Swat Motorway Guide: Interchanges, Tolls and Rest Stops

The Swat Motorway, the M-16, is an 81 km four-lane road that leaves the M-1 at the Karnal Sher Khan interchange and runs north to Chakdara, at the mouth of the Swat valley. It has seven interchanges, one main service area at Katlang and a pair of tunnels in the hills near Palai, and it takes about an hour to drive. In 2026 the toll for the full length is PKR 270, with a rise to PKR 324 waiting for provincial cabinet approval. Phase two, an 80 km extension from Chakdara to Fatehpur, is under construction but has no opening date.

This guide goes through the motorway exit by exit, then covers the tolls, where to stop, how to drive it, and what the second phase will and won't change for a trip to Swat.

Where does the Swat Motorway start and end?

It starts on the M-1, the Islamabad to Peshawar motorway, at the Karnal Sher Khan interchange, which you will also see written as Kernal or Colonel Sher Khan. Traffic from Islamabad and Lahore turns right here; traffic from Peshawar turns left.

It ends at Chakdara, beside the Chakdara bridge over the Swat river. Two national highways meet here:

• The N-95 runs up the Swat valley through Barikot to Mingora, about an hour away, and on to Bahrain and Kalam.
• The N-45 runs north to Timergara, Dir and, through the Lowari tunnel, Chitral. Our Islamabad to Chitral guide picks up the route from here.

The motorway opened to traffic in June 2019. Before that, the drive from Nowshera to Chakdara took about three hours on the old road through Mardan, Takht Bhai, Dargai and the Malakand Pass. On the M-16 it takes about one.

The interchanges, in order

Heading north from the M-1, the exits come in this order:

1. Karnal Sher Khan. The junction with the M-1 and the start of the M-16.
2. Dobian. For the Mardan to Dobian and Yar Hussain road.
3. Ismaila. For the Mardan to Swabi road.
4. Bakhshali. For the road into Mardan.
5. Katlang. For the Mardan to Katlang road. The Katlang service area is on this stretch, between Bakhshali and Palai.
6. Palai. For the Sakhakot to Palai road. Just beyond it the motorway climbs into the Malakand hills and through its two tunnels, which is the best-looking part of the drive.
7. Chakdara. The end of the motorway.

For Swat, Dir and Chitral, stay on to the end. The intermediate exits matter mainly to people from Mardan, Swabi and Malakand districts, or if a closure or accident sends you off the motorway and onto the old roads.

How much is the toll?

For the full length, the toll in 2026 is PKR 270. In August 2026 the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government proposed raising it by 20 per cent, to PKR 324, but the rise needs the provincial cabinet's approval and had not been confirmed at the time of writing. Vans, coasters, buses and trucks pay more than cars, and the plaza displays the current rates for each class.

The M-16's tolls are set by the provincial government. The M-1, which you use to reach it from Islamabad or Peshawar, is an NHA motorway: its full Islamabad to Peshawar fare for a car rose to PKR 700 on 10 July 2026, and you pay less because you leave it at Karnal Sher Khan.

Where to stop: the Katlang service area

The Katlang Main Service Area is the one proper stop on the Swat Motorway. It has a fuel station, food outlets and shops, and it is where most people take their tea break between Islamabad and Swat. It sits between the Bakhshali and Palai interchanges, roughly two-thirds of the way to Chakdara.

There is little else on the motorway itself, so:

• Fill up before you leave the M-1 or at Katlang, especially at night or on a holiday weekend when queues build.
• Use Katlang for toilets and prayers. The next reliable stops are in Chakdara and the towns on the N-95 towards Mingora.
• Don't stop on the hard shoulder for photographs, however good the view is on the climb to Palai.

Driving the Swat Motorway

The road itself is easy: four lanes, gentle gradients over most of its length and a good surface. A few things are worth knowing.

• Tunnels. Switch your headlights on before the tunnels near Palai, keep to your lane and don't stop inside.
• Speed. Keep to the posted limits, and slow down well before the end of the motorway at Chakdara, where traffic from the N-45 and N-95 joins.
• After Chakdara, the pace changes. The N-95 to Mingora is a two-lane road through market towns, with rickshaws, speed breakers and bazaars. Most of the time you lose on the way to Swat is lost here, not on the motorway.
• Holiday weekends. At Eid and on summer weekends the toll plazas and the approach to Chakdara can queue. Leave early.

Our guides to driving from Islamabad to Swat and from Lahore to Swat cover the full journey, including timings, and our travel guide has general advice for mountain roads further north.

Security on the route

The motorway runs through Swabi, Mardan and Malakand districts, where the UK government advises against all but essential travel, and ends at Chakdara in Lower Dir, where it advises against all travel, as it does for Swat itself. In Swat, a suicide bombing at the Kabal police station near Mingora killed 17 people on 2 August 2026.

Pakistani traffic uses the motorway all day, every day. Drive it in daylight and check local news and police advice before you leave. Overseas visitors should remember that travelling against their government's advice can void their insurance. Our guide to whether Swat is safe for tourists covers the rest of the trip.

What will phase two change?

Phase two extends the motorway about 80 km up the valley from Chakdara to Fatehpur, just below Madyan. The plan has nine interchanges, at Chakdara, Shamozai, Barikot, Mingora, Kanju, Malam Jabba and the University of Swat, Sher Palam, Matta and Khwazakhela, and Madyan and Fatehpur, with a series of bridges over the Swat river. It is being built as a public-private partnership at an estimated cost of about PKR 60 billion including land, and the provincial government announced the start of construction in early 2026.

When it opens, it should change three things:

• Mingora without the bazaars. The slow hour on the N-95 through Barikot and into Mingora is the worst part of the current drive. The extension bypasses it.
• Malam Jabba gets its own exit. Today you drive through Mingora and up to Manglor to reach the Malam Jabba road.
• Madyan comes much closer. Fatehpur is the turn for Miandam and a few kilometres short of Madyan, so a first night in the middle of the valley will be easy from Islamabad.

What it won't change is the road above Bahrain to Kalam, which stays on the N-95 and is still being repaired after the 2022 floods. No completion date has been announced, so don't plan a trip around it.

Is the motorway always the best way to Swat?

Almost always. The old road over the Malakand Pass through Takht Bhai and Dargai is slower and busier, and it only makes sense if the motorway is closed or you have a reason to stop in Mardan district.

For most trips the motorway is simply the fast first half of the day. Plan your time around what comes after Chakdara, and see the Swat Valley page for what is at the other end.

Frequently asked questions