A Skardu family trip is one of the easiest mountain holidays in Pakistan if you fly. The flight from Islamabad takes about an hour, the town is 20 to 30 minutes from the airport, and the best-loved outings, the Kachura lakes, the Katpana dunes, Satpara Lake and Shigar Fort, are all on paved roads within an hour of your hotel. Stay in one base, plan one outing a day, keep a spare day for the flight, and treat Deosai as optional.
This guide sets out why Skardu suits children, a five-day plan paced for them, how to handle the boats and the dunes, and the honest answer on taking children up to Deosai.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Getting there | About 1 hour by air from Islamabad; 2 days by road, 3 with small children |
| Best base | Skardu town, or Kachura for a night by the lakes |
| Sleeping altitude | About 2,230 m |
| Easiest outings | Shangrila, Satpara, Katpana dunes, Shigar Fort |
| Need more care | Upper Kachura's steep path, quad bikes, Deosai at over 4,000 m |
| Days needed | Five, including a spare day for the flight |
| Best months with children | June and September |
Why Skardu works for families
Most northern holidays with children are shaped by the drive. In Skardu the flight takes the Karakoram Highway out of the plan: leave Islamabad after breakfast and the children can be beside a lake by lunchtime.
Once you are there, the distances are short. The Kachura lakes are 35 to 45 minutes west of town, Katpana is 15 to 20 minutes away beside the airport, Satpara is 20 to 30 minutes south, and Shigar is about an hour north. None of them needs a jeep, so there is time for a proper rest after lunch every day.
The town also has what families need: plenty of hotels, pharmacies, shops and a hospital, at an altitude most children sleep well at from the first night.
Flying in with children
The flight is the part of the trip that needs most planning.
- Book the first flight of the day. Morning flights are more likely to go, and if one is cancelled you have the rest of the day to rearrange.
- Carry the documents. Your CNIC, and a B-Form for each child.
- Check the baggage allowance on your fare. Warm clothes, a pushchair and children's things add up quickly, and cheaper fares can include less checked baggage.
- Arrange a hotel pick-up so nobody is negotiating with taxi drivers while the children wait.
- Keep a spare day before you have to be home. Skardu flights are cancelled in bad weather, and in peak season the next free seats can be a day or more away.
Our Skardu airport guide covers arriving, transfers and what to do if the flight out is delayed.
A five-day family plan
This plan keeps each outing to a morning or an evening, with the middle of the day for lunch and rest. Swap days round to suit the weather.
Day 1: arrive and go slowly
Land, check in, have lunch and let everyone rest. Even at 2,230 metres, a gentle first day helps. If the children have energy in the evening, drive the 15 to 20 minutes to the Katpana dunes for the last hour of light and let them run up and down the sand.
Day 2: the Kachura lakes
Leave by 8 am for Shangrila, when the lake is calm and the paths are empty. The small boats are gentle, the walk round the lake is flat, and the café inside an old DC-3 fuselage is the thing most children remember. If your children walk well, drive a few minutes on to Upper Kachura, where a short, steep path leads down to a bigger, wilder lake. Eat trout by the water or back in town, and rest in the afternoon.
Day 3: Shigar Fort
Drive about an hour north to Shigar, where the restored seventeenth-century palace has a small museum and a garden among the orchards. Day visitors pay an entry fee, and an hour is enough for most children. On the way back, stop at the Sarfaranga dunes or the quiet Blind Lake.
Day 4: Satpara, or Deosai with older children
With younger children, keep it short: Satpara Lake, 20 to 30 minutes south, and the Manthal Buddha Rock, a carved boulder on the way. With older children who travel well, and after two nights in Skardu, this is the day for Deosai (see below).
Day 5: the spare day, then home
Hold this day for a cancelled flight, or use it for anything you missed.
Our guide to the lakes in Skardu compares all the lakes if you want to swap one for another.
Desert fun at Katpana
The Katpana cold desert is sand dunes beside the airport, and for children it is the surprise of the trip: a beach without the sea, with snow peaks behind it. Walking on the dunes costs nothing.
