded by mountain peaks ye the immediate surroundings of the lake are treeless due to illegal logging but the Rama Meadows at 3300m are thickly forested with huge trees including pine, cedar, fir, and juniper.

Attractions

Rama Lake is one of the key attractions drawing a significant number of domestic and international tourists every season.  Located in the backdrop of the southern ridge of Nanga Parbat (the Killer Mountain – 8126 m, the 2nd highest in Pakistan after K2) in the westernmost Himalayas, the lake displays a beautiful inverted image as a reflection of the snow-crowned ridge of the killer mountain on a clear day.

From Rama Lake, one can trek to the east side of the Nanga Parbat. The surroundings of the lake are home to a variety of flora including the medicinal plants and fauna including the golden marmot, ibex, musk deer, snow leopard and rock partridge. On the way from Rama meadows to the lake, there are three small lakes called Sarot in local Shina language.

Rama valley/meadow and Rama Lake are the must-visit tourist attractions for the visitors travelling to or from Deosai. The lake can be visited as a day excursion from Gilgit. An ideal itinerary usually includes Fairy Meadows, Rama, Deosai and Skardu for a week-long tour. To make it even more tasteful, Gilgit and Hunza can be added in the program.

Weather

The meadow is snowbound during winters and turns lush green in summers making Rama an ideal camping spot. The lake, likewise, is frozen in winters and one can swim on a warm day in summers. Rama Lake makes up a perfect half-day hike from Rama Meadows.

Access

Rama is one of the several valleys and a key tourist destination of Astore in Gilgit-Baltistan. Astore itself is connected to Gilgit which is well linked by air with Islamabad( subject to weather) and by road with Islamabad/Rawalpindi via the Karakoram Highway (KKH) round the year and via the Kaghan valley in summers. One can take a flight to Gilgit from Islamabad and drive to Astore from Gilgit by road.

From Islamabad keep driving to Gilgit along the KKH all the way to Raikot Bridge and proceed for another 20 minutes from the exit to Fairy Meadows, take the right turn at the sign displaying the direction to Astore and the journey of another 45 km (about 2 hrs) will lead you to Astore Bazar. Another 9 km uphill drive will take you to Rama Lake through Rama Meadows where locates the main campsite.