Gilgit Airport to Hunza: Taxi, Van and Timings

Getting from Gilgit airport to Hunza takes two to three hours by road. The airport is on the eastern edge of Gilgit, about 2 km from the city centre, and Karimabad, the main base in central Hunza, is roughly 100 km up the Karakoram Highway. The easiest way is a car with a driver, booked before you fly and waiting outside the terminal. The cheapest is a short taxi ride to the bus stand in Jutial, a shared van to Aliabad, and a local ride up the hill to Karimabad.

This guide compares the three ways of making the transfer, what each costs, where the vans leave from, and how to time the day around the morning flight.

Where the airport is, and which way you drive

Gilgit's airport is small, at about 1,460 metres, and only PIA flies here, on turboprops from Islamabad. From the airport, the road to Hunza crosses the river to Danyor and joins the Karakoram Highway, which runs north up the Hunza river. It is paved all the way, and once you are on the highway there are no turns to get wrong. Our guide to the Gilgit to Hunza drive takes the road village by village, including the Rakaposhi View Point at Ghulmet, the one stop worth making on the way.

Option 1: a car with a driver, booked before you land

This is the simplest way for families and couples. You arrange a car and driver through your Hunza hotel or a Gilgit rental firm, send your flight number, and the driver waits outside the terminal when you land. Most hotels in Karimabad can set this up; ask when you book the room.

What it costs. Expect a one-way transfer to be priced close to a full day's hire, because the driver has to go back the same 100 km. In 2026, firms serving Gilgit listed a Corolla-class sedan with driver at roughly PKR 6,000 to 10,000 a day, with Prados and Hiace vans costing more. Use that as a yardstick for judging a quote, not as a price. Our guide to renting a car in Gilgit explains what a day rate should include.

Before you pay an advance, agree these in writing, even if only by WhatsApp:

• The pickup: outside the terminal, and the driver's name and number
• The drop: your hotel's door, not the van stand in Aliabad. The last climb up to Karimabad is steep and narrow, and hotels higher up the slope are further still
• A stop for tea at the Rakaposhi View Point
• Fuel: included or extra
• A cancelled flight: what happens to the booking and any advance. Cancellations at Gilgit are common enough that the answer matters

If you want a car for your whole stay, hire it from the airport for the full trip rather than paying for a transfer and then finding local cars in Hunza.

Option 2: a taxi from outside the terminal

If you have not booked, you can still find a car at the airport. There is no taxi counter and no fixed fare, but drivers wait outside the terminal when a flight comes in, and taxis in Gilgit will make the run to Hunza.

Negotiate before anyone touches your bags. Say exactly where you are going, because Aliabad, Karimabad, Altit and a hotel up at Duikar are all "Hunza" but not the same drive. Agree the total fare for the car, not per person, and whether it includes a stop. The day rates above give you a sense of what is fair, and in July, August and over Eid, when local cars are booked well ahead, expect less room to bargain. Look at the tyres before you agree: it is 100 km of mountain highway.

Option 3: a shared van via Jutial

Shared vans are by far the cheapest way to Hunza, and they are how most people in the valleys travel. They do not leave from the airport, so the journey has three legs.

1. Airport to Jutial. Take a taxi to the general bus stand in Jutial, on Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Azam, the main road through the south-eastern side of the city. The Gilgit-Baltistan tourism secretariat is near the stand, and NATCO, the government transport company, has its Gilgit office on the same road.
2. Jutial to Aliabad. Ask for a van to Aliabad, the market town on the highway below Karimabad. Vans leave when every seat is full, so how long you wait depends on how busy the stand is; mornings are best. You pay per seat, in cash, and bags go on the roof. The run takes about two to two and a half hours, with stops at checkposts. Fares reported by travellers in 2026 ranged from roughly PKR 300 to 700 a seat, so ask at the stand for the current rate.
3. Aliabad to Karimabad. From the stand on the highway in Aliabad, local pickups and taxis make the short, steep climb to Karimabad. If you are staying in Gulmit or Passu, stay on the highway instead and look for a van going further north.

Stands and departure habits change, so ask your hotel the evening before which stand to use. NATCO's coaches also run up the Karakoram Highway towards Sost; its routes and fares are listed in its app and on the NATCO website.

Door to door, allow three to four hours. It suits light travellers; with children and suitcases, three vehicles and a wait at a hot bus stand rarely justify the saving.

How long does it take, and when should you set off?

By car, the drive takes about an hour and a half without stops and two to three hours in practice. The flight decides the rest. In 2026 the first PIA flight of the day from Islamabad, PK-601, has been scheduled to land a little after 8 in the morning, though timetables change with the season. On that flight you can be out of the terminal by 9, pass Rakaposhi before the midday cloud gathers on it, and reach Karimabad by lunch.

Later flights still leave plenty of time in summer. In winter it is dark by about 5 in the afternoon, and a delayed arrival can push the last part of the drive into the dark. If that looks likely, sleep in Gilgit and go on in the morning.

If your flight is cancelled, tell your driver and hotel straight away. Our guide to Gilgit and Skardu flight cancellations covers rebooking and the road alternative.

On the road itself, rockfall, glacier floods, Muharram processions through Nagar and the occasional sit-in can close the highway for a few hours. Ask your driver about the road before you leave the airport; the Gilgit-Baltistan Tourist Police helpline is 1422.

Straight to Hunza, or a night in Gilgit first?

For most people, go straight on. The drive is short, and Karimabad, at about 2,500 metres, is cooler than Gilgit in summer and high enough to notice only if you hurry up steep lanes on the first afternoon.

A night in Gilgit makes sense if you land late in the day, if you started before dawn and are tired, or if you want the Kargah Buddha or a day at the Naltar lakes before heading north. Our guide to whether to stay in Gilgit or Hunza compares the two bases in more detail.

Which option suits you?

• Families, older parents and anyone with a lot of luggage: a pre-booked car, terminal to hotel door.
• Couples: a pre-booked car, or an airport taxi if you are travelling light outside the peak weeks and happy to bargain.
• Groups of six or more: a Hiace or similar van hired whole, so everyone travels together with the bags inside.
• Solo travellers and students: the van via Jutial, ideally in the morning.
• Anyone landing in the afternoon in winter: a night in Gilgit and an early start.

If you would rather not arrange any of it, our Gilgit, Hunza and Khunjerab tour includes all ground transport with an experienced mountain driver, from arrival in Gilgit to departure, and spends its first two nights in Gilgit before the drive north.

Frequently asked questions