In season, local operators at the edge of the sand offer jeep rides and quad bikes. With children:
- Agree the price and length of the ride first. Prices aren't fixed.
- Keep young children off quad bikes, except on a slow ride with an adult in control, and insist on a helmet for anyone who rides.
- Go in the evening, when the sand has cooled, and take a jacket for after sunset.
Our Katpana desert guide has sunset times by month.
On the water: boats and cold lakes
Boats are most children's favourite part of Skardu, and the lakes are safe enough if you set the rules before anyone climbs in.
- A life jacket that fits for every child, on every ride. Ask for children's sizes before you pay.
- Everyone sits down and stays sitting, including for photographs.
- No paddling. The lakes are fed by snowmelt and are cold even in July, and some shores drop away quickly. Upper Kachura is 70 metres deep.
Should you take children to Deosai?
Deosai is the high plateau above Skardu, averaging over 4,000 metres, open roughly from June to the first heavy snow. It is spectacular, and for many families it is also the hardest day of the trip.
What the day involves:
- Two to three hours each way by jeep to Bara Pani in the middle of the park, on a rough track.
- Nearly 2,000 metres of height gain from the town in a morning.
- Cold wind even when Skardu is hot.
- No facilities. Seasonal hotels and stalls inside the park were banned from the 2026 season, and night camping has been banned since 2025. Take food, water and warm clothes for everyone.
Our advice: take older children who travel well, after at least two nights in Skardu, and turn back if anyone develops a headache, sickness or unusual crankiness. With babies and toddlers, skip it; the road to Satpara, which is the start of the Deosai road, gives you the view down the valley without the altitude. Our guide to a Gilgit-Baltistan family trip explains how altitude affects children and what to watch for.
Where to stay with children
One hotel in Skardu town for the whole trip is the simplest choice: short drives to everything and no packing up halfway through. A night at Kachura is a treat if the budget allows, because the children can be by the lake before breakfast. Ask what the beds in a "family room" really are, and whether there is a lawn or garden.
Heat, food and other practical points
- Summer afternoons are hot. July in Skardu averages about 32 °C by day, with strong sun. Plan outings for mornings and evenings, and pack a fleece for each child for the cool nights.
- Food is easy. Karahi, daal, rice and naan are everywhere, alongside local dishes such as mamtu dumplings.
- Carry cash, since ATMs in Skardu are not always dependable, and bring children's medicines; the outlying valleys have no pharmacies.
Is Skardu right for your family?
Yes, if you fly and stay put. It suits school-age children particularly well: short drives, lakes, sand, boats and a real fort, in a calm town with plenty of hotels.
It is harder with babies and toddlers. Fly both ways, skip Deosai, and it can still be a gentle holiday.
It is the wrong choice if you must drive and have only a week: two days each way on the road leaves three days in Skardu with tired children. If you would like the driving, hotels and Deosai jeep arranged for you, our seven-day Skardu and Deosai trip holds a spare day for weather, and the Skardu destination page shows the rest of the valley.
Frequently asked questions
Is Skardu good for a family trip?
Yes. The main sights are short drives on paved roads, the lakes and dunes suit children, and the flight from Islamabad takes about an hour. Keep a spare day for the flight and treat Deosai as optional.
How many days do you need in Skardu with kids?
Five days if you fly: three or four days of short outings plus a spare day for a cancelled flight. By road, add at least four days for the journey.
Is Deosai safe for children?
The concern is altitude and cold rather than the road. Take only older children who travel well, after two nights in Skardu, keep the day unhurried, and skip it with babies and toddlers.
Which lake in Skardu is best for kids?
Shangrila, where the paths are flat, the boats are small and gentle, and there is a café in an old aircraft. Satpara is also easy and close to town.
Can children ride quad bikes at Katpana desert?
Young children should ride only with an adult on a slow, supervised ride, and everyone should wear a helmet. Agree the price and length of the ride before starting.
What is the best month for a family trip to Skardu?
June and September, when the weather is settled and the valley is green. Deosai usually opens during June and stays open through September, which is also quieter. July and August are busier and hotter.
