Entry Fees for Tourist Spots in Gilgit-Baltistan

Entry fees for tourist spots in Gilgit-Baltistan are paid in cash at the gate, and few of them are published anywhere. The most recent figures we could confirm are PKR 1,600 per person at Altit Fort in Hunza for visitors from outside the valley, guide included (April 2025), and PKR 800 per person at Khaplu Palace (September 2025). Baltit Fort, Shigar Fort and the national parks at Khunjerab and Deosai do not publish their rates, so carry more cash than you expect to need.

Separately, the Gilgit-Baltistan government announced in January 2025 an entry charge of Rs 2,000 for tourist cars and Rs 500 for motorcycles coming into the region. This guide lists what each site charges, where you pay, and how to budget for the gaps.

What do the forts and palaces charge?

The four restored forts and palaces are the main paid heritage sites in the region. Each sets its own price, and none of them publishes a fee list online.

Altit Fort

Altit Fort, in the village next to Karimabad, was restored by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture with Norwegian government support and has been open to the public since 2007. Visits are by guided tour. As of April 2025, visitors from outside Hunza, whether Pakistani or foreign, paid PKR 1,600 per person including a local guide, while local residents paid PKR 200.

So at Altit the line is between residents of the valley and everyone else, not between Pakistanis and foreigners. Our Altit Fort guide covers the tour, the garden and the village below.

Baltit Fort

Baltit Fort, above Karimabad, was the home of the Mirs of Hunza until 1945. Its restoration was completed in 1996, and it is now a museum run by the Baltit Heritage Trust. The ticket includes a guided tour. The trust does not publish its prices, and recent visitor reports disagree, so we don't print a figure; budget for something similar to Altit and pay what is posted at the ticket office. Our Baltit Fort guide has the opening hours and how the tour runs.

Khaplu Palace

Khaplu Palace in Ghanche district is now a Serena heritage hotel, but day visitors can still see the grounds and museum rooms for a fee. A visitor writing in The News on Sunday in September 2025 paid PKR 800 per person at the entrance counter and thought it steep for local tourists. The foreign rate was not reported. See our Khaplu Palace guide for what the ticket covers.

Shigar Fort

Shigar Fort, north of Skardu, is also run as a Serena heritage hotel, and non-guests pay to see the museum and garden. Serena does not publish the day-visitor fee, and we have not found a reliable 2025 or 2026 figure. Budget as you would for Khaplu and carry cash. Our Shigar Fort guide has more.

What do the national parks charge?

Both parks most visitors pass through charge per person, in cash. The Gilgit-Baltistan Forest, Wildlife and Environment Department, which runs them, does not publish the current amounts.

Khunjerab National Park was set up in 1975 and covers the last stretch of the Karakoram Highway to the Chinese border. The fee is collected at the park station and checkpoint at Dih, 42 km below the pass and some 30 km beyond Sost. The foreign rate is set in US dollars. It was raised from 4 to 8 dollars in 2011, and we have found no published figure since. Our Khunjerab entry fee guide covers the checkpoint and the park rules.

Deosai National Park has been managed by the Gilgit-Baltistan forest department since 2006. The fee is collected at the park checkpost on the road in, whether you come up from Skardu or from Astore. See our Deosai entry fee guide for how it works.

Is there a fee to drive into Gilgit-Baltistan?

Yes, on paper. In January 2025 the Gilgit-Baltistan government issued a notification setting an entry fee of Rs 2,000 for tourist vehicles and Rs 500 for motorcycles coming into the region, to pay for roads, waste management and conservation, as reported by Profit at the time. The announcement did not say where the fee would be collected or whether local vehicles were exempt.

We could not confirm how, or how consistently, it is being collected in 2026. If you are asked for it at an entry point, pay it and keep the receipt in case you are asked again further on. It is not a park fee and does not replace the charges at Dih or Deosai.

Boats, bridges and other paid extras

Attabad Lake costs nothing to look at. Boat rides and jet skis are run by private operators from the jetties beside the highway, there is no official rate card, and prices vary with the boat, the length of the ride and whether you share it. Agree the price and the duration before you get on, and wear the life jacket. Our Attabad Lake boating guide covers the options.

The Hussaini suspension bridge, 194 metres long over the Hunza river, is listed as a toll crossing, but we could not confirm who collects the charge or how much it is. Keep some small notes handy rather than assuming it is free.

If you plan to fish, ask locally about a permit before you cast a line; no fishing charges are published centrally.

Permit fees for foreign trekkers and climbers

Under the GB Finance Act 2024 the government raised royalty and trekking fees for foreign expeditions by about 300 per cent, and the Central Karakoram National Park fee to as much as 300 dollars; Dawn put the average trekking permit at about 500 dollars in January 2025. On 28 February 2025 the Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Court suspended the increases, and by late April 2025 the matter was still undecided, as Dawn reported. If you are booking a trek in the Central Karakoram, ask your registered operator what applies this season and whether it is included.

What tends to be free

The views themselves. You pay nothing to see the Passu Cones from the highway, look over Attabad Lake from the shore, walk the bazaars of Karimabad or Skardu, or stop at roadside viewpoints along the Karakoram Highway.

How much cash should you budget?

Work from the figures that are confirmed and add a margin for the rest. A family of four from outside Hunza, all paying the full rate, would have paid PKR 6,400 at Altit Fort at April 2025 prices and PKR 3,200 at Khaplu Palace at September 2025 prices. Add the vehicle charge of Rs 2,000 if it is collected, then allow at least as much again for Baltit, Shigar and whichever national park is on your route.

A few habits help:

• Carry cash in small notes. Assume no card payments at gates and checkposts, and small notes save waiting for change.
• Draw money in Gilgit or Skardu, not on the morning of a trip to Khunjerab or Deosai.
• Ask your hotel the night before. Local staff usually know the current rate, which is more reliable than anything printed online, including here.
• Keep every receipt until you have left the area.

If you would rather not deal with fees and checkposts yourself, our Skardu and Deosai tour includes park fees and permits, and our Gilgit, Hunza and Khunjerab tour includes the Khunjerab National Park fees. For the wider picture on money, signal and documents, see our travel guide.

Frequently asked questions