Northern Areas Trip Plan from Quetta

For a northern areas trip from Quetta, fly to Islamabad first. PIA and Fly Jinnah fly the route, and Airblue is due to add flights from 26 October 2026. The shortest road route is about 891 km through Zhob and Dera Ismail Khan, and every road and rail route out of Quetta crosses areas the UK government advises against visiting. From Islamabad, the trip north is the same as from anywhere else: by air to Gilgit or Skardu, or by road over Babusar in summer.

This guide covers the ways out of Quetta and their risks, the onward distances, how many days to allow, and how to keep the plan flexible.

Why flying to Islamabad is the sensible first step

The flight takes a long day of risk and fatigue out of the plan. Quetta International Airport has direct flights to Islamabad on PIA and Fly Jinnah, and Airblue has announced Islamabad and Lahore flights from 26 October 2026. Serene Air's Quetta flights are suspended. Schedules change, so check the airlines directly and book early around Eid and school holidays.

Choose an early flight if there is one. That leaves the afternoon in Islamabad to buy anything you need for the mountains and still make an early start north the next day.

The road and rail routes, and their risks

By road

There are three realistic road routes to Islamabad, and none of them is safe to recommend in 2026.

• Via Zhob and Dera Ismail Khan, about 891 km. The N-50 runs north-east through Balochistan to D.I. Khan, then the N-55 and the M-14 motorway take you towards Islamabad. The UK advises against all travel to Balochistan and to Dera Ismail Khan.
• Via Loralai, Fort Munro and Dera Ghazi Khan, about 1,104 km, joining the Punjab motorways at Multan. The UK advises against all travel to Balochistan and all but essential travel to Dera Ghazi Khan.
• Via Sibi, Jacobabad and Sukkur, about 1,345 km, then the M-5, M-4 and M-2. The UK advises against all travel to Balochistan and all but essential travel to Sindh north of Nawabshah.

Online routing puts the shortest route at under 11 hours of driving, which is optimistic for a road this long. It is better split over two days, which means an overnight stop in an area on the UK list.

By train

The Jaffar Express runs daily from Quetta to Peshawar, a published 1,632 km in about 34 hours, through Sibi and Rohri and then up the main line through Lahore and Rawalpindi. On 9 November 2024 a suicide bombing at Quetta railway station killed 32 people as passengers waited for a train to Rawalpindi. On 11 March 2025 the Balochistan Liberation Army hijacked the Jaffar Express in a tunnel about 21 km west of Sibi, and at least 64 people were killed, including 33 attackers. Services were suspended after both attacks; the train returned to service on 27 March 2025 under heavy security, and in November 2025 attackers planted an explosive device on the track again. Check Pakistan Railways for the current position before considering it.

Is it safe to travel from Quetta?

This needs a plain answer, because it shapes the whole trip. As of September 2026, the UK government advises against all travel to all of Balochistan, the province Quetta is the capital of. The advice covers the province as a whole, not just certain roads.

People who live in Quetta travel for work, family and holidays every day, and flights operate normally. If you are planning this trip, check local news and police advice before you go to the airport or set out by road, and keep watching the situation in the weeks before you travel. Don't rely on what was true last year.

If you hold a foreign passport, check your own government's current travel advice. Many insurers will not cover travel to or through an area your government advises against. Gilgit-Baltistan is not on the UK's list, and nor is the Babusar route into it from Islamabad.

Once you are in Islamabad

From here, plan the northern leg as you would from anywhere else in Pakistan.

• To Hunza. Fly to Gilgit and drive about 100 km to Karimabad, or drive the whole way over Babusar, about 566 km, in two days. Our Islamabad to Hunza by road guide covers the route.
• To Skardu. Fly direct, or drive about 637 km over Babusar and down the Indus. See our Islamabad to Skardu flight guide.
• To Naran. About 244 km on the Hazara motorway and the N-15, for a shorter trip that stays out of Gilgit-Baltistan.

Two points affect timing. Babusar is normally open only from about late May or June to November; outside those months the only road north is the Karakoram Highway via Besham, and the UK advises against all travel on it between Mansehra and Chilas. And flights to Gilgit and Skardu depend on clear weather, so keep a spare day in Islamabad on the way back for your connection to Quetta.

How many days to allow

Add a day at each end for the Quetta-Islamabad flights, then build the northern part on top.

Flying both legs, Quetta to Islamabad and Islamabad to Skardu, can bring a Skardu trip down to about a week, but a single cancelled flight in either direction can cost you a day, so do not book a tight connection home.

If you would rather not manage the mountain driving, our Gilgit, Hunza and Khunjerab tour runs for nine days starting in Gilgit, from PKR 90,000 per person, and our Skardu and Deosai tour runs for seven days from PKR 90,000. Both fit a plan of flying Quetta to Islamabad, then on to the start.

Frequently asked questions