Khewra Salt Mine: Ticket Prices, Timings and What's Inside

The Khewra Salt Mine ticket price is about PKR 475 for a Pakistani adult and PKR 265 for students, children aged 2 to 12 and senior citizens, according to the rates published by the Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation (PMDC), which runs the mine (2025–26). The train ride into the mine is extra, at about PKR 285 per person, and children under two go free. The mine is listed as open from 9 am to 6 pm every day, and a visit takes about an hour and a half to two hours.

One thing to check first: in August 2026 the mine was closed to visitors until the end of the monsoon, after heavy rain raised the water in its ponds. Make sure it has reopened before you drive out. This guide covers the full price list, what the train is for, what you see inside, and how to make the most of the visit.

Khewra Salt Mine ticket prices

PMDC's published rates, which include tax, are:

So a Pakistani family of two adults and two children who all take the train pays roughly PKR 2,620 at 2025–26 rates, plus parking. Without the train, the same family pays about PKR 1,480.

Prices go up every year or two: the adult ticket was PKR 400 in 2024. Treat these figures as a guide, carry cash, and pay whatever is posted at the ticket office. Students need their original student card, and everyone should carry a CNIC or, for foreigners, a passport. A ticket is for one entry.

Parking is charged separately at the gate, a small fee that was under PKR 100 for a car in 2025–26.

Is the train worth it?

The train is a narrow-gauge electric line that carries visitors along the main tunnel from the entrance into the heart of the mine. It saves part of the walk through the tunnel, and for children especially it is part of the fun: a short ride into the hill between walls of salt.

Take it if you have small children, older parents or anyone who tires easily, because there is still plenty of walking once you are inside. Skip it if you are fit or on a budget, or on a busy day when there is a long queue for the train. The entry ticket without the train still gets you in.

When is Khewra Salt Mine open?

PMDC lists the mine as open from 9 am to 6 pm every day, including Sundays and gazetted holidays. Some listings give an earlier closing time, so don't cut it fine: arrive by early afternoon, and earlier on weekends and holidays, when queues build at the ticket office and the train.

The mine can close without much notice. In August 2026 PMDC stopped visitor entry until the end of the monsoon because heavy rain had raised the water in the ponds inside the mine and increased the moisture, and the manager asked visitors to postpone their trips. Monsoon closures may happen again in future years, so between July and September especially, check PMDC's tourist page or its social media, or ring ahead, before setting off.

The best time to visit is a weekday morning in the cooler months, from October to March. Inside, the temperature barely changes through the year, so in summer the mine is a relief from the heat outside, but the drive and the walk from the car park are hot.

What is inside the mine?

Khewra is the largest salt mine in Pakistan and one of the largest in the world. Its tunnels run for about 40 km and reach roughly 730 metres into the mountain, and it still produces several hundred thousand tonnes of rock salt a year. Visitors see only a small part of it, on a lit route through old working chambers. PMDC developed the site as a tourist resort, which opened in 2003.

Legend says the salt was found when the horses of Alexander the Great's army were seen licking the rocks here in 326 BC. It was mined in Mughal times, and in 1872 a British mining engineer, Dr H. Warth, developed the main tunnel.

The highlights on the tour:

• The salt mosque, built from bricks of rock salt in different shades of red, pink and white.
• The Assembly Hall, a vast worked-out chamber about 75 metres high.
• Sheesh Mahal, the "palace of mirrors", where pale pink, translucent salt glows under the lights.
• Pul-e-Sarat, a narrow salt bridge without pillars over a brine pond said to be about 24 metres deep.
• The brine ponds, pools of saturated salt water lit in different colours.
• Salt models of Minar-e-Pakistan, the Great Wall of China, Murree's Mall Road and Chandni Chowk.
• The post office, built of salt bricks, one of the mine's best-known curiosities. Ask your guide whether it is working on the day if you want to post a card.
• The Geological and Mining Museum, opened in 2013, which explains how the salt formed and how it has been mined.

There are refreshment kiosks and a souvenir shop selling salt lamps and other salt souvenirs. Our separate guide to getting there, how to reach Khewra Salt Mine, covers the drive and parking.

How long does a visit take?

Allow an hour and a half to two hours inside the mine, including the train, the walk and time for photographs. With the museum, the shops and tea, allow two and a half to three hours at the site.

PMDC's guides take visitors through in groups along the lit visitor route, explaining the chambers as they go.

Tips for the visit

• Wear flat, comfortable shoes. There is a fair amount of walking, some of it on uneven ground.
• Dress for the season outside, not inside. The mine stays at roughly 18 to 20°C, so ordinary clothes are fine in any month.
• Keep children close, especially near the ponds and on the salt bridge.
• Don't break off pieces of salt. The shop sells plenty.
• Anyone uneasy in enclosed spaces should know that the main tunnel is long, though the chambers are large and well lit. If in doubt, keep the visit short.
• Signal is weak or absent once you are deep inside, so agree a meeting point with anyone waiting outside.

PMDC also runs an asthma resort in the mine, where patients spend long stays underground in the salt air. It is listed at about PKR 25,000 for a course of up to ten days (2025–26). It is a separate booking, not part of the tourist visit, and anyone considering it should talk to their own doctor first.

Is Khewra Salt Mine worth it?

For most families, yes. It is an easy half-day from Islamabad or Lahore, it is cool in summer, children enjoy the train and the lit chambers, and there is nothing else like it in Pakistan. The scale of the Assembly Hall and the colour of the salt walls are genuinely impressive.

It is less rewarding if you dislike crowds and visit on a Sunday or around Eid, when the queues are long and the tunnels are packed. The salt models of famous buildings are also more fun for children than for adults. Go on a weekday if you can.

The mine combines well with the Katas Raj temples, about half an hour away on the road north through Choa Saidan Shah. Our Katas Raj guide covers the temples and their sacred pond. For more ideas on building a trip, see our trip planning page.

Frequently asked questions