Lowari Tunnel: Timings, Closures and Tips for 2026

The Lowari tunnel carries the N-45 under the Lowari Pass between Upper Dir and Chitral, and it is the reason Chitral can be reached by road in every month of the year. Since early August 2026 it has been open to all traffic again, after a short-lived NHA plan to close it for 12 hours a day, but its hours have been cut and restored several times since it opened in 2017. Check the current timings before you leave Dir, cross in daylight, and in winter expect snow on the approach roads, not the tunnel itself, to be what holds you up.

This guide covers how the opening hours have worked, the winter problem, queues and the toll that started in July 2026, what to keep in the car, and the state of the roads on either side.

Is the Lowari tunnel open 24 hours?

It is a two-way road tunnel that can run day and night, but since it opened in July 2017 the NHA has restricted its hours more than once:

• April 2019. The NHA cut it to four three-hour windows: 4 to 7 am, 9 am to noon, 2 to 5 pm and 7 to 10 pm, with the tunnel shut for six hours at night. Chitral's district nazim rejected the schedule outright.
• April 2024. A "soft operation" order closed the tunnel for 12 hours a day, in three two-hour breaks during the day and six hours at night, with heavy vehicles allowed through between 8 and 10 pm. The NHA's reason was that electrical and mechanical work inside was still unfinished.
• August 2026. The NHA issued another schedule closing the tunnel for 12 hours a day. It was rejected across Chitral, and by 2 August, after the deputy commissioner of Lower Chitral took it up with the NHA, the tunnel was reopened to all traffic. Its hours, traffic management and operating procedures are now meant to be settled jointly by the district administration and the NHA.

The hours keep changing because the tunnel has never been fully finished. In January 2026 vehicles were still being held in long queues for permission to pass, with interior work outstanding, and in August 2026 a Senate committee took up its delays and safety with the NHA. There is no timetable you can rely on from a website, this one included. Plan on the tunnel being open through the day, treat the night as the time most likely to be restricted, and ask at your hotel in Dir or Chitral the evening before you cross.

Driving through

The tunnel is two-way, with one lane in each direction, so treat it like a narrow mountain road with a roof.

• Headlights on before you enter, whether or not the lighting is working; in 2023 more than half of it was reported dark.
• No overtaking, and keep a steady speed with a good gap to the vehicle in front.
• Close the windows and set the air to recirculate if traffic stops inside. Chitralis have complained of fumes building up when traffic is held and released in a block.
• Don't stop for photographs in the tunnel or at the portals.

Winter: snow on the approaches

The tunnel removed the old problem of the pass itself. The road over the top, at 3,118 metres, is normally impassable from late November to the end of May, and it used to cut Chitral off for months. But the approaches still climb high on both sides, and heavy snow there can stop traffic. On 2 January 2026 the road on the Dir side was closed for several hours by snow, and travellers were left stuck in severe cold with little information. That is the realistic winter risk: not days cut off, but hours waiting on a mountain road.

From December to March:

• Ask about the road in Dir before you climb to the tunnel, and don't set off in heavy snowfall. Waiting a day is better than waiting on the approach.
• Keep warm clothes, water and food in the car, not packed away in the boot.
• Fill the tank in Dir, so you can keep the engine and heater running if you are held.
• Allow a spare day at either end of a winter trip.

Our guide to Chitral weather by month explains when snow is most likely.

Queues, and how to time your crossing

Most delays at Lowari come from holding traffic, not from the tunnel itself. A few habits make the crossing easier:

1. Spend the night in Dir if you are driving up from Islamabad or Swat, and cross in the morning, so you drive down the Chitral side in daylight. Our guide to the drive from Islamabad to Chitral by road covers the whole route.
2. Leave Chitral early when heading south, so you are through the tunnel and past Dir before the afternoon traffic.
3. Expect the worst queues around Eid and long weekends.
4. Don't arrive after dark on the assumption the tunnel is open. If it is closed, you will be waiting on a cold mountain road at night.

Is there a toll?

Yes. Since midnight on 1 July 2026 the NHA has collected a toll at the Lowari tunnel, through a private contractor whose contract runs to 30 June 2027. We could not confirm the rate for each class of vehicle, so keep some cash handy at the toll point, as you would on any national highway.

What to carry

A hold-up can last longer than planned, so keep in the car:

• Water and some food, especially with children
• A warm layer for everyone, and blankets from December to March
• A full tank from Dir or Drosh
• A charged phone and a power bank; signal is patchy on the approaches
• Your CNIC; foreign nationals need their passport, visa and several copies
• Cash for the toll and for tea stalls on the way
• Any regular medication, kept within reach

The roads on either side

The tunnel is only part of the drive. On the Dir side the N-45 between Chakdara and Timergara is worn and narrow, and in May 2026 Lower Dir residents went to the Peshawar High Court to get it repaired and widened. On the Chitral side, about 10 km of approach road was rebuilt with new asphalt in late 2025, but the 48 km from Kalkatak, south of Drosh, into Chitral town is still waiting for an upgrade that was approved in 2024.

On 3 August 2026 a flash flood washed away the bridge at Broz, between Ayun and Chitral town, and the NHA opened an alternative passage through the Broz stream bed. Our guide to Chitral road conditions goes through each stretch from Dir to Upper Chitral.

Is the Lowari route safe?

Chitralis and Pakistani tourists use this road every day, but it runs through a part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that has seen serious violence in 2026. On 2 August a suicide bomber attacked the Kabal police station in neighbouring Swat, killing 17 people, and on 12 and 13 August police fought militants for two days in the Barikot Dubando area of Upper Dir, while armed volunteers briefly blocked the Dir–Chitral road.

The UK government's travel advice, updated on 22 September 2026, advises against all travel to Upper and Lower Dir and on the N-45 from Mardan to the edge of Chitral city. If you are travelling anyway, check local news and current police advice before setting out, travel in daylight, and follow instructions at checkpoints. Overseas visitors should know that their own government's advice may say not to go, that travelling against it can void insurance, and that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa requires foreign tourists to hold a no-objection certificate for Chitral and Dir.

The alternatives are limited: PIA's small Islamabad–Chitral schedule, often cancelled in bad weather, or in summer the Shandur Pass from Gilgit, which avoids Dir altogether; see our guide to the drive from Gilgit to Shandur. Our travel guide covers road safety and permits across the north.

Frequently asked questions