A Northern Areas trip cost in 2026 works out at roughly PKR 5,000 to 8,000 per person per day on a tight budget, PKR 12,000 to 17,000 at mid-range, and PKR 30,000 or more for comfort with flights and the best hotels. For a week in Hunza from Islamabad, that is about PKR 35,000 to 55,000, PKR 80,000 to 120,000, and PKR 200,000 and up per person. Transport moves the total more than anything else, so it is the line to work out first.
Below, each part of the budget is priced on its own at three levels, so you can swap in your own choices and build a figure for your trip. All prices are rough 2026 figures per person, with two people sharing a room and, unless stated, four people sharing a car. Prices in the north change quickly, so use them to plan and check current rates before you book.
| Per person, 2026 | Budget | Mid-range | Comfort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Getting there and back | Coach, or a fuel share in a full car | Car with driver, shared by four | Return flight to Gilgit or Skardu |
| Your half of a room, per night | About PKR 1,250 to 2,500 | About PKR 4,000 to 7,500 | About PKR 12,500 to 17,500 |
| Food, per day | About PKR 1,500 to 2,500 | About PKR 3,000 to 5,000 | About PKR 6,000 and up |
| Jeeps, fees and boats, per week | About PKR 3,000 to 6,000 | About PKR 5,000 to 10,000 | PKR 10,000 and up |
| A week in Hunza from Islamabad | About PKR 35,000 to 55,000 | About PKR 80,000 to 120,000 | About PKR 200,000 and up |
What goes into a Northern Areas budget?
Every trip north is built from the same five lines:
- Getting there and back: coach, your own car, a hired car with driver, or a flight.
- Getting around: local vans, your car, a hired car, and local jeeps where a car can't go.
- Rooms: from a simple guesthouse to a resort with a view.
- Food: local cafés or hotel restaurants.
- Jeeps, fees and extras: park and fort tickets, boat rides, tips, a mobile data package.
The first two decide the total far more than the rest, and they are also the lines that change most with the size of your group. A car, a driver or a jeep costs the same whether two people share it or five. A room costs the same for one person as for two.
Getting there: the line that decides the total
For a week in Hunza or Skardu from Islamabad, these are the main ways up and what they cost each person in 2026:
| Option | Rough cost per person (2026) | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| NATCO coach | About PKR 5,500 to 6,200 each way | Overnight, roughly 18 to 20 hours to Gilgit |
| Your own car, four sharing | About PKR 15,000 return for fuel and tolls | A sedan uses about PKR 58,000 of petrol on a week-long Hunza trip |
| Car with driver, four sharing | About PKR 32,000 for the week | Day rate, fuel, the driver's allowance and tolls |
| Flight to Gilgit | About PKR 48,000 to 64,000 return | PIA only; weather cancellations are common |
| Flight to Skardu | About PKR 30,000 to 90,000 return | PIA, Airblue and AirSial; fare depends on when you book |
Fuel is simple arithmetic: distance, divided by your car's kilometres per litre, times the pump price. Petrol was PKR 389.28 a litre from 25 September 2026 on PSO's published price list. A week from Islamabad to Hunza with a day to Khunjerab is about 1,800 km, so a car doing 12 km a litre on mountain roads needs about 150 litres. Add tolls: roughly PKR 2,000 for the return trip from Islamabad, after national highway plazas rose to PKR 100 for a car in July 2026, and PKR 1,430 more each way on the M-2 if you start from Lahore.
A car with driver is charged by the day for every day of the trip, including the days it spends driving up and waiting in the hotel car park. Our guide to hiring a car with driver for the Northern Areas sets out day rates by vehicle and works through a full week.
Flights save about four days on the road but cost the most per person, and you still need a car on arrival. Keep a spare day in the plan for a cancelled flight; that is another night's room and meals.
Getting around once you're there
If you drive up, your car does the local driving and the only extra is fuel. If you fly or take the coach, you need something else:
- Shared vans run along the Karakoram Highway between Gilgit, Aliabad, Gulmit and Passu, leaving when full, for a few hundred rupees a seat. They are the cheapest way to move around Hunza, but slow and not much use for sightseeing.
- A car with driver hired locally, from Gilgit or Skardu. In 2026, local firms in Skardu advertised a Corolla with driver from about PKR 8,000 a day.
- Local jeeps for the places a car can't reach, priced per jeep and shared by whoever is in it. These are listed below.
Rooms at three levels
Room rates are per room per night, and they vary as much by region as by standard. These are rough 2025–2026 ranges drawn from booking sites and published rates:
| Per room per night | Budget | Mid-range | Top end |
|---|---|---|---|
| Naran and Kaghan | PKR 4,000 to 7,000 | PKR 7,000 to 15,000 | PKR 18,000 and up |
| Hunza | PKR 2,500 to 5,000 | PKR 8,000 to 15,000 | PKR 25,000 to 35,000 |
| Skardu | PKR 2,500 to 4,500 | PKR 8,000 to 9,000 on average | PKR 25,000, and PKR 45,000 or more for five-star and heritage hotels |
| Neelum, Azad Kashmir | PKR 1,500 to 3,000 | PKR 6,000 to 10,000 | Around PKR 10,000 to 15,000 for the best cottages |
Halve these for your share if two of you are in the room. Rates rise in July, August, over Eid and on long weekends, and fall from late September. Breakfast is often included at mid-range hotels and above, which takes one meal off the food line; ask when you book.
