Islamabad to Nathia Gali: Route, Drive Time and Parking

Islamabad to Nathia Gali is about 85 km by road and takes around two and a half hours in normal traffic. The usual route is the Murree Expressway up to Murree, then the Galiyat road along the ridge through Barian, Changla Gali and Dunga Gali. On summer weekends, at Eid and after a snowfall the same drive can take three to five hours, almost all of it lost around Murree and in the last few kilometres into the Nathia Gali bazaar.

The distance is short; the timing is everything. This guide covers each stage of the road, how long it really takes, when to leave and come back, the toll, where to park at the other end, and when the longer route via Abbottabad makes more sense.

The route, stage by stage

1. Islamabad to Murree on the Murree Expressway, about an hour. From Bhara Kahu the dual carriageway climbs steadily into the hills, past the Phulgran toll plaza, to Murree. It is well engineered and the easy part of the trip. In July 2026 the Murree police advised drivers to use the expressway rather than the old GT road to Murree, which was under repair.
2. Murree to Barian, about 14 km. At Kuldana, on the edge of Murree, the Galiyat road leaves the town; there is no need to go anywhere near the Mall. From here it is a narrow, winding two-lane road along the ridge, through forest, to Barian, a saddle with a small, busy bazaar. Barian is where the road enters the Galiyat from the Punjab side.
3. Barian to Dunga Gali, about 15 km. The road runs on through Changla Gali, one of the highest points on the route, past the turning for Ayubia, and into Dunga Gali, the start of the Pipeline Track.
4. Dunga Gali to Nathia Gali, 3 km. A short final stretch into the bazaar, which is often the slowest few minutes of the whole drive.

From Murree to Nathia Gali is roughly 32 km. Allow an hour to an hour and a half for it, because of the bends, the bazaars and the cars stopping wherever there is a view.

How long does the drive really take?

Midweek, with an early start, you can reach Nathia Gali in a little over two hours. On a normal weekend day, two and a half to three hours is realistic. On the busiest days, such as Eid, the 14 August holiday, school-holiday Saturdays and the weekend after the first snowfall, three to five hours is common.

The time goes in the same few places every time:

• The Murree junctions, at Jhika Gali and Kuldana, busy chowks where traffic for Murree town and the Galiyat splits.
• The Barian bazaar, where the road narrows between shops.
• Dunga Gali and Nathia Gali, where parked cars and people crossing the road slow everything to walking pace. A July 2025 article in The Friday Times described the Nathia Gali bazaar as virtually impassable by car even on a weekday evening, with massive jams at weekends.

Check live traffic on Google Maps before you set off, as the Murree police themselves advise. The earlier in the day you pass Murree, the less of this you meet.

When to leave, and when to head back

Going up: at weekends and on holidays, leave Islamabad by 7 or 8 in the morning. You will be through Murree before the day-trippers and parked in Nathia Gali by about 10. Midweek, a later start is fine.

Coming back: aim to leave Nathia Gali by mid-afternoon, for two reasons. First, cloud and fog settle on the ridge in the evening, especially in the humid months, and on the Kuldana–Barian stretch visibility can fall below 20 metres. Second, everyone else heads home on Sunday afternoon too, and the queue back through Murree can be long.

If you are staying over, the calmest plan is to arrive midweek, or on a Friday morning rather than Friday evening, and leave early on your last day. Our guide to the best time to visit Nathia Gali covers the seasons and the weeks to avoid.

Tolls, fuel and the car

• The toll. The Murree Expressway has a toll plaza at Phulgran. From 10 July 2026 the rate for a car is about Rs 300; toll rates have changed several times in recent years, so treat that as a guide. The plaza is M-Tag enabled, and M-Tags can be registered and recharged there.
• Fuel. Fill up in Islamabad or before you leave the expressway. Don't count on finding fuel along the Galiyat road, and in snow or a long jam you will want a full tank.
• The car. The road is paved all the way, and ordinary cars drive it every day in summer. What matters is brakes, tyres and the driver. Use a low gear on the long descents rather than riding the brakes, and give way sensibly on the tight bends, where buses and vans swing wide.

