Karakar Pass: Swat to Buner Drive

Karakar Pass is the paved mountain road that connects Barikot, in the Swat valley, to Buner district, crossing the ridge at about 1,336 metres. From Barikot to the Pir Baba shrine in Buner it is about 43 km, which we measured on OpenStreetMap routing, and the road climbs through pine forest on the slopes of Ilam (Elum) mountain. It is the most direct link between the two districts and, for anyone coming from Islamabad by the Swat Motorway, the fastest way to reach Pir Baba.

Before planning the drive, note that both Swat and Buner are currently on the UK government's list of districts it advises against all travel to. This guide covers the route, what the drive is like, what changed after the 2025 floods, the tunnel being built under the pass, and how to judge whether to go.

Where the road runs

The Karakar road leaves the Swat valley at Barikot, on the Swat River between Chakdara and Mingora, and climbs east into the hills that separate Swat from Buner. OpenStreetMap names the two halves the Karakar Road to Pir Baba road (about 26 km) and the Jowar to Pir Baba road (about 16 km). The road passes through Elum Ghar and mature pine forest, crosses the ridge at the pass, and descends on the Buner side through Jowar towards Pir Baba and the rest of the district.

It is the road most people mean when they talk about driving from Swat to Buner, rather than the much longer route back down to the motorway and round through Mardan and Swabi.

The drive

The climb from Barikot is about 550 metres, from roughly 800 metres on the valley floor to 1,336 metres at the top, and the descent to Pir Baba is a little longer. The road is paved for its full length, and a normal car manages it in good conditions. It is, however, a genuine mountain road: narrow in places, with bends that climb steadily through forest, and no barriers or lighting. Routing software puts the 43 km at about 85 minutes of free-flowing driving; with traffic and photo stops, plan on an hour and a half to two hours.

From the top, the views open out over the Buner valley to the east, with the forested slopes of Ilam rising to the north. There is room to pull over and stretch, but little in the way of facilities at the pass itself.

Road safety on the pass

• Drive in daylight. The road has no lighting and unmarked edges in places.
• Check the weather first. Heavy rain affects visibility and brings debris onto the road.
• Keep a safe distance on the bends. Local traffic includes buses and loaded trucks that take the curves wide.
• Fill up before you start. Fuel in Barikot or in Buner; there is little on the pass itself.

After the 2025 floods

Buner was the district worst hit by the flash floods of 14 and 15 August 2025. Official tolls for Buner ranged from 158 confirmed deaths to 228, with about 200 more missing, and the Pir Baba area, at the Buner end of this road, was the hardest hit, with at least 90 deaths and a state of emergency declared. Daggar was also among the worst-affected areas.

As 2025 showed, streams in Buner can rise very fast in a monsoon storm. Between July and September, check the forecast and local news before setting out, and do not try to cross water flowing over the road.

The Karakar tunnel

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Highways Authority is building a tunnel to take traffic under the pass. Its project page gives a tunnel length of 2.22 km, 3.5 km in all with the approach roads, a contract cost of about PKR 9.18 billion, and a start date of 7 February 2023 with completion due on 6 February 2026. When we checked in October 2026, the same page still showed physical progress of 7 percent, so the tunnel is years from opening. Once finished, it is intended to cut about 11 km of mountain road down to about 3 km. Until then the pass road is the route, and it is worth asking locally whether construction traffic near the portals is slowing the drive.

A little history

The pass has been fought over before. In February 1586 a Yusufzai force led by Kalu Khan defeated a Mughal army here, killing the emperor Akbar's commander Birbal. Estimates of the Mughal dead range from about 8,000 to 50,000, and the battle is described as the greatest disaster the Mughal army suffered under Akbar. It explains why the pass appears in the region's history long before it became a tourist route.

Is it safe to drive Karakar Pass?

Pakistani families still visit Swat and Buner, and the road itself is in normal use. But on 2 August 2026 a suicide bombing at the Kabal police station in Swat killed 17 people, and as of September 2026 the UK government advises against all travel to Swat and Buner. If you hold a foreign passport, check your own government's advice before you go, because travelling against it can void your insurance. Everyone should check local news and current police advice before setting out.

Fitting it into a trip

Karakar Pass works best as a link rather than a destination: use it to combine a stop in Swat with a day around Pir Baba, Ranigat or Gokand in Buner, rather than driving up and back the same way. Our Swat, Buner and Shangla loop shows how the pieces fit together, places to visit in Buner covers the district's main sights, and the Pir Baba shrine has its own guide. Hikers heading up Ilam mountain from the Swat side generally branch off this same road. Our plan page can help with a wider route.

Frequently asked questions