Family Trip to the Northern Areas: Planning Guide

A good family trip to the northern areas is built around the youngest person in the car, not the most famous place on the map. Keep drives to about six or seven hours a day, finish in daylight, choose one or two bases rather than a new hotel every night, and pick places where the altitude is gentle and the activities are easy. For a first family trip that usually means the Galiyat, the Kaghan valley, Swat or the Neelum valley by road, or Hunza and Skardu if you can fly at least one way.

This guide covers which routes suit which families, how to split the driving, how to find rooms that fit everyone, which activities are safe for children, and which famous trips to save until they are older.

Which route suits your family?

Match the trip to the number of days and the ages of the children.

Three or four days: the Galiyat or Shogran

Nathia Gali and the Galiyat are two to three hours from Islamabad, and the walks are flat enough for small legs: the Pipeline Track between Dunga Gali and Ayubia is about 4 km and almost level. Shogran, above Kiwai in the lower Kaghan valley, has an open meadow where children can run about while the adults drink tea. The last stretch up to Shogran is by jeep, and our Shogran guide explains how that works.

One warning: older guides still recommend the Ayubia chairlift. The Galiyat Development Authority shut it in 2021 as unsafe, and it was still closed in 2025, so check before you promise it to the children.

Five or six days: Naran, Swat or the Neelum valley

• Naran, at 2,409 metres, is the classic family trip by road: six to eight hours from Islamabad, with Saif-ul-Malook reached by jeep from the bazaar. It is also the most crowded valley at Eid and on summer weekends.
• Swat is roughly five hours from Islamabad to the valley. Stay higher up, in Kalam or Madyan, rather than in hot Mingora.
• The Neelum valley climbs gently from Keran at 1,524 metres to Arang Kel at 2,554, so there is no sudden altitude at all. Our Neelum Valley Escape runs over five days, which is about right for a family.

A week or more: Hunza or Skardu

The big mountains are worth it with children, but the road is the hard part: two long days each way from Islamabad. If you can, fly to Gilgit or Skardu at least one way. From Gilgit airport, Karimabad is two to two and a half hours by car; from Skardu airport, the town is twenty to thirty minutes.

If you drive, split each way at Besham or Chilas, and don't try to reach Gilgit in a day. Our guide to driving from Islamabad to Hunza covers where to stop.

How long should you drive each day?

With children in the car, the limit is not the road; it is everyone's patience and the driver's concentration. The rules we plan by:

1. Six to seven hours of driving a day at most, less with babies or anyone prone to car sickness.
2. A proper stop every two hours, out of the car, with food and a toilet.
3. Leave early. An early start gets the long stretch done while children sleep and puts you at the hotel by mid-afternoon.
4. Finish in daylight. Mountain roads are much harder after dark, and the Babusar Pass is closed to night traffic.
5. Build in a rest day after every two driving days, or after any day over six hours.
6. Keep a spare day at the end of any trip that involves a flight or a high pass.

For car sickness on winding roads: seat the child who suffers in the middle or near the front where the law and the seat allow, keep eyes on the horizon rather than on a screen, stop before it gets bad, and give any medication before the drive, not once they feel ill. Ask your doctor what is suitable for their age.

Hotels and family rooms

Most hotels in Naran, Swat, Hunza and Skardu have larger rooms for families, though names vary: "family room", "suite", "executive" or simply a room with an extra bed. Ask specific questions before you book:

• How many beds, and what size? "Sleeps four" can mean one double and a mattress on the floor.
• Is there an extra-bed charge for children, and from what age?
• Can we have two connecting or neighbouring rooms? Often better than one crowded room for a family of five or six.
• How is the room heated, and is there hot water all day? Nights above 2,000 metres are cold even in summer, and power cuts are common.
• Is there parking beside the hotel? In Karimabad and Naran bazaar, some hotels are reached on foot from the road.
• Is the hotel on a steep path or up stairs? A lovely view up a hundred steps is hard with a pram and bags.

