The 2025 mountaineering season in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), Pakistan’s adventure tourism hotspot, has experienced a devastating collapse with international climber arrivals plummeting by nearly 90%. Only 270 foreign climbers attempted iconic peaks such as K2, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum-I, Gasherbrum-II, and Nanga Parbat this year, compared to over 2,000 last year.
Extreme and unpredictable weather including avalanches, rockfalls, and high winds forced many expeditions to abandon attempts. The season saw just 40 summits of K2 and 25 of Nanga Parbat, with Gasherbrum-I witnessing only a handful of successful climbs. Domestic tourism also fell sharply, hitting local businesses hard. Over one million local tourists and 24,000 foreign visitors without permits had traveled to GB last year, but arrivals have since dropped alarmingly.
Several compounding factors contributed to this crisis: climate disasters worsened by global warming, ongoing geopolitical conflicts such as the Iran-Israel war, strained Pakistan-India relations, and disputes over increased permit fees have all deterred adventurers. The Alpine Club of Pakistan warns the collapse is triggering widespread economic losses, affecting hotel owners, shopkeepers, porters, artisans, and roadside vendors along the Karakoram Highway.
Maj Gen Irfan Arshad HI (M), President of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, emphasized that mountaineering is the lifeline of Gilgit-Baltistan and called on the government to urgently resolve policy issues and promote tourism to revive the sector. Local authorities and tourism stakeholders are also navigating challenges in disaster preparedness and infrastructure development amidst extreme weather patterns that have made the region increasingly vulnerable.
This sharp decline in tourism not only risks the livelihoods of thousands dependent on the sector but also highlights the broader impacts of climate change and regional instability on one of the world’s most treasured mountain adventure destinations.