Northern Areas Trip Plan from Quetta

For a northern areas trip from Quetta, flying to Islamabad is the practical choice: the flight takes about 1 hour 25 minutes, against roughly 10.5 hours of driving for the 865 km overland route, before the northern leg has even started. This guide also covers the current safety picture for Balochistan, which affects how you plan the first stage of this trip more than any other starting point on this site.

Flying to Islamabad first

With two to four flights a day between Quetta and Islamabad, taking around 1 hour 25 minutes, flying is the fastest and most predictable way to start this trip. From Islamabad, the onward journey to Gilgit-Baltistan follows the same options as for any traveller: the Karakoram Highway or the summer Naran–Babusar route to Hunza, or a direct flight or the Gilgit–Skardu road to Skardu.

Driving overland instead

The overland route from Quetta to Islamabad, roughly 865 km and 10.5 hours via the N-25 and onward highways, is a long single day even before the northern leg begins, and most travellers who choose to drive break it with an overnight stop in Punjab, in Multan or D.G. Khan, rather than pushing straight through. Given the distances involved once you add the northern leg on top, driving the entire way from Quetta to Gilgit-Baltistan is a multi-day undertaking best suited to travellers who specifically want the road trip rather than those trying to save time.

Is it safe to travel from Quetta?

This needs a clear 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. This is the most sweeping advisory covering any starting point in this trip-planning series, and it applies to the province generally, not only to specific routes within it.

Pakistani travellers based in Quetta do travel domestically for work, family and leisure, and flights and road links out of the city operate normally day to day. If you are planning this trip from Quetta, check current local news and police advice before travelling to the airport or setting out by road, and keep an eye on the security situation in the weeks before your trip rather than relying on older information.

If you hold a foreign passport, check your own government's current travel advice before this trip. The UK's advisory on Balochistan can affect travel insurance, and some insurers will not cover travel to or through a province their government advises against, even if you're only passing through on the way north. Gilgit-Baltistan itself, and the routes into it from Islamabad, carry no such advisory.

Once you're in Islamabad

From here, plan the northern leg as you would from anywhere else in Pakistan. Our Karakoram Highway road trip guide covers the drive to Hunza and Khunjerab, and our Gilgit, Hunza and Khunjerab tour and Skardu and Deosai tour are set departures that start from Islamabad, useful if you'd rather fly in from Quetta and join a planned trip than manage the mountain driving yourself.

How many days to allow

Add a day at each end for the Quetta–Islamabad leg, whichever way you travel it, onto a standard northern itinerary: 9 to 10 days total for Hunza and Khunjerab, or 8 to 9 for Skardu and Deosai. Flying both legs (Quetta–Islamabad and Islamabad–Skardu) can compress a Skardu trip closer to a week if your schedule is tight, though flights to Skardu are weather-dependent and can be delayed or cancelled.

Frequently asked questions