Skardu in Spring: Blossom Timing and What to Pack

Skardu in spring means blossom. Apricot trees flower first, followed a week or so later by cherries, and on the valley floor around Skardu, Kachura and Shigar the orchards are usually at their best from late March to mid-April. Khaplu and the higher villages follow in the second half of April. Days are mild, with April averaging about 19 °C, but nights drop to around 7 °C and close to freezing in March, and Deosai stays under snow until summer.

This guide covers when and where the blossom comes, what spring weather is really like, what to pack, and what is open and closed in March, April and May.

When is blossom season in Skardu?

The bloom moves up the valleys as they warm. On the valley floor around Skardu town, at about 2,230 metres, the first apricot flowers usually open in the last days of March or the first days of April. Cherries follow about a week later in the same orchards, so the first half of April often has both at once. Kachura, a little higher at around 2,500 metres, flowers a few days behind the town.

In any one village the trees are at their best for two or three weeks. The timing shifts every year with the winter just gone: a warm March brings everything forward, a cold spell holds it back, and a hard frost or a windy day at the wrong moment can strip the petals early.

If you can pick only one week, aim for the first or second week of April. Before you book, ask your hotel to send a photograph of the orchards a few days out. It is more reliable than any date online, including ours.

Where to see the blossom around Skardu

• Kachura. The orchards on the slopes around Upper Kachura and Shangrila, with the lakes still cold and clear below and snow on every peak. Go early in the morning, when the water is still.
• Shigar. An hour north, the valley has both cherry and apricot orchards around the restored fort and the village behind it. The fort garden in flower is one of the classic spring pictures of Baltistan. Our Shigar Fort guide covers visiting.
• Chunda. A village about an hour's drive from the bazaar and some 500 metres above the town, with a view over the whole of Skardu. The Gilgit-Baltistan tourism department describes it at its most colourful from late February to April, when the fruit trees are in flower.
• Nangsoq. The organic village behind Kharpocho Fort, an easy walk of fields and orchards within town.
• Khaplu and the Mashabrum valley. Three hours east up the Shyok, Khaplu flowers later, and the villages of the Mashabrum valley near it, such as Machulu, Haldi and Talis, are known for their blossom too. If you arrive after mid-April and the Skardu orchards are fading, go east.

For the same season in Hunza, where the timing is similar in Karimabad and later in Gojal, see our guide to Hunza blossom season.

Skardu weather in March, April and May

Spring is when Skardu's averages hide the most. Days are pleasant in the sun; the evenings and mornings are cold.

These are long-term averages from the Pakistan Meteorological Department. What they mean on the ground:

• March is still winter at night, with frost and the chance of late snow. It is also unsettled, with spells of cloud, rain and wind.
• April warms quickly. A sunny afternoon in the orchards can feel like summer, and the same evening can be close to freezing; temperatures below zero have been recorded in April.
• May is mild and green. The blossom is over, but the days are comfortable and the summer crowds haven't arrived.

Our Skardu weather by month guide has the full year.

What to pack for cool spring weather

Pack for two seasons in one day:

• A warm jacket, a hat and gloves for mornings and evenings
• A fleece or warm mid-layer, and T-shirts for the afternoons
• Thermals to sleep in, in case the room heating is weak
• A light waterproof, especially in March and April
• Walking shoes with some grip; orchard lanes can be muddy after rain
• Sunglasses, sunscreen and lip balm, because the sun is strong at this altitude even on a cool day
• A power bank, since power cuts are common

Before you book a room, ask how it is heated and whether heating costs extra. It matters more in March and early April than a view.

What is open and closed in spring?

Spring is a valley trip. Plan around what is open:

• Open: the Kachura lakes, Satpara, Katpana, Shigar, Khaplu, Manthal and the town sights. The roads to all of them are paved and kept open.
• Closed: Deosai, which usually opens some time in June once the snow is cleared. Don't plan a spring trip around it.
• The road from Islamabad: the Karakoram Highway is open all year and the only road route in March, April and most of May. Spring rain brings landslides: in March 2026 slides closed the KKH between Pattan and Bursin, stranding vehicles on both sides. The Babusar road through Naran usually opens in late May or June.
• The flight: spring is one of the most unsettled times for Skardu flights, and low cloud cancels them more often than in summer or autumn.

That makes a spare day essential. Book the first flight of the day, keep a day in hand at the end, and don't fly out of Skardu the day before anything fixed.

If you have a free choice of dates, check the calendar too. In 2027 both Eids fall in spring, Eid ul-Fitr in the first half of March and Eid ul-Adha in mid-May, depending on the moon, and holiday weekends fill flights and rooms quickly.

A spring week in Skardu

A simple shape for five or six days:

1. Arrive and rest, with a short walk in the evening. Nights are cold, so go in early.
2. Kachura at first light, both lakes, then Katpana in the late afternoon light.
3. Shigar, for the fort garden and the orchards, with a night at the fort or back in town.
4. Chunda and Nangsoq, for the view over Skardu in flower and a walk through the organic village.
5. Khaplu, later in the season, ideally with a night there to see the orchards in the morning light.
6. The spare day, for a cancelled flight or a second visit to whichever place was best.

Our guide to the best time to visit Skardu compares spring with the rest of the year.

Is spring the right time for your trip?

Spring suits couples, photographers and anyone who wants the valley calm and at its prettiest. The lanes are quiet, hotels are generally easier to book than in summer, and the snow on the peaks makes every view sharper.

It suits you less if you want the high places. Deosai is shut, and cold nights in a poorly heated room are hard on small children and older parents. If Deosai or long, warm days matter more than the blossom, wait for summer; our guide to Skardu in summer covers what June to August brings. Our page on when to go sets the seasons across the north side by side.

Frequently asked questions