Shinkiari Tea Gardens: Pakistan's Tea Research Estate

The tea garden at Shinkiari, about 18 km north of Mansehra on the Karakoram Highway, is Pakistan's first and largest tea plantation, run as a government research institute and not as a commercial tourist estate. It is an unusual sight in Hazara: about 33 acres of tea bushes on a hillside, in a country that imports almost all the tea it drinks.

This guide covers what the place is, why it is here, how to reach it, what you can expect to see and whether it is worth the detour.

Why there is a tea garden in Hazara

Pakistan is one of the world's largest tea importers. In 2020-21 it brought in about 258,000 tonnes of black tea worth over 596 million dollars, and the bill for the first nine months of 2024-25 was over 468 million dollars. Successive governments have tried to grow some of it at home.

Tea growing was first tried in 1958, and formal research began in 1976. Shinkiari's cool, wet hill climate turned out to be one of the few places in the country where the tea plant, Camellia sinensis, grows well, and a National Tea Research Station was set up here in 1986 on 50 acres of land. It became a full institute in 1996 and was renamed the National Tea and High Value Crops Research Institute in 2013, when its work widened to other crops.

Processing followed the planting. A black tea processing unit was added in 2001 and a green tea factory in 2005. According to a report by the state news agency APP, the institute now grows nine tea varieties, has a capacity of about four million tea plants, processes around ten tonnes of leaf a year and has distributed more than 100,000 plants to local farmers.

The wider picture is less encouraging. The same report says more than 64,000 hectares in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Kashmir are suitable for tea, notably in Mansehra, Battagram and Swat, but only about 80 hectares are planted. Shinkiari remains a demonstration of what is possible, not the start of an industry.

Where it is and how to get there

Shinkiari is a small town on the Karakoram Highway north of Mansehra, at about 1,020 metres. Its name is usually explained as Pashto for "green flowerbed", and it is the junction for the Siran and Konsh valleys. The institute is on the southern side of the town, so you reach it just before the bazaar when coming from Mansehra.

By car. The Hazara Motorway (M-15) from Hasan Abdal passes Abbottabad and Mansehra and continues to Shinkiari and on to Thakot, so from Islamabad the whole trip is motorway apart from the last few kilometres. Allow about two and a half hours. Our Hazara Motorway guide covers the interchanges and tolls. From Mansehra town the old highway takes 25 to 30 minutes.

By public transport. We could not confirm services or fares. Shinkiari is a town on the main highway, so ask at the van stand in Mansehra.

One point to be clear about: Shinkiari is not on the road to Naran. The Kaghan valley road leaves the highway at Mansehra and goes to Balakot, so for a Naran trip the tea garden is a detour of about 19 km each way. It is directly on the way only if you are driving the Karakoram Highway towards Besham and Gilgit.

What you see

This is a research institute with a tea garden attached, not a plantation built for visitors. What is there: neat rows of tea bushes climbing a hillside, a nursery where young plants are raised, and processing buildings where the leaf is withered, rolled and dried.

There is no ticket booth, published opening hours or regular shop at the gate that we could verify, so the practical approach is to arrive during normal working hours on a weekday and ask at the entrance whether a walk around the garden is possible that day. Access can vary with what is happening on site.

Organised visits do take place. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture and Tourism Authority has run agro-tourism day trips here for students and families, with institute staff explaining cultivation, processing and packaging, and APP's report of one such trip says participants bought locally produced tea and qahwa. That suggests tea is sometimes on sale, but do not plan a visit around buying it.

When to go

Tea bushes are evergreen, so the garden is green all year. It looks its best when new growth is coming through, from spring into early summer, and again after the monsoon rains. We could not confirm the plucking calendar; if you want to see leaf being picked or processed, ask the institute before you travel. Mid-winter is the least rewarding time.

What else is nearby

Shinkiari on its own is a short stop, so combine it:

• Siran valley is reached from Shinkiari. Our Siran valley guide covers it.
• Mansehra, 19 km south, has the Ashoka rock edicts and the town bazaar. See places to visit in Mansehra.
• Hazara University Museum, at Dhodial between Mansehra and Shinkiari, was part of the tourism authority's day trip and covers the archaeology of the region.

Is it safe?

Shinkiari lies on the Karakoram Highway north of Mansehra, and the UK government advises against all travel on the highway between Mansehra and Chilas (advice updated 22 September 2026). Pakistani visitors and local traffic use this stretch every day, and Shinkiari is at its very southern end, but check local news before you go; our Karakoram Highway safety note has the wider picture. Foreign-passport holders should read their own government's advice, since travelling against it can void insurance.

Is it worth the stop?

If you are already driving the Karakoram Highway or the Hazara Motorway through Mansehra district, yes, as a short and slightly surprising stop: tea growing on Pakistani soil is rare enough to be worth half an hour. Paired with the Siran valley it makes a pleasant day from Abbottabad.

It is not, on its own, worth a special trip from Islamabad, since there is no visitor centre, and a bad day for access means you may only see the garden from the gate.

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