There is a moment, about three hours after you leave the jeep track and walk up through the pine forest, when the trees suddenly open and you are standing in a wide green meadow. And right in front of you, so close it feels unreal, is Nanga Parbat; all 8,126 metres of it. That is Fairy Meadows. People usually go quiet here for a while.

The locals call it the home of fairies, and after one night you will understand the name. Evenings are for bonfires and cups of chai, nights are for one of the biggest skies you will ever see (if you have never watched the Milky Way with your own eyes, this is the place), and mornings are for the first light turning the mountain gold while the grass is still wet.

Getting here is half the story. The jeep ride from Raikot Bridge is famous for being one of the most thrilling in the north, and the walk after it passes through forest, over small wooden bridges and past shepherd huts. From the meadow, short walks take you to the Raikot glacier viewpoint and on toward Beyal Camp, the basecamp side of Nanga Parbat.

Come between June and September, carry a warm jacket even in summer because nights get properly cold, and give yourself at least one night. People who rush Fairy Meadows in a day see a meadow. People who stay see the mountain change its moods, and that is the part you remember.