Nanga Parbat, the Western anchor of the Himalayas lies in Pakistan. The name of the ninth-highest peak in the world translates to the “naked mountain”.
The locals believe that at the summit, is the “Shell-battekot”, which literally means, “The Castle of Glass-Stone”.
The famed castle is said to be constructed from crystal in its entirety. It also said to shield itself from view for outsiders, and those who disbelieve in its existence.
The palace is said to be the home of the barai and the pari’s, the fairies. It is their home, this castle, which also gives the mountain its nickname, Darmyul, which means inaccessible, for the fairies do not take kindly to visitors invading their space.
The peak remained unscaled till 2016, till the late Ali Sadpara, Simone Moro and Alex Txikon conquered it, followed by the Polish climber Tomasz Mackiewicz and Frenchwoman Elisabeth Revol. Sadpara was the legend who passed away while trying to scale the K2 in winter, along with Iceland's John Snorri and Chile’s Juan Pablo Mohr. He is also known for his attempt to scale the K2 without oxygen.
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