Is Gilgit-Baltistan safe for tourists? For Pakistani travellers, mostly yes. Hunza, Nagar, Skardu, Shigar and Khaplu are among the calmest places to travel in the country, and hundreds of thousands of domestic tourists visit every year. The risks most likely to hurt you are the roads, floods and altitude, not crime. Security is not zero, though: 2026 began with deadly unrest in Gilgit and Skardu, and Diamer district, around Chilas, has the worst record in the region. Read the news in the week before you go.
This guide looks at each risk in turn, what has actually happened recently, how local people see visitors, and what overseas travellers should know about their own government's advice.
| Risk | How it looks in 2026 | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Day-to-day security in Hunza and Baltistan | Calm, with unrest possible around political or religious flashpoints | Check local news before and during the trip |
| Diamer: Chilas, Tangir, Darel | Past attacks and frequent road sit-ins | Drive through in daylight; don't wander off the highway |
| Road accidents | The most common serious risk | Daylight driving, a rested, experienced driver |
| Floods and landslides | Highest in July and August | A spare day; stay off riverbanks |
| Altitude | Khunjerab, Deosai, Babusar | Short visits, move slowly |
| Help and hospitals | Main hospitals in Gilgit and Skardu | First-aid kit; Rescue 1122, Tourist Police 1422 |
Security: what has actually happened
March 2026: unrest in Gilgit and Skardu
On 1 March 2026, after Iran's Supreme Leader was killed in US and Israeli strikes, protests in Gilgit and Skardu turned violent. Offices were set on fire, including UN offices in Gilgit, and more than 20 people were killed in clashes. The army was deployed, both cities were put under curfew, and mobile and internet services were suspended. The curfew in Skardu lasted until 12 March, when flights and phone services resumed. Visitors caught in Skardu were escorted out by police.
The lesson is not that Gilgit and Skardu are dangerous, but that events far away can close them within hours. If trouble starts, stay in your hotel, follow curfew orders, and keep enough cash and medicine for a few days without phones.
Diamer and the road through Chilas
Diamer district, which the Karakoram Highway crosses between Kohistan and Gilgit, has the most serious security history in Gilgit-Baltistan:
- June 2013: gunmen killed eleven people, ten of them foreign climbers, at the Nanga Parbat base camp on the Diamer side of the mountain.
- December 2023: gunmen fired on a passenger bus near Chilas, killing ten people.
- February 2026: a roadside bomb hit a Frontier Works Organization vehicle on the Tangir road, killing its driver.
Protests close the highway in Diamer too. In April 2026, people affected by the Diamer-Bhasha dam held a sit-in at Chilas and Thor for several days, stranding hundreds of travellers.
Pakistani travellers drive through Chilas every day in summer, and Fairy Meadows, reached from Raikot Bridge in Diamer, is busy with families. Drive this stretch in daylight, follow instructions at checkposts, and don't take side roads into Tangir or Darel.
The road in through Kohistan
Most visitors reach Gilgit-Baltistan on the Karakoram Highway through Kohistan, which is in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, not GB. This stretch has seen attacks, including the March 2024 suicide bombing near Besham that killed five Chinese engineers and their Pakistani driver. The UK government advises against all travel on the highway between Mansehra and Chilas. From late May to autumn, the Babusar road through Naran avoids it altogether; our comparison of Babusar and the KKH weighs up the two.
Roads: the risk most likely to affect you
For most visitors, the roads are the biggest everyday risk. The mountain roads are narrow in places, with long drops and no barriers, and many drivers are tired, new to the gradients or pushing on after dark.
The jeep tracks need the most care. On 1 June 2026, a jeep taking tourists up the track from Raikot Bridge towards Fairy Meadows fell into the Tattu nala ravine, and seven people died. Our guide to the Fairy Meadows jeep track explains how to choose a jeep and what to check.
- Drive only in daylight. Rockfall, broken edges and unlit trucks are far harder to deal with at night.
- Use low gears on long descents, especially from Babusar and Khunjerab, and stop if the brakes smell hot.
- Hire local jeeps with local drivers for Fairy Meadows, Deosai and the Naltar lakes, and don't overload them.
Landslides, floods and glacial lakes
Every summer, glacier melt and monsoon storms send floods and debris down the side valleys. By late July 2026, Gilgit-Baltistan had recorded 89 flood incidents in the season, with 130 homes destroyed and 20 bridges washed away, and around 23 July the Karakoram Highway, the Skardu road and the Babusar road were all blocked at once.
