Another charm of this lake is to cross the 5000 meters mark by hiking up on the Rush Peak at 5100 meters.
The first milestone towards the Rush Lake is to reach the Hopar village in Nagar. Hopar is a fertile and broad bowl surrounded by golden brown Karakoram rocks and snow capped peaks. The famous Hopar Hilton is the only choice for the stay, food and camping. Like most of the Karakoram treks, here you will have to bring complete camping to move on.
Right behind the Hopar Hilton and at the end of Hopar village, the Baulter (Hopar) glacier is the start of trekking. You need to cross two glaciers before climbing up to the Rush Lake and Peak. Carry enough water for about 5 difficult hours on the glaciers.
If you don’t have any local porter of guide with you, follow any villager who is crossing the glacier and ask for Shishkin. Continue scrambling up and down on the solid ice, sand and stones till you reach the land across the glacier and lateral moraine. By climbing up a steep path, crossing a level plateau and a descending again you will reach the Shishkin. Now you are between the Hopar and Barpu glaciers and about to cross the Barpu glacier.
It is another difficult half an hour ascending walk to the Barpu Glacier. This is the point where both Hopar and Barpu Glaciers join each other. It takes about an hour to cross the Barpu glacier and the moraine. The Barpu Giram is at 3000 meters and a further half an hour walk. A summer settlement with Gujjars’ huts and goats is the indication of Barpu Giram and the camping place. Most trekkers camp here for the first night.
The next destination is the Gutens which is a steep ascend taking you to 4000 meters. Early morning walk is the best option for this steady ascending of 2 hours. By reaching at the top of ridge you are walking on, the views of Hispar region and a number of 7000 meters high peaks are superb. Another 2 and half hours trekking takes you to the Gutens. It is possible to camp at the Gujjars’ settlement to spend a night before another 4 hours trekking to Rush Lake.
The trek ahead is full of magnificent views in every direction on a grassy ridge and a fresh water stream en-trek. The Rush Lake is at an altitude of 4760 meters. This is an amazing height with a beautiful lake and tremendous views of surrounding areas. You can camp beside the lake and can attempt the Rush Peak. From the 5100 meters height, all peaks of Hunza and Nagar are in view. The list includes Ultar, Passu, Batura, Golden, Malubiting and Miar etc.