Best Hikes in Hunza for Every Fitness Level

The best hikes in Hunza range from flat water-channel walks around Karimabad that anyone can manage, through the climb to Duikar and the steep day up to Ultar Meadow, to the glacier walks around Passu and Gulmit in upper Hunza. Most need no permit and no special gear, only good shoes, water and an early start. The season for all but the easiest is roughly May to October, with June to September the most reliable.

This guide groups the day hikes by where they start and how hard they are, with a realistic time for each. The times are for a steady pace with rests; add more if you have only just arrived in the valley.

Before you set out

Altitude. Karimabad and the Gojal villages sit at around 2,500 metres, so even an easy walk leaves you more breathless than it would in Islamabad. Save the hard hikes for your third or fourth day in the valley. Our travel guide has more on altitude.

Season. The channel walks and village paths work in any month, snow permitting. Ultar, Yunz and the glacier crossings are best from June to September, and colder, with snow or ice up high, in spring and autumn.

Guides. Village and channel walks need no guide. For Ultar, the Yunz valley and any glacier crossing, a local guide is worth having, because paths shift after floods and rockfall. Hotels in Karimabad, Gulmit and Passu arrange them. Whatever the walk, start early, carry plenty of water and treat stream water before drinking it.

Easy walks around Karimabad

The water channels

Karimabad lives off the irrigation channels that carry meltwater out of the Ultar gorge and along the hillside to the terraces. Paths run beside them, and walking a channel is the easiest way to see how the valley works: terraced fields, orchards, old houses and views across to Rakaposhi at every turn.

You can walk a short stretch in an hour or make a half-day of it. One well-known route climbs past the polo ground and follows the channel along the slope, with views over the whole of central Hunza. The paths are level but narrow in places, with drops on the valley side.

Altit to Karimabad

Altit is about 3 km along the hillside from Karimabad, and the walk between them takes under an hour on village lanes and field paths. It pairs well with a morning at Altit Fort and its garden.

The Queen Victoria monument

On a rocky outcrop above Karimabad stands the monument known locally as Malika Mo Shikari, thought to have been put up by Mir Nazim Khan in honour of Queen Victoria. The walk up from Baltit follows the channel above the polo ground and takes about an hour. The last part is a steep scramble over rock, so it suits older children and adults who are steady on their feet. The view down the valley from the top is the reward.

Duikar and Eagle's Nest on foot

Duikar is the village high above Altit whose viewpoint, Eagle's Nest, looks over the whole of central Hunza to Rakaposhi, Diran and Lady Finger. Most people drive up for sunrise or sunset; walking up from Karimabad takes about two and a half to three hours, much of it on or beside the steep jeep road.

The easier way to enjoy it on foot is the other way round: take a jeep up for sunrise, then walk down through Duikar and the fields above Altit in an hour or two, with the light still soft on the valley. The climb to the viewpoint itself from the village is only about 15 minutes.

Difficulty: moderate, because of the steady climb; the walk down is easy but hard on the knees.

Ultar Meadow: the big day from Karimabad

The one serious hike you can start from a Karimabad hotel climbs the gorge behind Baltit Fort to Ultar Meadow, a summer pasture at about 3,270 metres beneath the Ultar glacier and the spire of Lady Finger. It takes three to five hours up and two to three down, over steep, loose ground with some exposed sections.

It is the best day walk in central Hunza for fit walkers, and not one for children or anyone unsteady on rough ground. Our Ultar Meadows hike guide covers the route, the safety points and camping at the top.

Easy and moderate walks in Gojal

Upper Hunza, from Gulmit to Passu, has the widest choice of short walks, many of them to the snouts of glaciers that come almost down to the highway.

Ondra Poygah, Gulmit

A stone staircase of about 1,600 steps, built by Gulmit's community groups in 2020 and 2021, climbs from the Gulmit polo ground through the old village to the ruins of Ondra fort. From the top you see down the valley towards Attabad Lake and up to the Passu Cones. It is short but relentless: allow 30 minutes to an hour up, depending on your pace. The village charges a small ticket to maintain it.

Passu glacier from below

From Passu village a path of about 2 km leads to the lake and moraine below the Passu glacier, in 30 to 45 minutes each way. It is almost flat and suits families. Look at the ice from the moraine; don't walk onto the glacier or under its face, where rock and ice fall.

Borith Lake and the Hussaini glacier

Borith Lake is a small saline lake at about 2,600 metres, 2 km by road above Hussaini village and a stopping point for migrating ducks in spring and autumn. From the lake, a walk of about an hour each way takes you to the edge of the Hussaini glacier. It is a gentle half-day with a lakeside tea at the end.

The Hussaini bridge

The Hussaini suspension bridge can be part of a circular walk that crosses the river and comes back along the other bank. It is not difficult walking, but the bridge has wide gaps between its planks and sways in the wind, so it is not for anyone nervous of heights over fast water.

Harder days from Gulmit and Passu

Across the Ghulkin glacier to Borith Lake

The classic Gojal glacier walk leaves Gulmit or Ghulkin, crosses the rubble-covered Ghulkin glacier and climbs to Borith Lake, in about two to three hours. The glacier section is the only difficult part: the path over the moraine changes from year to year, and it is easy to lose. Go with a local guide, or at least with clear directions from your hotel on the day.

From Borith Lake a longer path continues to viewpoints above the Passu glacier, a further four to five hours, which makes a full day between Gulmit and Passu.

The Yunz valley

The Yunz valley lies between the Passu and Batura glaciers, behind the peak of Zard Sar. The path from Passu, marked by cairns, climbs steep, rocky and sandy ground to the Yunz pasture in two to three hours, with views over the Passu glacier on the way and towards the Batura glacier, one of the longest outside the polar regions, from the top. With the walk back it is a full and tiring day, and a guide is sensible.

Patundas and other overnight treks

For more than a day, the best-known short trek is to Patundas, a high pasture above the Passu glacier with views over the Batura glacier and the Passu Cones. It takes two to three days and crosses the Passu glacier, which needs a guide and proper equipment. Across the river in Nagar, the walk from Minapin to the Rakaposhi base camp is a very long day or, better, an overnight trip. Both are treks rather than day hikes.

Which hike suits you?

• Families with young children: the channel walks, Altit to Karimabad, the Passu glacier from below and a lakeside stroll at Borith. Our guide to Hunza with family has more ideas.
• Older parents or anyone with bad knees: a level stretch of channel, or the Passu glacier walk. Skip Ondra Poygah and Duikar on foot.
• Reasonably fit, one good day to spend: Duikar down to Altit in the morning, or the Ghulkin crossing to Borith Lake with a guide.
• Fit walkers who want a proper mountain day: Ultar Meadow from Karimabad, or the Yunz valley from Passu.
• More than a day: Patundas or Rakaposhi base camp, with a guide and a night out.

If you are basing yourself in Karimabad, the central Hunza walks need no transport at all. For Gojal, a night in Gulmit or Passu puts the glaciers on your doorstep; our guide to places to visit in Hunza shows what else is near each base, and our Gilgit and Hunza page covers the wider region. Anyone who wants to sleep out on the way should read our guide to camping in Hunza first.

Frequently asked questions