Naran to Fairy Meadows via Babusar: Timings and the Jeep

Naran to Fairy Meadows is possible in one long summer day, but only with a very early start. By road it is about 155 to 165 km over Babusar Pass to Chilas and up the Karakoram Highway to Raikot Bridge, five to six and a half hours of driving. From the bridge a local jeep takes an hour and a half to two hours to Tato, and the walk to the meadow another two to four. If you cannot reach Raikot Bridge by about 1 pm, stop for the night in Chilas or at the bridge and go up in the morning.

This guide is about making the connection work: the drive in two legs, what happens at Raikot Bridge when you swap your car for a jeep, and timetables that leave the walk in daylight.

Can you do it in one day?

Add up the pieces and the answer depends on when you leave Naran. Five to six and a half hours of driving, half an hour or more at the jeep stand, up to two hours in the jeep and up to four on foot comes to ten to thirteen hours door to door. From a 6 am start, that puts you on the meadow between about 4 and 7 pm.

That works in June and July, when it stays light until after 7 pm. By late September the evenings draw in more than an hour earlier, and the forest on the path darkens first. The one-day plan also has no slack: a queue on the Babusar hairpins, a slide at Tatta Pani or a wait for a jeep, and you are walking in the dark. For families and older parents, the two-day plan below is the better choice.

Leg one: Naran over Babusar to Chilas

The first leg is roughly 105 to 115 km: about 65 km up to Babusar Top at 4,173 metres, then 40 to 50 km down the Thak valley to Chilas, by the Gilgit-Baltistan tourism department's figures. Allow three and a half to four and a half hours.

Fill the tank in Naran, since there is no fuel until Chilas, and keep the stop at the top short. On the long descent use a low gear and don't ride the brakes. Our guide to Naran to Gilgit via Babusar covers the descent, fuel and daylight hours in detail.

Chilas is the last proper town before the meadow. Fill up again, buy water and snacks for the walk, and eat something.

Leg two: Chilas to Raikot Bridge

Raikot Bridge is 50 km up the Karakoram Highway from Chilas, by the tourism department's chart. It takes an hour to an hour and a half. This is the older, narrower section of the highway, and it passes Tatta Pani, a slope that regularly drops rock and mud onto the road. Drive through steadily and don't stop beneath it.

The bridge is where the highway crosses the Indus. Around it are a few hotels, shops and tea stalls, and the stand where the Fairy Meadows jeeps wait.

The changeover at Raikot Bridge

Private cars are not allowed on the track to Tato, so this is where your car stops. The changeover takes longer than people expect, so give it half an hour.

1. Park the car. Hotels at the bridge will keep it for a daily charge. Agree the price and the number of nights before you hand over the keys, and leave nothing valuable on show.
2. Book the jeep at the stand. The fare is set by the local drivers' union and is per jeep, for the round trip, not per person. Recent guides put it at roughly PKR 16,000 to 20,000 in 2025–2026, with five or six passengers to a jeep. Pay in cash, and ask at the stand for the current rate.
3. Agree the return. Tell the driver the day and time you want collecting from Tato. Write down his name, phone number and the jeep's number plate.
4. Repack. Take a small bag with what you need for the nights at the meadow: warm layers, a torch, medicines, chargers and water. Leave the rest in the car.

The ride up is rough, narrow and cut into the side of a gorge. Our guide to the Fairy Meadows jeep track explains how the union works and what the ride is like.

Tato and the walk

The jeep stops at Tato, the village at the end of the track. From there a clear path climbs about 5 km through pine forest to the meadow. Fit adults take two to three hours; allow up to four with children or older parents. Horses and porters are available at Tato if anyone would rather ride or not carry a bag.

Start walking by mid-afternoon at the latest, carry a torch whatever time you set off, and keep the group together.

Realistic timetables

In one day

1. 6:00 am: leave Naran with a full tank.
2. 8:00 to 8:30 am: Babusar Top, a short stop only.
3. 10:00 to 10:30 am: Chilas, for fuel, food and water.
4. 11:30 am to 12 noon: Raikot Bridge. Park and book the jeep.
5. About 2:00 pm: Tato. Start walking.
6. 4:30 to 6:00 pm: Fairy Meadows.

Over two days

1. Day 1: leave Naran after breakfast, cross Babusar at an easy pace, and stop for the night in Chilas or at Raikot Bridge. Our guide to hotels in Chilas covers the choice.
2. Day 2: jeep from Raikot Bridge at 8 or 9 am, walk from Tato in the cool of the morning, and reach the meadow by early afternoon.

The second plan costs a night in Chilas, which is hot in summer, but it takes the pressure off every part of the day.

Coming back to Naran

The return is where people misjudge the timings. Coming down from the meadow, the walk and the jeep bring you to Raikot Bridge around midday at the earliest. From there it is five hours or more back over Babusar, and the climb from Chilas to the top is slower than the drive down was.

Since the pass is a daylight-only road, with traffic stopped in the evening in recent seasons, don't plan to recross it the afternoon you leave the meadow. Stay a night in Chilas and cross in the morning, or carry on north to Gilgit and Hunza instead. Check whether Babusar Top is open before you commit to recrossing it, especially in October.

Is it safe?

The risks on this journey are mostly road and weather:

• The jeep track. On 1 June 2026 a jeep carrying six tourists on the Fairy Meadows track fell into the Tato gorge, and all seven people on board, including the driver, were killed. Use a union jeep from the stand, travel in daylight and don't go up in heavy rain.
• Monsoon. In July and August rain brings flash floods to the Babusar side and slides to the highway near Raikot. In July 2025 a cloudburst on the Babusar road killed tourists and stranded hundreds. Watch the forecast for Diamer and keep a spare day.
• Security. Diamer district has seen serious incidents, including a bomb attack in Chilas in February 2026. Travel in daylight, check local news and follow police instructions at the checkposts. The UK government's travel advice does not list the Babusar road or Gilgit-Baltistan (checked September 2026), but overseas visitors should read their own government's advice.

Who this route suits

It suits people already in Naran with their own transport, a spare day in hand and everyone fit enough for a two-to-four-hour uphill walk. Over Babusar, the journey is shorter and far more pleasant than coming up the Karakoram Highway through Kohistan.

It doesn't suit a one-day rush with small children, anyone badly afraid of heights (the jeep track is a cliff-side ledge), or a trip in early June or late October when Babusar may not be open. If Fairy Meadows is the main goal and Naran only a stop, see what is waiting at the top on our Fairy Meadows page, or plan the whole trip with us through our trip planner.

Frequently asked questions