The Katpana Desert, also called the Skardu Cold Desert, is an expanse of sand dunes in the broad Skardu valley east of town, at an elevation of around 2,200 metres. It is one of the highest deserts in the world — cold enough in winter to be snow-covered, but arid enough in the rain-shadow of the Karakoram to produce genuine sand dune formations.
The visual incongruity of the desert is the attraction: rippling sand dunes with snowcapped Karakoram peaks visible behind them, and green irrigated fields supplied by the Indus and its tributaries on the edges of the sand. The desert is not large by Saharan or Central Asian standards, but it is unusual and genuinely striking in this mountain context.
The site is accessible by jeep track from Skardu and is popular with local tourists, especially Pakistanis visiting from lower-altitude cities who find the combination of desert and alpine scenery unexpected. Jeep hire in Skardu will include Katpana in most half-day tours of the valley. The best light is early morning or late afternoon when the dunes cast strong shadows.