KPK Winter Trip: 5-Day Itinerary for Snow

This KPK winter trip itinerary gives you five days of snow in three very different places: a night in the pine forests of Nathia Gali, a night in Mingora, a night in Kalam at the head of the Swat valley, and a night at the Malam Jabba ski resort before the drive home to Islamabad. It works best from late December to February, when snow is most likely. You need a car that can take chains, dates you can shift by a day, and an eye on the news, because Swat carries a security advisory in 2026.

The plan below is built around short enough drives to arrive before dark every day, with a fallback for when snow or the news closes a road.

Before you commit: timing and road checks

Snow in KPK is most reliable from late December to February, but it arrives in storms rather than as a steady cover. In late January 2026, reports put the snow at about 58 inches at Malam Jabba, 30 at Kalam and 17 in Chitral, and roads were closed across Hazara and Malakand. A few weeks later, in February, more than a foot fell on the Galiyat and the Abbottabad administration closed the Nathia Gali road to tourists.

So plan around the forecast, not the calendar:

• Go a day or two after a snowfall, not during it. The snow is still fresh and the roads have been cleared.
• Book every night before you leave, so you are never looking for a room on an icy road at dusk.
• Check each morning. Call your next hotel, and the KP tourism helpline, 1422, which gives road and weather information for Hazara and Malakand around the clock.

Our guide to winter road closures in KPK explains which roads close and how to check them.

Day 1: Islamabad to Nathia Gali

Leave Islamabad by mid-morning and take the Murree Expressway, then the ridge road through the Galiyat to Nathia Gali, at 2,410 metres. In clear conditions it is about two and a half hours; after snow it can be much longer, so aim to arrive by early afternoon.

Spend the afternoon on foot. The Pipeline Track through Ayubia National Park is almost level and beautiful under snow, and St Matthew's Church above the bazaar is a short walk. Leave the climb to Mushkpuri for summer unless you are with someone who knows the path in snow. Our guide to places to visit in Nathia Gali has more.

Park once and walk. In February 2026 the Barian to Nathia Gali road was closed every evening after 5 pm because of the landslide risk, so don't plan an evening drive.

Day 2: Nathia Gali to Swat

Drive down to Abbottabad, about 32 km, then take the Hazara Motorway south to the M-1, head west towards Peshawar, and turn north onto the Swat Motorway. It runs about 80 km to Chakdara, and the last stretch is the valley road to Mingora. Check your M-Tag before you leave; it has been compulsory on the motorways since 15 June 2026.

Arrive in time for the afternoon in Saidu Sharif: the Swat Museum, and if there is light left, the White Palace at Marghazar, about 13 km away, built in 1940 and 1941 as the summer residence of the rulers of Swat. Sleep in Mingora or Saidu Sharif, where the choice of hotels is widest.

Day 3: Mingora to Kalam

This is the day that needs most care. Kalam lies about 100 km up the valley at around 2,000 metres, and the road through Madyan and Bahrain is still damaged in several places from the 2022 floods. In June 2026 the federal government approved PKR 1 billion for its repair, but in winter you should expect broken, icy stretches.

1. Leave Mingora by 8 am, with the tank full.
2. Fit chains as soon as the road turns icy or the police ask you to.
3. Stop in Bahrain for tea and a check on the road ahead.
4. Arrive in Kalam by early afternoon and walk out into the Ushu forest while there is light.

Kalam gets some of the heaviest snow in Swat, and in a good winter the town, the pines and the river are buried in it. The tracks beyond, to Mahodand and Utror, are closed in winter, so this is a place to walk, play in the snow and sit by a stove. Our guide to places to visit in Kalam covers the valley.

Day 4: Kalam to Malam Jabba

Drive back down the valley towards Mingora and turn off at Manglor, about 12 km short of Saidu Sharif, where the road to Malam Jabba climbs to the resort at 2,804 metres. The last climb is steep and often needs chains after fresh snow.

The resort has a ski slope of more than 800 metres served by a chairlift, and it offers skiing and snowboarding with lessons for beginners, as well as snow tubing and a zipline. Tickets for entry and each activity are sold separately, and prices have changed a lot in recent years, so check the current rates when you arrive. In February 2026 the Frontier Corps held a Swat Snow Festival here, with skiing and tug-of-war among more than twenty events.

Stay at the resort if you can, so you are on the snow first thing. The Pearl-Continental hotel there has 76 rooms; book it before you leave Islamabad. Our Malam Jabba guide covers the resort in detail.

Day 5: Malam Jabba to Islamabad

Ski or play in the snow in the morning, when the slopes are quietest, and leave by 1 pm. The drive down to Mingora and back along the Swat Motorway and the M-1 takes about five hours, which gets you home in the evening without driving the mountain section in the dark.

Is it safe to go to Swat in winter?

Pakistani visitors do travel to Swat in winter; in January 2026 Kalam and Malam Jabba were busy with families, and some hotels were fully booked. But Swat's security has worsened. On 2 August 2026 a suicide bomber attacked a peace rally outside the police station in Kabal, killing 17, and in September 2024 a roadside bomb near Malam Jabba killed a policeman escorting a convoy of foreign diplomats. The UK government advises against all travel to Swat, and overseas visitors who travel against their government's advice may find their insurance void.

If you go, keep to the main valley road, travel in daylight, stay away from rallies and crowds around police stations, and read the local news on the morning of each drive. If there is an attack or a security operation in Swat in the week before you leave, switch to the plan below. Our guide to whether KPK is safe for tourists has the wider picture.

Plan B: if the roads or the news turn against you

• A Hazara-only version. Two nights in Nathia Gali, a night in Abbottabad with a day at Thandiani if its road is open, and a final night in Balakot with a trip up to Shogran for snow by local jeep. None of it is on the UK's warning list.
• Swap the order. If the Galiyat are closed on day one, do Swat first and come back to Nathia Gali on the last day.
• Drop Kalam. If the Kalam road is closed after a storm, spend two nights at Malam Jabba instead.
• Wait a day. Most winter closures last a day or two. A spare day at the end costs far less than a night in a car.

What to take and how to prepare the car

• Snow chains that fit your tyres, and practice fitting them at home
• Good tyres, working heater and wipers, and antifreeze in the radiator
• A full tank before every mountain stretch, topped up in each town you pass
• Blankets, water, food and a torch in the car, not in the boot
• A charged power bank, and cash for a few days, since card machines stop when the network does
• Warm layers, waterproof boots, gloves and hats for everyone

If you are stuck with the engine running, keep the exhaust clear of snow and open a window slightly. In January 2022, 23 people died in cars trapped by snow in Murree, some from carbon monoxide.

If you would rather have the driving, rooms and road checks handled for you, send us your dates and we can plan a winter trip around the forecast.

Frequently asked questions