If you are deciding whether to stay in Gilgit or Hunza, the answer for most trips is Hunza, with a night in Gilgit at one end. Karimabad is cooler, you can walk to the forts and cafés, and it puts Attabad Lake, Passu and the road to Khunjerab within a morning's drive. Gilgit is the better base for Naltar, Bagrot and the Kargah valley, for the night before a flight, and in winter.
The two are about 100 km apart on the Karakoram Highway, two to three hours by car, so the choice is not all or nothing. This guide compares them on the things that decide it, then suggests how to divide your nights.
| Gilgit | Hunza (Karimabad) | |
|---|---|---|
| Altitude | About 1,500 m | About 2,500 m |
| July afternoons | About 36°C on average | About 30°C in Aliabad, cooler in Karimabad |
| January nights | About −3°C | About −7°C in Aliabad, colder higher up |
| Airport | About 2 km away | 2 to 3 hours by road |
| Sights on foot | Few | Baltit Fort, Altit, the old town, cafés |
| Easy day trips | Kargah, Naltar, Bagrot, the junction of three ranges | Attabad, Passu, Hopper, Khunjerab |
| Top-end hotels | Serena, Avari Xpress, Ramada | Hunza Serena; resorts on Attabad Lake |
| Best for | Flights, Naltar, winter | Scenery, summer, most first trips |
Why most people should base themselves in Hunza
Most of what people come north to see is in Hunza or beyond it: Baltit and Altit forts, Rakaposhi from the terraces, Attabad Lake, the Passu Cones, the Hussaini bridge and the Khunjerab Pass. From Karimabad, the forts are a walk away, Attabad is 30 to 40 minutes' drive, and the Hopper glacier across the river in Nagar is 45 minutes to an hour. Khunjerab is a long but ordinary day trip, three and a half to four hours each way.
From Gilgit, all of that is two to three hours further. The tourism department's own route map puts the Khunjerab border about 290 km from Gilgit, and a return trip in a day would mean well over ten hours of driving.
Karimabad also feels like a holiday in a way Gilgit does not. You can walk out after dinner, summer evenings are cool enough for a jacket, and most hotels look across the valley. Our guide to where to stay in Hunza compares Karimabad, Altit, Aliabad and the villages further north.
When Gilgit is the better base
Gilgit wins for a few particular trips:
- Naltar. The road to the Naltar lakes starts at Nomal, about 25 km from Gilgit and three-quarters of the way back from Hunza. From Gilgit the lakes are a long but manageable day; from Karimabad they are a very long one.
- Bagrot, the Kargah Buddha and the junction of three ranges. All are within an hour or two of Gilgit and well out of reach of a morning from Hunza. Our round-up of day trips from Gilgit has the distances and plans.
- Flights. Catching a morning flight from Gilgit means leaving Karimabad very early, on a road that can be held up. Sleep in Gilgit the night before you fly out, and consider it on arrival too if your flight lands late. Our guide to getting from Gilgit airport to Hunza covers the transfer.
- Winter. Gilgit is milder, with January afternoons around 10°C against barely above freezing in Aliabad, and more of its hotels stay open with proper heating.
Heat, comfort and facilities
Summer heat is the biggest single difference. Gilgit's July afternoons average about 36°C and can pass 40°C, and load-shedding can switch the air conditioning off when you need it most. Aliabad, at about 2,200 metres, averages about 30°C in July, and Karimabad, a few hundred metres higher, is cooler still, with nights when you want a blanket. For families coming from Lahore or Karachi to escape the heat, a July night in Gilgit is no escape at all.
Hotels. Gilgit has the region's best-known city hotels: the Gilgit Serena in Jutial, open since 1985, the newer Avari Xpress, and the Ramada Resort at Sakwar, plus plenty of budget rooms near the bazaar. Hunza has the Hunza Serena in Karimabad and a handful of resorts on the shore of Attabad Lake at the top end, and a very wide spread of mid-range hotels and guesthouses. Room rates in Hunza rise sharply in the blossom weeks, in July and August, and on the late-October colour weekends.
