Yes. A Northern Areas trip under 50000 rupees per person is realistic in 2026 if you travel by road, share a car or take the coach, sleep in guesthouses and eat where local people eat. PKR 50,000 each covers about a week in Hunza for four friends sharing one car, five or six days in Hunza or Skardu by coach, or five easy days in Naran and Kaghan with money to spare. It does not cover flying, a private car and driver for two people, or mid-range hotels in the peak weeks.
This guide shows four trips that fit, with the sums, the things that push a trip over the line, and where you can cut without making the trip less safe. Figures are rough 2026 prices per person, from Islamabad unless stated, and they change often.
| Trip, per person (2026) | Fits in PKR 50,000? |
|---|---|
| 7 days in Hunza, four friends in one car, guesthouses | Yes: about PKR 36,000 to 46,000 |
| 6 days in Hunza by NATCO coach, sharing rooms | Yes: about PKR 34,000 to 43,000 |
| 5 days in Naran and Kaghan, four in one car | Yes: about PKR 26,000 to 38,000 |
| 5-day budget group tour from Lahore to Hunza | Yes: advertised from about PKR 23,000 to 29,000, before most meals |
| Any trip that flies to Gilgit | No: the return flight alone is about PKR 48,000 to 64,000 |
| A week with a private car and driver for two | No: about PKR 64,000 each for the car alone |
What does PKR 50,000 cover?
On a trip north, PKR 50,000 has to pay for five things: getting there and back, getting around, a bed, food, and the small costs of jeeps, tickets and boats. Of these, the first two decide whether you fit. Once transport is under about PKR 15,000 each, the rest of a week costs roughly PKR 21,000 to 31,000 at budget level, and the sum works.
That is why the size of the group matters so much. Fuel, a car and a jeep cost the same whatever the number of people inside. Four friends in one sedan pay about PKR 15,000 each for a week's fuel and tolls to Hunza; a couple in the same car pays double. For how the same trip looks at higher comfort levels, see our full Northern Areas trip cost breakdown.
Four trips that fit the budget
A week in Hunza, four friends in one car
Seven days from Islamabad, with two nights in Chilas or Besham on the road and four in Hunza, a day to Khunjerab, and about 1,800 km of driving:
| Per person | Rough cost (2026) |
|---|---|
| Petrol and tolls, split four ways | About PKR 15,000 |
| 6 nights, two to a room at PKR 2,500 to 4,000 | PKR 7,500 to 12,000 |
| Food, PKR 1,500 to 2,000 a day | PKR 10,500 to 14,000 |
| Park fee, fort tickets, a boat on Attabad | PKR 3,000 to 5,000 |
| Total | About PKR 36,000 to 46,000 |
The fuel figure assumes a sedan doing about 12 km a litre with petrol at PKR 389.28 a litre, the price from 25 September 2026. From Lahore, add roughly PKR 7,000 each for the extra 750 km and the M-2 toll, which was PKR 1,430 each way for a car from July 2026. That takes the top of the range just past PKR 50,000, so a Lahore group needs to stay at the cheaper end on rooms.
Hunza or Skardu by coach
NATCO coaches run from Rawalpindi to Gilgit and to Skardu, at about PKR 5,500 to 6,200 each way in 2026. The journey is overnight and long, roughly 18 to 20 hours to Gilgit, but it saves two nights' rooms. From Gilgit, shared vans run up the Karakoram Highway to Aliabad and Karimabad for a few hundred rupees a seat.
| Per person, 6 days in Hunza | Rough cost (2026) |
|---|---|
| Coach, both ways | About PKR 11,000 |
| Shared vans in the valley | About PKR 1,000 to 2,000 |
| Share of a car for the Khunjerab day, four sharing | About PKR 5,000 |
| 4 nights, two to a room | PKR 5,000 to 8,000 |
| Food | PKR 9,000 to 12,000 |
| Tickets and small costs | PKR 3,000 to 5,000 |
| Total | About PKR 34,000 to 43,000 |
Skardu works the same way, with a slightly higher fare and one extra cost: a jeep for Deosai, at about PKR 15,000 to 25,000 per jeep for the day in 2026. Shared among five or six people it fits; for two it does not.
A solo traveller pays for a whole room, which adds PKR 5,000 to 8,000 over four nights. It still fits at the cheaper end.
Naran and Kaghan in five days
This is the easiest trip to keep under budget, because the drive from Islamabad is a single day and there are no flights to be tempted by.
| Per person, four in one car | Rough cost (2026) |
|---|---|
| Petrol and tolls, split four ways | About PKR 7,000 |
| 4 nights, two to a room at PKR 4,000 to 7,000 | PKR 8,000 to 14,000 |
| Jeeps to Saif-ul-Malook and Shogran, split four ways | About PKR 2,500 |
| Food | PKR 7,500 to 12,500 |
| Small costs | PKR 1,000 to 2,000 |
| Total | About PKR 26,000 to 38,000 |
The jeep fares are fixed by the local administration: PKR 5,500 per jeep for the return trip from Naran to Saif-ul-Malook in 2026, and PKR 4,500 from Kiwai to Shogran. Our Naran trip cost guide lists the rest.