Food per day
Eating is the most forgiving part of the budget. Local cafés in Gilgit, Hunza and Skardu serve daal, rice, chapshuro and Balti curry for a few hundred rupees a plate, and a cup of tea costs little anywhere outside the hotels.
- Budget: about PKR 1,500 to 2,500 per person a day, eating where local people eat.
- Mid-range: about PKR 3,000 to 5,000, with some meals in hotel restaurants and the better cafés.
- Comfort: PKR 6,000 and up, eating mostly at the better hotels.
Carry water and snacks for the long drive days. Between Besham and Chilas, and on the way to Khunjerab, the food stops are few and simple.
Jeeps, entry fees and small costs
The smaller costs are easy to forget and add up quickly for a family. These are the ones most trips meet, with 2025–2026 figures:
- Naran to Saif-ul-Malook by jeep: PKR 5,500 return for the whole jeep, the fare fixed by the Balakot administration in July 2026.
- Fairy Meadows jeep, Raikot Bridge to Tato and back: about PKR 16,000 to 20,000 per jeep, shared by up to five or six people.
- A jeep for a day on Deosai from Skardu: about PKR 15,000 to 25,000 per jeep, usually with fuel, going by 2026 operator listings.
- A boat ride on Attabad Lake: about PKR 2,000 to 4,500, depending on the boat and the length of the ride.
- Baltit Fort: roughly PKR 500 to 1,000 for a Pakistani adult, with the guided tour.
- Park fees at Khunjerab and Deosai, which have changed several times; carry cash and pay what is posted.
Add tips for drivers and guides, a data package, and a reserve for the spare day. Carry most of your cash from Islamabad, because card machines are rare outside the bigger hotels.
A week at three comfort levels
Putting the lines together for seven days in Hunza from Islamabad, per person:
| Per person, 7 days | Budget | Mid-range | Comfort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group | Four friends | Four people | A couple |
| Getting there and around | Coach and local vans, or a fuel share: about PKR 14,000 to 17,000 | Car with driver shared by four: about PKR 32,000 | Return flights to Gilgit plus half a local car and driver: about PKR 90,000 to 112,000 |
| Rooms, 6 nights | PKR 7,500 to 15,000 | PKR 24,000 to 45,000 | PKR 75,000 to 105,000 |
| Food | PKR 10,500 to 17,500 | PKR 21,000 to 35,000 | PKR 42,000 to 56,000 |
| Jeeps, fees and extras | PKR 3,000 to 6,000 | PKR 5,000 to 10,000 | About PKR 10,000 |
| Rough total | About PKR 35,000 to 55,000 | About PKR 80,000 to 120,000 | About PKR 220,000 to 280,000 |
If you are working to a fixed sum, our guide to a Northern Areas trip under 50,000 shows which trips fit and where to cut.
How the destination changes the cost
The same comfort level costs different amounts in different valleys:
- Naran and Kaghan are the cheapest to reach, a day's drive from Islamabad with no flights and no second night on the road. Rooms cost more than in Hunza at the budget end, and prices jump at Eid. Our Naran trip cost guide has the jeep fares in full.
- Neelum is also a road trip from Islamabad, with the cheapest rooms of the four.
- Hunza needs two days each way by road, but its rooms are good value and a normal car reaches everything along the Karakoram Highway.
- Skardu is usually the dearest. Hotels cost more at most levels, and Deosai needs a jeep day. Our Skardu trip cost guide compares flying with the road.
Is a tour better value?
For a group of four friends with a good car and a confident driver, doing it yourself is the cheapest way north by a wide margin. Nothing on a tour can compete with four people splitting one fuel bill and sleeping in guesthouses.
The comparison changes for couples, families who don't want to drive, and anyone flying in, because they would be paying for a car and driver on their own. Our nine-day Gilgit, Hunza and Khunjerab tour is from PKR 90,000 per person, including all ground transport with a mountain driver, twin-share rooms, a guide from the valley, Khunjerab park fees and breakfast; flights, lunches and dinners are extra. Set that against the mid-range column above and your own quotes. To have a trip costed around your dates and group, start on our trip planning page.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Northern Areas trip cost per person?
In 2026, roughly PKR 35,000 to 55,000 for a week on a budget by road, PKR 80,000 to 120,000 at mid-range with a hired car and driver shared by four, and PKR 200,000 or more for a couple flying in and staying at the best hotels.
What is the cheapest way to travel to the Northern Areas?
The NATCO coach from Rawalpindi, at about PKR 5,500 to 6,200 each way in 2026, or four people sharing the fuel in one car. Both are far cheaper per person than flying or hiring a car and driver.
How much should I budget per day in the Northern Areas?
About PKR 5,000 to 8,000 per person a day on a budget, PKR 12,000 to 17,000 at mid-range, and PKR 30,000 or more for comfort, once transport is spread over the trip.
Is Skardu more expensive than Hunza?
Usually, yes. Skardu's hotels cost more at most levels, and a day on Deosai needs a jeep. Flights to Skardu are more frequent and sometimes cheaper than flights to Gilgit, though.
How much cash should I carry?
Enough for rooms at small hotels, food, jeeps, park fees and fuel beyond the main towns, plus a reserve for a spare day. Cards are accepted in few places outside the bigger hotels, and ATMs are not always dependable.