Parking in Nathia Gali

Parking is the tightest part of the trip. Nathia Gali is a small town strung along one road, and there is not much flat ground to put cars on.

• If you are staying the night, confirm when you book that the hotel has parking for guests, and ask whether it is on site or down the road. Then leave the car there and walk into the bazaar.
• On a day trip, arrive by mid-morning. Roadside spaces near the bazaar fill early at weekends, and circling for a space in the jam wastes more time than parking further out and walking.
• Consider Dunga Gali. If the Pipeline Track is your main plan, park in Dunga Gali, walk, and drive the 3 km into Nathia Gali later for food.
• Follow the traffic police. At peak times the Abbottabad traffic police direct cars to designated parking areas. Don't park on bends or in the bazaar itself.
• Don't park under unstable slopes. The Galiyat Development Authority advises against parking in landslide-prone spots, which matters most after heavy rain or snow.

Once the car is parked, most of the town is on foot anyway. Our guide to places to visit in Nathia Gali shows what is within walking distance and what needs the car.

The other way: via Abbottabad

The alternative is to take the M-1 towards Peshawar, turn north onto the Hazara Motorway (M-15), and leave it at Havelian for Abbottabad. Islamabad to Abbottabad is about 120 km, around two hours. From Abbottabad the road climbs east through Harno and Bagnotar, about 32 km and an hour to Nathia Gali.

That makes roughly 150 km and three hours or more, so it is longer on an ordinary day. It makes sense when:

• Murree is jammed, on a holiday weekend or after snow, and the motorway route avoids it entirely.
• You are combining the trip with Abbottabad or Thandiani.
• You are coming from Peshawar or anywhere west, when the Abbottabad side is the natural approach anyway.

You can also go up one way and come back the other, which turns the drive into a loop along the whole Galiyat ridge.

Driving in winter and after heavy rain

Snow. From December to February, and sometimes into March, snow can close the Galiyat road. After the heavy storm of late January 2026, the Abbottabad–Murree road was blocked from Bagnotar to Barian, which is to say along almost the whole Galiyat ridge. In severe spells the authorities also stop tourist traffic at Barian and Harno, the two entry points. The Galiyat Development Authority's standing advice is to carry warm clothes, keep the tank full and carry snow chains.

Two rules matter more than any other. If the police say the road is closed, turn back. And never sit in a stationary car with the engine running if snow may have blocked the exhaust: many of the 23 people who died in the Murree snowstorm of January 2022 were in their cars.

Rain. In the monsoon, landslides close the road for hours at a time. One at Batangi on 24 August 2025 shut the road and left tourists stranded, and in September 2025 the Pakistan Meteorological Department warned of landslide risk across Murree and the Galiyat. After heavy overnight rain, wait for news of the road before setting off.

Without a car

Public transport works, but it is slow. The usual way is a van from Rawalpindi or Islamabad to Murree, then a local van from Murree on to Nathia Gali, changing once. Vans also run up from Abbottabad. With a family or luggage, hiring a car with a driver for the trip is far easier, and it means nobody has to drive the ridge tired on the way back.

Is Nathia Gali a good trip from Islamabad?

For a night or two, yes. It is higher and cooler than Murree and far less built up, with real forest and good walks within minutes of the hotels, all within a morning's drive of the capital.

As a day trip it works only with an early start and a midweek date. On a summer Saturday, five hours in the car for four hours in Nathia Gali is a poor trade, and a night there changes the whole experience. If you are staying, our guide to hotels in Nathia Gali compares the areas and prices.

If you are coming up from Lahore or Karachi, Nathia Gali fits well into a longer trip north. If you would like help putting the pieces together, tell us your dates and we will draft a route with realistic driving times.

Frequently asked questions