A budget group tour
For one or two people, a group departure can be the cheapest way to see Hunza. In 2026, five-day group trips from Lahore to Hunza were advertised at about PKR 23,000 to 29,000 per person. Read what that buys: typically a Hiace or a coaster, rooms shared three or four to a room, and breakfast only, with lunches, dinners and entry tickets extra. Five days from Lahore also means a great deal of time on the road, much of it overnight. Add PKR 7,000 to 10,000 for meals and tickets, and it still comes in well under PKR 50,000.
What won't fit into PKR 50,000
- Flying. A return flight from Islamabad to Gilgit cost about PKR 48,000 to 64,000 in 2026. Skardu fares start lower when booked early, but a typical return is PKR 30,000 or more before you have left the airport.
- A private car and driver for two. A Corolla with driver for a week to Hunza, with fuel and the driver's allowance, comes to about PKR 128,000 for the car, or PKR 64,000 each for a couple.
- Mid-range hotels in July, August and Eid. At PKR 8,000 to 15,000 a room in Hunza, six nights take PKR 24,000 to 45,000 each, which leaves too little for anything else.
- Fairy Meadows for a couple on their own. The jeep from Raikot Bridge to Tato costs about PKR 16,000 to 20,000 for the whole jeep. Four people sharing, it fits; two people paying the whole fare, it squeezes everything else.
Where to cut costs
- Fill the car. Four people in one car is the single biggest saving. A fifth, if the car is comfortable with it, helps further.
- Go in the shoulder season. September, early October and spring outside Eid are cheaper for rooms than July and August. In 2026, Punjab's schools were closed from 22 May to 23 August, and those weeks are the busiest. Our guide to the seasons covers what is open when.
- Stay a little out of the centre. In Hunza, rooms in Aliabad are generally cheaper than in Karimabad.
- Eat local. Daal, rice and chapshuro in local cafés cost a fraction of a hotel restaurant meal. Ask whether breakfast is included before you book a room.
- Share jeeps. At Raikot Bridge, Naran and Skardu, jeeps are priced per vehicle, and drivers are used to groups joining up. Ask other travellers at your hotel.
- Choose fewer places. A trip that covers Hunza properly costs less than one that tries to add Skardu and Naran, because most of the cost is in the driving.
- Carry snacks and a refillable bottle for the long road days, when the choice is limited and the prices are not.
Where not to cut
Some savings are false ones. Keep money for these:
- A car check before you leave. Brakes, tyres including the spare, and the cooling system. A breakdown in Kohistan costs far more than a service in Islamabad.
- A spare day. Landslides close the Karakoram Highway every summer. Budget for one more night and one more day of food than your plan needs.
- Two nights on the road. Driving from Islamabad to Hunza in one go to save a room means 15 hours or more at the wheel and the last stretch in the dark. Stop overnight.
- Warm clothes. Even in July, evenings in Hunza are cool and the top of Khunjerab is cold.
- A reserve in cash. At least PKR 5,000 each that you plan not to spend, because ATMs in the north are not always dependable.
Is a PKR 50,000 trip worth doing?
For friends, students and anyone happy with simple rooms and long drives, it is a very good way to see the north, and the mountains look the same from a guesthouse as from a resort. It works best in a group of four, in September or early October, and with no more than two or three bases.
It suits a family with small children less well. Coach journeys of 18 hours or more are hard on young children, and a family car with two adults paying for everything rarely comes in under PKR 50,000 each for a week. For them, a shorter trip to Naran or Neelum, or a longer budget, is the better choice. If you want to know what your own dates and group would cost, send them through our trip planning page.
Frequently asked questions
Can I go to Hunza in PKR 50,000?
Yes. A week in Hunza by road with four people sharing a car, or six days by coach, comes to roughly PKR 34,000 to 46,000 per person in 2026, staying in guesthouses and eating locally.
Can I go to Skardu in PKR 50,000?
By coach, yes, if you share rooms and split a Deosai jeep with others. Flying usually takes most of the budget on the tickets alone.
Can I fly north and stay under PKR 50,000?
Rarely. A return flight to Gilgit cost about PKR 48,000 to 64,000 in 2026, and a Skardu return is usually PKR 30,000 or more, which leaves too little for rooms, food and a car on arrival.
Is PKR 50,000 enough for a couple?
For a road trip in your own car with guesthouses, yes, though the fuel costs each of you twice what it would in a group of four. It is not enough for a couple who want to fly or hire a car and driver.
Which northern destination is cheapest from Islamabad?
Naran and Kaghan, because the drive is a single day each way and the jeep fares are fixed. Neelum in Azad Kashmir is also a good value road trip with low room rates.
When is the cheapest time to visit the Northern Areas?
September and early October, outside Eid, when the roads are open and room rates are lower than in the July and August school holidays.