Most of the time this means delay rather than danger, if you behave sensibly. Keep a spare day, drive early before the streams rise, never stop on the fan of a side stream or drive through flowing water, and keep off riverbanks and gravel bars. Our guide to checking Karakoram Highway road status lists who to ask before a long drive.
Altitude
Hunza and Skardu sit at 2,200 to 2,500 metres, which most people notice only on stairs. The risk is the day trips that climb fast by car: the Khunjerab Pass at 4,693 metres, Babusar Top at 4,173 and Deosai at over 4,000. Keep visits short, move slowly, drink water, and go down at once if anyone has a bad headache, vomiting or confusion. Anyone with a heart or lung condition should ask a doctor first. Our travel guide has more on altitude and health across the north.
How local people see visitors
Hospitality is taken seriously in Gilgit-Baltistan. Visitors are generally welcomed, helped when something goes wrong, and treated honestly, and crime against tourists is not what makes the news here.
The welcome has conditions, though. Local writers and residents have grown more vocal about what heavy tourism brings: litter along roads and in open spaces, reckless driving, concrete hotels replacing old buildings, and companies filming advertisements that ignore local values. Customs differ from valley to valley, and parts of Diamer are more conservative than Hunza or Baltistan.
A few habits keep you on the right side of it:
- Dress modestly, especially in villages and around mosques and shrines.
- Ask before photographing people, and don't photograph women without permission.
- Keep the noise down in villages and at night.
- Take your rubbish back with you. What is left at a lake or a viewpoint stays there.
- Be careful during Muharram, when processions in Gilgit and Skardu are serious religious occasions, not sights.
What overseas visitors should know
Foreign visitors should read their own government's advice, because it affects insurance. As of September 2026, the UK does not list Gilgit-Baltistan itself among the areas it advises against, but it does advise against all travel on the Karakoram Highway from Mansehra to Chilas, which is the usual road in. After the March unrest it briefly advised against all but essential travel to the whole region, from 13 March until 15 April 2026. Other governments' advice differs, and travelling against it can void your travel insurance.
Many overseas visitors fly to Skardu or Gilgit rather than drive through Kohistan. Check the UK's current Pakistan travel advice, or your own government's, before booking, as it can change quickly.
A simple safety routine
- Read the local news for Gilgit, Skardu and Chilas in the week before you travel.
- Keep a spare day, ideally at the end, for a closed road or a cancelled flight.
- Drive in daylight and check the road each morning.
- Carry your CNIC, the car's papers and enough cash for days when phones and card machines are down.
- Tell someone your plan before you lose signal in Kohistan, on Deosai or above Sost.
- Save the numbers: Rescue 1122, and the Tourist Police on 1422 inside Gilgit-Baltistan.
Who should think twice
For most Pakistani families, couples and friends, Hunza and Skardu are a safe and rewarding trip, and the right precautions are the ones above. Think harder if you would be driving through Kohistan and Chilas late in the day, if your trip falls in July or August with a fixed return date, or if the news that week shows protests in Gilgit or Skardu. In those cases, fly in, use the Babusar road in season, or move your dates. Our broader guide to whether it is safe to travel to the northern areas compares Gilgit-Baltistan with Swat, Chitral and Kashmir.
Frequently asked questions
Is Gilgit-Baltistan safe for tourists in 2026?
For most visitors, yes. Hunza, Nagar and Baltistan are calm day to day, although unrest in Gilgit and Skardu in March 2026 led to curfews and more than 20 deaths. Check the local news before you go and follow official advice if trouble starts.
Is Hunza safe for families?
Yes. Hunza is one of the calmest places in Pakistan for visitors. The risks are natural: slides on the highway, cold rivers and the altitude at Khunjerab.
Is it safe to drive through Chilas?
Thousands of travellers do so every summer. Diamer has had attacks, including on a bus near Chilas in December 2023, and protests sometimes block the highway there, so drive through in daylight and check the news first.
Is Skardu safe after the 2026 curfew?
The curfew ended on 12 March 2026, flights resumed, and visitors returned for the spring and summer seasons. Keep an eye on local news, since the March unrest began within hours of events abroad.
Is Gilgit-Baltistan safe for foreigners?
Many foreign visitors travel there each year, mostly without trouble. Check your government's advice, which may warn against the KKH through Kohistan, and make sure your insurance covers your route.
What is the biggest danger for tourists in Gilgit-Baltistan?
The roads. Accidents on mountain roads and jeep tracks, night driving and flash floods are the risks most visitors actually face, far more than crime or militancy.