Book early for June to August, Eid and 14 August, when family rooms go first. Two or three nights in each place is the minimum that makes unpacking worthwhile.

Activities that are safe and fun for children

Water: boats yes, riverbanks no

• Attabad Lake in Hunza is the best boat ride in the north for families. Take a slow wooden boat rather than a speedboat or jet ski, go in the calm morning, and don't leave the jetty until every child is in a life jacket that fits. Our guide to Attabad Lake boating covers prices and what to check.
• Saif-ul-Malook and the Kachura lakes in Skardu have boats too; ask for child-size life jackets and keep children back from the edge.
• Rivers are the real danger. On 27 June 2025, a family group having breakfast on the bank of the Swat River near Mingora was swept away when the water rose suddenly; at least nine people died. Mountain rivers are fast, cold and can rise without warning after rain upstream. Don't let children paddle, and don't picnic on gravel bars or rocks in the stream.

Easy outings

• Baltit and Altit forts in Karimabad, for children old enough to enjoy a guided tour. The stairs are steep and the rooms dark, so it is less fun for toddlers.
• Shangrila Resort's grounds and Shigar Fort's garden near Skardu, both good for a slow afternoon.
• Katpana desert outside Skardu, sand dunes at 2,226 metres, best in the last hour of light.
• Marmots on the Khunjerab road and in Deosai in June and July, if the altitude suits your family (see below).
• Meadows at Shogran, Arang Kel and the Galiyat, for running about.
• Pony rides at Naran, Shogran and elsewhere; agree the price first and have an adult walk beside a small child.

Things to save until they are older

• The Hussaini suspension bridge near Passu: gaps between the planks and a big drop to the river.
• Fairy Meadows: a bumpy jeep track and then one to two hours on foot at about 3,300 metres.
• A long day at the Khunjerab Pass at 4,693 metres, especially with babies.
• Jeep safaris on rough tracks with toddlers on laps.

Altitude and children

Most of the places families stay are between 1,500 and 2,600 metres, where children are generally fine. The concern is day trips that climb fast: Babusar Top at 4,173 metres, Deosai at over 4,000 metres and the Khunjerab Pass at 4,693. Younger children cannot always say they feel unwell. Watch for unusual irritability, poor sleep, vomiting or a headache, and if you see them at height, go down.

Sensible rules:

• Sleep low, visit high. Go up for a short visit and come back down the same day.
• Keep the time at the top short, and don't let children run about at 4,000 metres.
• Talk to your doctor before the trip about babies and any child with a heart or lung condition. For some families, the right answer is to skip the highest day.

Our travel guide covers altitude and health across the north in more detail.

What to pack for the children

• Warm layers, a hat and gloves, whatever the month; high places are cold even in July
• Sun hats and sunscreen, because the sun at altitude burns fast
• Snacks and water for delays in queues and at landslides
• Any regular medicines, plus children's paracetamol, oral rehydration salts and a thermometer
• Travel-sickness remedies your doctor has approved
• Child-size life jackets if you plan several boat trips; they are not always available
• Entertainment for the car that does not rely on mobile signal, which drops in many valleys
• The children's B-Forms, alongside the adults' CNICs

Is a family trip to the northern areas worth it?

Yes, if you plan it for the children rather than around them. Families who enjoy the north tend to do fewer places, drive shorter days and spend more time at each stop. Families who come back exhausted have usually tried to fit Naran, Babusar, Hunza and Skardu into a week by road.

If your children are under three, or if anyone gets badly car-sick, start with the Galiyat, Shogran or the Neelum valley, or fly to Skardu and stay put. With older children who like a bit of adventure, Hunza is hard to beat. Our Gilgit, Hunza and Khunjerab tour takes nine days along the Karakoram Highway, with two nights or more in most places and an experienced mountain driver, so nobody in the family has to drive tired.

Frequently asked questions