A northern areas trip by own car works well for families and groups who already have a suitable vehicle and want to travel on their own schedule, but it takes more planning than booking a bus or flight: preparing the car, structuring the days so you're not driving mountain roads tired or in the dark, planning fuel stops in advance, and knowing exactly where to leave the car when the road ahead turns into a jeep track.
This guide covers the logistics of doing it yourself, once you've already decided a self-driven trip is what you want. If you're still weighing that decision, our self-drive versus guided tour comparison covers cost, stress and safety side by side.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Car prep | Brakes, tyres, coolant and a full service before you leave |
| Daily driving | Start early, finish before dark; two long driving days rather than one very long one |
| Fuel | Fill up at every town; don't run past half a tank on the KKH or Babusar route |
| Jeep-track switches | Raikot Bridge for Fairy Meadows; Skardu or Astore side for Deosai |
| Documents | CNIC, driving licence, vehicle registration, and cash for park fees |
Preparing the car before you leave
A mountain trip finds any weakness in a car that flat city driving hides. Before you go:
- Have brakes and tyres properly checked, not just glanced at. Long descents put more strain on brakes than most owners realise, and worn tyres lose grip fast on wet or loose surfaces.
- Check coolant, oil and belts, since long climbs in low gear run an engine harder and hotter than normal driving.
- Carry a full-size spare and a working jack, and know how to use them, since a puncture on a narrow shoulder with traffic passing is not the time to learn.
- Service the car in the week before you leave, not months in advance, so anything that needs attention is caught while you're still near a proper workshop.
- Pack a basic toolkit and jumper cables, plus a torch, in the car itself rather than under luggage in the boot.
Structuring the drive
The single biggest planning mistake is trying to cover too much distance in one day. From Islamabad, Hunza or Skardu is realistically a two-day drive with an overnight stop partway, rather than one very long day that ends with the roughest stretch of road driven in the dark. Build the trip around that:
- Leave early, ideally before 7am, so you're covering the flatter, faster stretches near Islamabad while you're fresh and finishing the mountain sections in daylight.
- Plan an overnight stop at a sensible midpoint, Besham or Chilas on the way to Hunza, for example, rather than pushing through in one go.
- Avoid arriving at a mountain stretch after dark. Rockfall, poor lighting and driver fatigue combine badly on unfamiliar roads at night, and it's the single easiest risk to remove just by timing the day differently.
- Keep a spare day in the itinerary. A landslide closure, a mechanical issue or simply a slower day than planned shouldn't cost you the trip's main destination time.
Our mountain driving tips cover the specific habits, low gears on descents, overtaking trucks safely, that matter once you're on the road itself.
Fuel planning
Fuel stations thin out considerably once you're past the main towns, and running low on a mountain stretch with no station for the next hour is avoidable with basic planning. Fill up at every town you pass through where the tank is below half, rather than waiting until it's close to empty, and specifically fill up at Chilas before continuing toward Gilgit or Hunza, and at Sost before Khunjerab, since these are genuinely the last reliable stops before a long stretch. Our fuel cost guide covers working out a budget for the return trip.
Where to park and switch to a jeep
Several of the north's best-known destinations are reached by unpaved tracks that your own car, whatever it is, shouldn't attempt. Knowing where to stop and switch avoids arriving at the trailhead without a plan:
- Fairy Meadows, reached from Raikot Bridge on the Karakoram Highway. Cars are left in a guarded parking area at the bridge, and a local jeep, arranged there, takes you up the track.
- Deosai National Park, reached from Skardu or from Astore. Most travellers drive their own car to Skardu or Astore town and hire a jeep and driver locally for the plateau itself, rather than attempting the unpaved approach in their own vehicle.
- Naltar Valley, above Gilgit. The lower road is driveable in an ordinary car in dry weather, but the upper stretch toward the lakes is better left to a local jeep.
Ask at your hotel or through a local tour operator to arrange the jeep in advance for a specific date, particularly in peak season, when demand for jeeps at Raikot Bridge and in Skardu can outstrip supply on short notice. Parking at these switch points is generally informal but reasonably secure, since it's a well-established routine for every visitor doing the same thing; even so, don't leave valuables visible in the car.
What to carry that a bus or tour wouldn't need
Driving your own car adds a few responsibilities a bus passenger or tour client doesn't have to think about:
- Vehicle registration documents and your driving licence, alongside your CNIC
- A printed or offline copy of your route, since mobile signal drops for long stretches
- Cash in smaller denominations for fuel, park fees and tolls, since card payment isn't reliable outside the main towns
- A basic first aid kit and any regular medication, kept in the cabin rather than packed away
When your own car isn't the right tool
There's no shame in switching plans partway. If the car is struggling on the climbs, if a driver in the group is exhausted, or if the road ahead genuinely calls for a 4x4 you don't have, hiring a local car with a driver for a specific leg is a sensible fallback rather than pushing on regardless. Hunza, Gilgit and Skardu all have established local operators used to exactly this kind of request, and it's far cheaper than it sounds compared with the cost, and risk, of continuing in a vehicle or with a driver that isn't up to the stretch ahead.
Frequently asked questions
How many days should I allow for driving to Hunza or Skardu in my own car?
Plan on two driving days each way with an overnight stop partway, rather than one very long day. It's safer and considerably less tiring, and it builds in slack if the road is slower than expected.
Where do I leave my car for Fairy Meadows or Deosai?
For Fairy Meadows, at Raikot Bridge on the Karakoram Highway, where a local jeep takes you up. For Deosai, most travellers drive to Skardu or Astore and hire a jeep and driver there for the plateau itself.
Is a self-driven trip to the northern areas safe for a first-timer?
Yes, on the main paved routes, with proper car preparation, sensible daily distances and daylight driving. Our mountain driving tips cover the specific habits worth learning before you go.
Should I service my car before or well ahead of the trip?
In the week before you leave, so any issue found is caught while you're still near a proper workshop, rather than surfacing for the first time on the road.
Do I need cash for the trip, or can I rely on cards?
Carry cash. Card payment is unreliable outside the main towns, and fuel stations, park fees and small roadside expenses are mostly cash-only once you're off the motorway network.
Is the Karakoram Highway route safe for overseas visitors?
Pakistani travellers use it all year, but as of September 2026 the UK government advises against all travel on the Karakoram Highway between Mansehra and Chilas, through Besham and Dasu. In summer the road over the Babusar Pass avoids that stretch. If you hold a foreign passport, check your own government's advice before you go, because travelling against it can void your insurance. Everyone should check local news and road conditions before setting out.
