Do You Need an NOC to Visit the Northern Areas?

No NOC (No Objection Certificate) is required for Pakistani citizens to visit Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Kashmir or the northern parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Your CNIC is what you'll be asked for at checkpoints, not a permit. Across the Northern Areas, the NOC system exists mainly for foreign nationals visiting a short list of restricted places, and for one thing that applies to everyone: climbing and trekking in a specific high-altitude zone of the Karakoram.

This guide sets out where Pakistani citizens can simply go, where a separate trekking permit applies, and why access can still be stopped at short notice even without any paperwork requirement.

The short answer for Pakistani citizens

Since restrictions on domestic and foreign travel to most of the north were lifted, an ordinary Pakistani citizen needs no NOC to travel to:

• Gilgit-Baltistan, including Hunza, Skardu, Astore, Ghizer, Shigar and Khaplu, and the road to Khunjerab Pass.
• Azad Kashmir, including the Neelum and Leepa valleys right up to the checkpoints nearest the Line of Control.
• The northern valleys of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that are open to tourism, such as Chitral, the Kalash valleys and Swat's main tourist areas.

What you do need is your CNIC, shown at police and army checkpoints on the way in and often again at hotel check-in. Our guide to CNIC and checkpoints covers exactly what to carry and how the checks work.

The one real exception: high-altitude restricted zones

The exception that applies to Pakistanis as well as foreigners is a permit, separate from the Ministry of Interior's NOC system, for a defined restricted zone in the Karakoram range. It covers the area beyond Askole in the Shigar valley, taking in the approach to the Baltoro Glacier, K2, Broad Peak, the Gasherbrums and Gondogoro Pass. Anyone entering that zone, and anyone climbing a peak above 6,500 metres anywhere in Gilgit-Baltistan, needs a permit arranged through the Gilgit-Baltistan authorities, usually handled by the trekking or expedition operator running the trip.

This is not a concern for the ordinary tourist itinerary: Hunza, Skardu, Deosai, Fairy Meadows, Naltar and the rest of the region's open areas need no such permit. It matters only if your trip includes a trek deep into the restricted Baltoro zone or a mountaineering expedition.

Entry fees are not the same as an NOC

A common source of confusion is mixing up a park entry fee with a permit. Deosai National Park and Khunjerab National Park both charge an entry fee at their checkpoints, paid in cash on the spot, and neither requires anything arranged in advance. The same goes for the toll and registration stop on the way to Khunjerab Pass: you show ID and pay a fee, not apply for an NOC. Where an actual permit is needed, as in the restricted Baltoro zone, it has to be arranged before you arrive, normally by the operator running the trek, and isn't something you can sort out at the checkpoint itself.

Why foreigners still need an NOC in places Pakistanis don't

Since 2019, foreign tourists have not needed an NOC for most of Pakistan, including Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral. A short list of areas still requires one, arranged through the Ministry of Interior, generally with a Pakistani host or a registered tour operator: a belt within about five miles of the Line of Control in Azad Kashmir, which covers most of the Neelum Valley and Leepa, and certain other border-adjacent zones.

That rule doesn't apply to Pakistani citizens. If your group includes a mix of Pakistani CNIC holders and foreign passport holders, such as a spouse or children on a foreign passport, the foreign nationals in the group may need the NOC even though everyone else doesn't. Our guide to NOC rules for Azad Kashmir covers this mixed-family case in detail, including NICOP and Pakistan Origin Card holders.

Paperwork isn't the same as access

Not needing an NOC is not the same as being guaranteed entry. Checkpoints in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir can close a road or turn tourists back at short notice, for reasons that have nothing to do with permits: weather, a security incident, a protest, or tension along the Line of Control. In May 2025, checkpoints stopped tourists entering the Neelum Valley entirely during a period of confrontation with India, and in June 2026 the Azad Kashmir government asked visitors to stay away during a period of unrest. Neither of those was an NOC issue; both were the situation on the ground overriding any paperwork.

Check the current picture before you travel, particularly for Azad Kashmir and anywhere close to the Afghan border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Our guide to whether it's safe to travel to the Northern Areas goes through the current situation region by region.

If your trip does involve the restricted zone

Treks and expeditions that go beyond Askole, towards Baltoro, K2 or Concordia, are almost always arranged through a registered trekking or expedition operator, and it's their job to secure the permit as part of planning the trip, typically weeks ahead rather than something sorted out once you arrive in Skardu. If you're organising an independent trek into that zone without an operator, contact the Gilgit-Baltistan tourism authorities directly well before you travel, since the process and the documents it asks for are separate from anything to do with an NOC. This applies equally to Pakistani and foreign trekkers; nationality doesn't exempt anyone from it.

What to actually carry

Since no NOC applies to most trips, the practical preparation is simpler than the word "permit" makes it sound:

• Your original CNIC, for every adult in the group.
• A copy of each child's Form-B, or their passport, since children don't hold a CNIC.
• Vehicle registration papers, and a note from the owner if you're driving a car that isn't yours.
• Confirmation from your trek operator that a Baltoro-zone or high-peak permit is arranged, only if your itinerary goes there.

Frequently asked questions