Facilities. Gilgit is the regional capital, with the main hospitals, including the Aga Khan Medical Centre, and banks, pharmacies and a large bazaar. In Hunza, the practical services are in Aliabad on the highway: banks, ATMs, pharmacies and the Aga Khan Health Centre. Karimabad has cafés, craft shops and restaurants, but less of the everyday.
Food. Gilgit has more restaurants, from barbecue and trout by the river to cafés in Jutial; Karimabad has fewer, but more of them cook Hunza dishes. Our guide to where to eat in Gilgit covers the city.
Scenery and atmosphere
Gilgit is a working town: government offices, a university, traffic and dust, in a bowl of bare brown mountains. It has its pleasures, such as the river in the evening and the bazaar at dusk, but it is not what people picture when they plan a trip north.
Karimabad is. The old town climbs to Baltit Fort, the orchards are terraced below it, and Rakaposhi fills the view across the valley. The trade-off is that in summer the bazaar road is steep, narrow and jammed with cars in the evening, parking is tight, and on a busy weekend it feels crowded. If that bothers you, Altit is a short drive away and much quieter.
How to split your nights
Most trips work best split between the two, with a night further north in Gulmit or Passu if you are going to Khunjerab.
| Nights in the north | Gilgit | Karimabad | Gulmit or Passu |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 7 | 2, with a day for Naltar | 3 | 2 |
| 4, in winter | 2 | 2 | 0 |
A few rules of thumb:
- Put the Gilgit nights at the ends, next to the flights, rather than in the middle of the trip.
- Sleep in Gulmit or Passu before Khunjerab. It cuts about an hour off each way of the drive to the border.
- Keep one spare night for a cancelled flight or a closed road. If it comes at the end, Gilgit is the easier place to spend it.
Our Gilgit, Hunza and Khunjerab tour follows the same pattern over nine days: two nights in Gilgit on arrival, then Karimabad, a night in Gulmit or Passu before Khunjerab, and a spare day for weather at the end.
Which base suits you?
Choose Hunza for a first trip, for summer, for families who want cool evenings and somewhere to walk after dinner, for couples, and for anyone going to Khunjerab or Attabad. Add one night in Gilgit at the end if you are flying.
Choose Gilgit as your main base if your trip is about Naltar, Bagrot and Gilgit's own history, if you are travelling between November and March, or if you have only two or three days and a flight that may be cancelled. It also suits people visiting family or working in the city, for whom its facilities matter more than the view.
Don't stay in Gilgit and try to see Hunza on day trips. You would spend four or five hours a day in the car for places that are at their best early in the morning and in the evening, after the day visitors have gone. For more on the region as a whole, see our Gilgit and Hunza page.
Frequently asked questions
Is it better to stay in Gilgit or Hunza?
For most visitors, Hunza: it is cooler, walkable and close to the main sights. Stay in Gilgit for the night before your flight, for Naltar and the Kargah valley, or in winter.
How far is Hunza from Gilgit?
Karimabad is about 100 km from Gilgit on the Karakoram Highway, two to three hours by car with a stop at the Rakaposhi View Point.
Can I visit Hunza as a day trip from Gilgit?
You can, but it means four to six hours in the car and little time in Karimabad. Khunjerab is too far to reach from Gilgit and back in a day with any comfort.
Can I visit Naltar from Hunza?
Yes, but it makes a very long day, because the Naltar road starts at Nomal, near Gilgit. A night in Gilgit or in Naltar itself makes it far easier.
Where should I stay the night before my flight from Gilgit?
In Gilgit, especially for a morning flight. The road from Hunza can be held up by rockfall or processions, and a hotel a few minutes from the airport takes the worry away.
Is Gilgit or Hunza better in winter?
Gilgit is milder and has more hotels open with heating. Hunza is colder and snowier, with long power cuts, and more places stay open in Karimabad and Aliabad than further up the valley.
