Karakoram Highway Distance Chart: Town by Town Kilometres

This Karakoram Highway distance chart lists the kilometres between the main towns on the N-35, from Hasan Abdal to the Khunjerab Pass. The Pakistani section is officially 806 km long. Add up the town-to-town figures that drivers actually use and you get roughly 820 to 860 km, because Gilgit and Karimabad sit just off the highway. From Islamabad, Khunjerab is usually quoted at about 870 km.

The figures below come mainly from the Gilgit-Baltistan tourism department's district maps, published by Pakistan Tourism, plus Wikipedia for the motorway section. Every figure is rounded and approximate. Use them to plan where to stop each night, not to time the drive to the minute.

The town-by-town distance chart

Read the chart from south to north. "Segment" is the distance from the town on the line above. "From Hasan Abdal" is a running total, rounded.

The motorway figure for Hasan Abdal to Thakot comes from the M-15's published length. Thakot to Besham is the rough figure Wikipedia gives for the gap between the two towns. Everything from Besham to Sost comes from the GB tourism department's road charts, which measure each town from Gilgit city or Chilas. The Sost to Khunjerab range is explained further down.

Distances from Islamabad

Most people start from Islamabad or Rawalpindi rather than Hasan Abdal. The tourism department's charts measure to "Rawalpindi/Islamabad" by the older road through Taxila, Abbottabad and Mansehra. The Hazara Motorway route will not match these to the kilometre, but they are close enough to plan with.

For the full trip, with night stops and how many days to allow, see our guide to Islamabad to Khunjerab Pass.

Why do Karakoram Highway distances differ between sources?

You will find Islamabad to Khunjerab quoted anywhere from about 700 km to more than 900 km. That is not because the road keeps changing length. Sources measure different things.

• The start point. The N-35 begins at Hasan Abdal, but most charts start from Islamabad, Rawalpindi or Taxila, and some from the old road through Abbottabad rather than the motorway.
• Off-highway towns. Gilgit city is across the river from the highway, and Karimabad sits above it. A chart that measures "to Gilgit" or "to Karimabad" adds a detour that the highway itself does not include.
• The end point. "Sost" can mean the old village, the customs post or the dry port, and "Khunjerab" can mean the border gate or the national park checkpoint at Dih.
• Realignments. Sections of the highway have been rebuilt and moved over the years, including the 24 km bypass with five tunnels around Attabad Lake, opened in 2015. Older charts may predate them.
• Rounding and copying. Many websites copy one another's figures without checking them.

Sost to Khunjerab shows the problem clearly. Wikipedia gives 75 km from the Sost customs post to the pass. The GB tourism department's Gilgit and Diamer charts imply about 106 km. Both may be correct for what they measure, so plan on the longer figure for fuel and time.

Turning kilometres into drive time

Don't divide these distances by motorway speeds. Once you leave the M-15 at Thakot, the highway is a two-lane mountain road with slow trucks, single-lane repairs, landslide clearance, checkpoints and villages to slow down for. A 100 km stretch that looks short on the chart can take most of a morning.

A few rules we plan by:

• Drive in daylight only north of Thakot, and stop before dark. Our guide to driving the KKH at night explains why.
• Break the journey at Chilas or Gilgit. Islamabad to Hunza in one go is possible but punishing.
• Keep a spare day for landslides, especially in the monsoon. Our Karakoram Highway road status guide covers how to check the road before you leave.
• Fill up before the long gaps. The stretch through Kohistan and the climb beyond Sost need planning. Our list of petrol pumps on the KKH shows where to refuel.

The Babusar alternative, and the safety question

In summer many drivers leave the KKH entirely between Mansehra and Chilas and go over the Babusar Pass on the N-15 through the Kaghan valley instead. The GB tourism department's chart puts Babusar Pass about 40 km from Chilas. The pass is closed by snow from roughly late autumn to late spring, so in winter the KKH through Kohistan is the only road. Our Babusar Top versus KKH comparison sets the two routes side by side.

There is also a security reason to think about the route. The UK government's travel advice, updated in September 2026, advises against all travel on the Karakoram Highway between Mansehra and Chilas, through Battagram, Besham, Dasu and Sazin, up to the N-15 junction. Gilgit-Baltistan itself and the Babusar route are not on that list. Pakistani travellers still drive the Kohistan stretch every day. If you do, check local news and police advice before setting off, and travel in daylight. Foreign-passport holders should read their own government's advice, because travelling against it can void travel insurance. Our guide on whether the Karakoram Highway is safe goes into more detail.

Using the chart to plan your stops

Most road trips up the KKH fall into a few natural stages:

1. Islamabad to Chilas, about 490 km by the Kohistan route, or over Babusar in summer. A long first day.
2. Chilas to Gilgit or Hunza, about 135 km to Gilgit and roughly 230 km to Aliabad, passing Raikot Bridge and Jaglot.
3. Hunza to Sost and Khunjerab, about 85 km from Aliabad to Sost, and Khunjerab beyond it as a day out and back.

If you are heading for Skardu, leave the highway near Jaglot. Our Skardu destination page covers the onward road. For Hunza and the border, our Gilgit, Hunza and Khunjerab tour follows the same stages over nine days.

The tourism department's district maps, including the Gilgit district map, carry the full charts if you want to check a figure yourself.

Frequently asked questions