Ever Heard of Gilgit?
 

A beautiful valley in Northern Pakistan

http://images3.jetphotos.net/img/1/5...1268519885.jpg

I'm sure I've read some great stories in the past about PIA's operations in there with DC-3s and F-27s.

Gets a couple of mentions from F-27 days in Alexander Frater's book "Beyond the Blue Horizon", starting with tall stories he was told about it, through to him reporting a discussion with PIA pilots who said it wasn't as hairy as it was often cracked up to be. Yes, you fly up a valley prone to low cloud, but there are sensible minima, which can lead to suspensions for days, and you can make a 180 if you need to pretty much anywhere along the way.

asuspine, Delete _tb from your URL - you're showing a thumbnail.

Been there & been into Skardu - now that was an interesting flight...!

Here

History of PIA - Pakistan International Airlines

is an interesting little trip report about going to Gilgit in F-27 days.

Somewhere up in the valley, probably in the town of Gilgit itself, I'm sure that there's a hotel which has an old PIA DC-3 fuselage in the grounds. I remember seeing pictures on Google Earth sometime in the past.

That hotel is in Skardu and it name is Shangrila. Hope you would like the new one as well. Cheers

Flying into Skardu was (don't if it is now) an "interesting" experience. If I remember rightly, the PIA flight was always scheduled for an early start so that they could delay it indefinitely if there was any cloud...

I was actually asked up front for an outstanding view of the Karakoram range as we flew into Skardu - got some great pics of K2 and Masherbrum somewhere...

The Shangri-La Hotel in Skardu is about as close to the mythical Shangrila as you could get - a beautiful crystal clear mirror calm lake, surrounded by stunning peaks and yes, the old DC3 in the grounds adds a little fun to the stay...It's a shame that this part of the world is so riven by political & religious problems as the tourism potential is massive....

Flight schedule is same as there is no change in weather pattern. Flying in and out of Skardu is still an exciting experience.