Traditional tea in Gilgit-Baltistan is not the milky, sugared chai most Pakistani visitors know from home. The everyday cup here is salted rather than sweet, often pink, sometimes churned with butter, and in some households replaced entirely by a herbal brew picked from the hillside. Understanding what is on offer, and that it is an acquired taste for most first-timers, makes it easier to try without surprise.
Namkeen chai: the everyday salt tea
The most common tea across Gilgit-Baltistan is namkeen chai, a salted, often pink-coloured tea made by brewing green tea leaves with milk and salt rather than sugar. The pink colour comes from a chemical reaction between the tea and a pinch of baking soda, the same process behind Kashmiri and Ladakhi "noon chai," which is closely related to what is served across much of the region. It is drunk through the day, at every meal, and is usually the first thing offered to a guest.
For a visitor used to sweet chai, the salt is the surprise. Most people either come to like it within a day or two or stick to asking for sweet tea instead, which every restaurant and hotel will happily make.
Gur-gur chai: churned butter tea
In Baltistan especially, and in the higher valleys generally, a heartier version called gur-gur chai is made by churning strong black tea with butter and salt in a tall wooden or metal cylinder called a gur-gur, the same method used across the wider Tibetan and Ladakhi plateau. Traditionally the butter came from yak milk; today it is more often ordinary cow or buffalo butter. The result is thick, savoury and high in calories, closer to a warm broth than a drink, and was historically valued for keeping people warm and fed through long, cold winters at altitude.
It is less commonly served to casual visitors than namkeen chai, since churning it takes real preparation, but some traditional households and a few restaurants in Skardu and Khaplu still make it, particularly in winter.
Tumoro: the wild herbal tea of Hunza
A different tradition altogether is tumoro, also spelled tumuro, a herbal tea made from a wild thyme-like plant that grows in the high pastures around Hunza and Nagar. It contains no tea leaves at all: the dried herb is steeped on its own, giving a fragrant, slightly medicinal brew that is drunk after meals and offered to guests, especially in winter.
Locally, tumoro is valued as a remedy for colds, coughs and digestion, and trekkers are often given a cup after a long day for exactly that reason. It has also become one of the more portable souvenirs from Hunza: dried tumoro is sold in small packets in Karimabad's bazaar and in shops across the valley, alongside the region's better-known dried apricots and mulberries.
Where visitors can try each one
You do not need to seek these out specially; they turn up naturally through a normal trip:
- Namkeen chai is served by default in most local homes and traditional restaurants across Gilgit, Hunza, Skardu and Baltistan; ask for sweet or "sada" tea if you would rather have ordinary chai.
- Gur-gur chai is harder to find outside private homes, but worth asking about at guesthouses in Skardu, Khaplu or Shigar, particularly in the colder months.
- Tumoro is easiest to try in Hunza, where guesthouses in Karimabad and Gulmit often serve it after dinner, and easiest to buy as dried leaves from bazaar shops to take home.
If you are visiting during our Gilgit, Hunza and Khunjerab tour or the Skardu and Deosai trip, both routes pass through areas where these teas are part of daily life rather than a tourist performance, and trying what is offered is usually the simplest introduction. Our guide to Gilgit-Baltistan's traditional food covers what typically comes with it.
Is it worth trying if you don't like salty drinks?
Namkeen chai is worth one cup out of curiosity even if you end up preferring sweet tea afterwards; it is offered so widely that declining it entirely would mean missing a genuine part of daily life here. Gur-gur chai is more of a specialist taste, closer to a savoury soup than a drink, and not everyone will finish a full cup. Tumoro is the easiest of the three for most visitors, since it tastes more like a mild herbal infusion than anything unusual, and it travels well as a gift.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the tea in Gilgit-Baltistan pink and salty?
The pink colour and salty taste come from namkeen chai, made by brewing green tea with milk, salt and a pinch of baking soda, the same base recipe as Kashmiri noon chai. It is the everyday tea across the region rather than a special dish.
What is gur-gur chai made from?
Gur-gur chai is black tea churned with butter and salt in a wooden or metal cylinder, traditionally with yak butter in the higher valleys. It is thick and savoury, closer to a warm broth than ordinary tea.
What does tumoro tea taste like?
Tumoro is a wild herbal tea from Hunza and Nagar, brewed from a dried thyme-like plant rather than tea leaves. It has a fragrant, slightly medicinal flavour and no salt or sugar.
Can I ask for ordinary sweet tea instead?
Yes. Every hotel, guesthouse and restaurant in the region can make ordinary milk tea with sugar on request; salted tea is the default, not the only option.
Where can I buy tumoro tea to take home?
Dried tumoro is sold in small packets in bazaar shops in Karimabad, Gulmit and elsewhere in Hunza, usually alongside dried apricots and other local produce.
