Rent a Car or Jeep in Skardu: Rates and Tips

To rent a car in Skardu, you normally hire it with a local driver, by the day. In September 2026, one Skardu rental firm listed a Toyota Corolla with driver at PKR 6,000 a day, a Honda BR-V or an older Prado at PKR 10,000 and a Land Cruiser at PKR 22,000, with fuel paid separately. A sedan is all you need for Shigar, Khaplu and the lakes. For Deosai you need a jeep or a proper 4x4, which cost roughly PKR 15,000 to 25,000 for the day in 2025 and 2026, usually with fuel included.

This guide covers what each vehicle costs, which one each day trip needs, how fuel is charged, and what to settle with the driver before you set off.

What does it cost to rent a car in Skardu?

These are the day rates one Skardu firm published on its website, checked in September 2026. All include a driver; fuel is paid by the customer.

Treat these as a guide to the going rate rather than a quote. Other firms price differently, prices rise in July, August and over holidays, and some quote a single fuel-included price for a set route, which looks higher but may work out the same. Our guide to hiring a car with driver for the Northern Areas compares Skardu rates with hiring in Islamabad or Lahore for the whole trip.

Which vehicle does each day trip need?

Most of what people come to Skardu for is on paved roads.

Shigar

About an hour north of Skardu, for the restored fort, the wooden Amburiq mosque and the orchards. A sedan does it easily. With fuel for a round trip of 60 to 70 km plus some driving around, a day with a Corolla comes to roughly PKR 8,500 to 9,000. Many people add the Sarfaranga dunes or Katpana on the way back.

Khaplu

About three hours east along the Indus and then the Shyok, to Khaplu Palace and the Chaqchan mosque. The road is paved, and a sedan is fine, but it is a long day of over 200 km there and back. If a sedan manages about 12 km a litre on these roads, fuel adds around PKR 7,000; a Prado using a litre every 7 km would burn about PKR 12,000. Better still, stay the night: the driver will need a room and meals, so agree who pays. Our Skardu to Khaplu guide covers the drive.

Deosai

This is the day that needs a different vehicle. The road is paved as far as Satpara, then becomes a stony track that turns to mud after rain, with no help and no signal on the plateau. Hire a local jeep or 4x4 with a driver who knows it, for roughly PKR 15,000 to 25,000 for the day in 2025 and 2026, usually including fuel for the agreed route. The park entry fee is paid separately. Our Deosai jeep rent guide explains what changes the price.

Satpara, Kachura and Katpana

These are short outings, and you don't need a car for a full day. A taxi for a few hours, or a half-day with a hotel driver, is usually enough. Our Satpara Lake guide covers the lake and the Manthal Buddha Rock on the way.

Fuel: included or extra?

Ask this first, because it changes the comparison more than anything else.

• Fuel extra is the usual arrangement for a day rate. You pay for what the car uses, either by filling up with the driver or by settling at the end of the day.
• Fuel included is common for jeeps and for fixed routes, such as a Deosai day or a Khaplu round trip. Ask which route and how many kilometres the price covers.

Petrol cost PKR 389.28 a litre and diesel PKR 412.12 from 25 September 2026, according to PSO's published prices, and pump prices in Gilgit-Baltistan can be a little higher because of transport. Prices change every two weeks or so, so redo the sums in the week you travel.

What to agree before you pay

A short WhatsApp message listing these avoids arguments later:

1. The vehicle and its model year. "Prado" can mean a 1999 TZ or a recent model.
2. Start time, finish time and route. Say exactly where you want to go and where you will turn back.
3. Fuel, included or extra, and how it will be settled.
4. Waiting time. How long the driver will wait at Shigar Fort, the lakes or the dunes.
5. Overnight trips. For a night in Khaplu or elsewhere, who pays for the driver's room and food. One common arrangement in 2026 was a fixed allowance of about PKR 2,000 a night.
6. What happens if the plan changes, for weather, a closed road or a cancelled flight.
7. The price, in full, and how much deposit, if any.

Check the tyres, the spare and that the seat belts work. On a Deosai day, ask about the jeep's condition and what the driver carries for a puncture.

Self-drive, or bring your own car?

The rates Skardu firms publish are for a car with a driver, and self-drive hire is much harder to find. It rarely makes sense anyway: a local driver knows the roads, the parking at Shigar and the lakes, and which jeep drivers to call for Deosai.

If you have driven your own car up from Islamabad or Lahore, use it for everything except Deosai and the jeep valleys. A sedan handles Satpara, Kachura, Shigar and Khaplu in summer. Leave it at the hotel on the Deosai day and hire a jeep. In winter, with snow or ice on the roads, a 4x4 with a local driver is the safer choice even on the paved routes.

Hiring when you fly in

If you are flying to Skardu, book the car for your first morning before you travel, and ask the driver or your hotel to meet the flight. In July and August, cars and good drivers are booked up around holidays.

Skardu flights are cancelled for weather often enough that you should also ask what happens if you don't arrive on the day. Many will move the booking, but agree it in advance, along with anything paid up front.

Which option suits you?

A sedan with driver for most days, plus a jeep for Deosai, is the best value for most couples and small families. On the prices above, a five-day stay with three sedan days and one jeep day comes to roughly PKR 45,000 to 55,000 for the vehicles and fuel, shared by everyone in the car.

A Prado or Land Cruiser for the whole stay makes sense in winter, for a larger group that wants one vehicle, or if you want the same driver across the plateau and back. It costs more on every day you don't need it.

No car at all works for a short stay if you are happy with taxis for the short outings and a shared jeep for Deosai.

If you would rather not arrange any of this, our seven-day Skardu and Deosai trip includes all ground transport with an experienced mountain driver, the Deosai days among them, from PKR 90,000 per person. For an overview of the valley, see our Skardu destination page.

Frequently asked questions