Skardu for Honeymoon: Where to Stay and a Relaxed Plan

For a Skardu honeymoon, plan five nights with a spare day for the flight: two nights by the Kachura lakes, one in the restored fort at Shigar, one in Khaplu Palace, and a last night near the airport. The best months are April and May, for blossom and quiet, and September and October, for clear skies and settled weather. Fly in from Islamabad if you can, and hire a car with a driver so that neither of you spends the week at the wheel.

Skardu works for couples because it combines an hour's flight, lakes you can have to yourselves at dawn, and two of the most romantic hotels in Pakistan. This guide covers when to go, where to stay, a day-by-day plan, and what to sort out before you book.

When is the best time for a Skardu honeymoon?

April and May bring apricot and cherry blossom to the orchards, cool days and few other visitors. Nights are cold, so pick rooms with good heating. Deosai is still under snow.

June to August is the full summer: long days, green valleys, and Deosai open for a day of wildflowers. It is also the busiest time, with school holidays, full flights and crowded lakes on weekends.

September and October are the best months for most couples. The air is clear, the roads are settled, the crowds have gone, and in late October the poplars turn gold.

November to March is a different trip: frozen lakes, cold rooms, short days and more flight cancellations. If your wedding falls in winter, somewhere lower and warmer will suit most couples better.

Where to stay as a couple

The most romantic part of a Skardu honeymoon is where you sleep, so it is worth spending the budget here.

• Kachura, for the lakes. Shangrila Resort sits around Lower Kachura Lake, and staying the night gives you the water at dawn and dusk without the day visitors. Smaller hotels near Upper Kachura are quieter and cost less.
• Serena Shigar Fort, for history. A seventeenth-century palace an hour from Skardu, with 13 rooms in the old building. The royal suite, once the raja's summer quarters, has a wooden balcony above the Shigar stream.
• Serena Khaplu Palace, for the most memorable night. A palace of the 1840s, three hours east of Skardu, with six rooms in the old building. In September 2026 its royal suites were listed from USD 161.50 a night and standard rooms from USD 95.
• Near the airport, for the last night. It saves a dawn drive and makes a cancelled flight easier to handle.

Our comparison of luxury hotels in Skardu covers each of these in more detail. If the budget is tighter, stay in a good mid-range hotel in town and keep one special night at Shigar or Khaplu.

A relaxed five-night plan

This plan keeps the drives short, puts the lakes and dunes at their best times of day, and leaves every afternoon free.

1. Day 1: fly in and go to Kachura. Take the morning flight. The airport lies between town and the lakes, so drive straight west to Kachura. Rest after lunch, then walk around Lower Kachura in the evening once the day visitors have gone.
2. Day 2: the lakes at dawn, the dunes at dusk. Be at Upper Kachura soon after sunrise, when the water is still, and take a boat out before the crowds. Eat trout by the lake, rest through the middle of the day, and drive back past the airport to the Katpana dunes for the last hour of light. Our Katpana desert guide has sunset times by month.
3. Day 3: Shigar. Drive to Shigar in the morning, stopping at the Sarfaranga dunes on the way. Settle into the fort, see the museum and the fourteenth-century Amburiq mosque, and walk the orchard lanes behind the village in the late afternoon. Night at Shigar Fort.
4. Day 4: across to Khaplu. A slow morning in the fort garden, then about four hours' drive, back through Skardu and east up the Shyok. Arrive for tea and the evening light on the palace. Night at Khaplu Palace.
5. Day 5: Khaplu and back. Walk to the Chaqchan mosque and around the old town in the morning, then drive three hours back to Skardu. Night near the airport.
6. Day 6: fly home, or use the day if the flight is cancelled.

In summer, add Deosai. From late June to September, add a night in Skardu and a full day on the plateau by jeep. Put it on day three or later, never on the day you arrive, and take a packed lunch: overnight camping on the plateau is banned.

With only four nights, drop Khaplu and spend the extra time at Kachura or Shigar.

Moments worth planning around

A few things are worth building a day around:

• Upper Kachura at first light, before the boats and day visitors arrive.
• Katpana at sunset, walking up onto the higher dunes as the peaks catch the light.
• The Shigar fort garden in the evening, after the day visitors have left.
• Khaplu Palace at dusk, with the valley below and the mountains behind.
• Deosai in July, when the plateau is covered in wildflowers.

Practical things to sort out

Flights. Book the earliest flight of the day and keep a spare day at the end. Skardu flights are cancelled in bad weather, and a spare day turns a cancellation into an extra morning rather than a missed connection.

Getting around. Hire a car with a driver for the whole stay, through your hotel or a known operator. You need a jeep only for Deosai.

Altitude. Skardu sits at about 2,200 metres. Take the first day gently, drink water, and keep the plateau for later in the trip.

Clothes. Evenings are cool even in summer and cold in spring and autumn, so pack warm layers. Dress modestly in the villages, and ask before entering a mosque.

Documents and money. Carry your CNICs for the flight and hotel check-in. Bring enough cash from Islamabad, because cards are accepted at few places outside the big hotels.

Signal. Expect patchy mobile data in Shigar and Khaplu. If you need to be reachable, give family the hotel numbers.

For what it all adds up to, our honeymoon trip cost guide prices a week in Skardu for a couple at three levels.

Is Skardu the right place for your honeymoon?

It suits couples who want quiet, mountain scenery and somewhere special to sleep, and who would rather fly than drive two days each way. Two palace hotels within reach of one airport are hard to match anywhere else in the country.

It suits less couples who want shopping, nightlife or a beach, or who dislike long drives: the Khaplu leg means about seven hours in the car over two days. It is also a poor choice for a first trip in deep winter.

If you are torn between Skardu and Hunza, our guide to honeymoon destinations in Gilgit-Baltistan compares them. And if you would rather not plan any of it, our Skardu and Deosai trip covers the lakes, Shigar, Deosai and Khaplu in seven days, from PKR 90,000 per person on a twin-share basis, with a spare day held for the flight. The Skardu destination page gives the wider picture of the valley.

Frequently asked questions