Weekend Getaways from Islamabad: Hills, Lakes and Kashmir

The best weekend getaways from Islamabad are the ones you can reach on a Friday evening and leave on Sunday after lunch: Murree, about an hour up the expressway; Nathia Gali and the Galiyat, about two and a half hours; Muzaffarabad and Pir Chinasi in Azad Kashmir, three and a half to four and a half hours; and the lower Kaghan valley at Balakot and Kiwai, three to four hours, with Shogran a jeep ride above. All four are cool in summer and none involves a mountain pass. The skill is in timing the traffic, not the distance.

This guide compares the four, suggests how to spend a Friday-to-Sunday in each, and sets out when to leave and come back so you spend the weekend there rather than on the Murree Expressway.

How to choose

Start with how much driving you will accept. Murree and the Galiyat need no more than two and a half hours each way, which leaves Friday evening and most of Saturday and Sunday free. Muzaffarabad and lower Kaghan take closer to four, so they work best if you can leave by Friday lunchtime or are happy to start before dawn on Saturday.

Then think about what you want from the two days. The Galiyat are for walking under pines and sleeping in the cool. Murree is for the Mall, the chairlift and, in winter, snow. Muzaffarabad is for rivers and the first of the Kashmir hills. Lower Kaghan is for the Kunhar river and a night in the meadows at Shogran.

If you have three or more days, you have more choice; our northern areas trip plan from Islamabad sets out the longer routes.

Murree: the closest escape

Murree sits at about 2,290 metres, an hour or so from Islamabad on the Murree Expressway. It is the easiest weekend on this list and, at the wrong time, the most frustrating. The Mall Road, the viewpoints and the hotels are all within a small area, and on summer weekends the whole town fills.

To make it work:

• Stay somewhere with parking a little way out of the centre, and walk to the Mall.
• Go early on Saturday for Patriata, a short drive from the town, where the TDCP chairlift and cable car run up through the pines.
• Avoid the peak days entirely: Eid, 14 August, school-holiday Saturdays and the first weekend of snow.

Winter needs caution. In January 2022, 23 people died when thousands of cars were trapped in Murree in a blizzard, and in January 2026, during the heaviest snowfall in years, the administration stopped tourist entry for a time. In snow season the authorities now close the approach roads once the town reaches capacity. If heavy snow is forecast, go midweek after it falls, or choose somewhere else.

Nathia Gali and the Galiyat: forest walks

The Galiyat are the string of hill stations along the ridge between Murree and Abbottabad: Barian, Changla Gali, Ayubia, Dunga Gali and Nathia Gali. Nathia Gali is about 85 km and two and a half hours from Islamabad, via the expressway to Murree and then the ridge road. It is higher, greener and quieter than Murree, and it is the one we would pick for a family weekend in summer. Our Islamabad to Nathia Gali road guide covers the drive and where to park.

A weekend here is about walking:

• The Pipeline Track from Dunga Gali to Ayubia, about 4 km and almost flat, which suits children and older parents.
• Mushkpuri from Dunga Gali, a steady climb to open grassy slopes and wide views.
• Miranjani, at 2,992 metres the highest point in the Galiyat, for a half-day hike.
• St Matthew's Church and the Lalazar park above the Nathia Gali bazaar, for an easy evening.

The old Ayubia chairlift has been closed since 2021 while it waits for replacement, so don't promise it to the children without checking. Park once and walk in Nathia Gali itself; the bazaar road is slow on weekend evenings.

Muzaffarabad and Pir Chinasi: a taste of Kashmir

From Murree, the road drops to the Jhelum at Kohala and follows it into Azad Kashmir to Muzaffarabad, the capital, at about 740 metres. Allow three and a half to four and a half hours from Islamabad. The city is low and warm in summer, so the reason to come is the rivers and the hill above it.

A weekend here usually looks like this:

1. Friday or Saturday morning: drive up, stopping at Kohala for tea by the Jhelum.
2. Saturday afternoon: the confluence of the Neelum and Jhelum at Domel, the old Red Fort on the Neelum, and the bazaars.
3. Sunday morning: Pir Chinasi, a shrine and open hilltop at about 2,900 metres, about 30 km and an hour up a road of hairpin bends from the city. Go early, before cloud builds over the ridges.
4. Sunday afternoon: back to Islamabad.

Check the situation before you go. In June 2026 the Azad Kashmir government asked visitors to stay away for two weeks during protests and strikes, and in mid-September 2026 mobile data was still switched off in Muzaffarabad. Our Kashmir page introduces the region, and if a weekend here leaves you wanting more, the Neelum Valley Escape is our five-day trip up the river beyond Muzaffarabad.

Rawalakot and Banjosa Lake, in Poonch, are another Kashmir weekend of three to four hours from Islamabad, with pine forest and cooler air. The same checks apply.

Lower Kaghan: Balakot, Kiwai and Shogran

The Hazara Motorway gets you to Mansehra in two to two and a half hours, and Balakot, at the mouth of the Kaghan valley, is about an hour beyond. From there the Naran road follows the Kunhar river upstream to Kiwai, a roadside village where a steep side road climbs to Shogran.

• Balakot and Kiwai make a relaxed river weekend with a riverside hotel, three to four hours from Islamabad.
• Shogran, at 2,362 metres on a forested shelf above Kiwai, is the prize. Most people leave the car at Kiwai and take a local jeep up, which makes it five to six hours door to door. Next morning, jeeps continue to the Siri Paye meadows at about 3,000 metres. Our Shogran guide covers the jeeps and where to stay.

Naran itself, six to seven hours away, is too far for a normal weekend. Lower Kaghan gives you the same river and forest without the long drive.

When to leave and when to come back

Most bad weekends in the hills are traffic, not weather. A few habits help:

• Leave on Friday by early afternoon, or at 6 am on Saturday. Friday evening is when the Murree Expressway backs up.
• Come back on Sunday by 2 or 3 pm. The return rush builds through Sunday afternoon on every road into Islamabad.
• Fill up and top up your M-Tag in Islamabad. There is a toll on the expressway at Phulgran and on the Hazara Motorway.
• Book a room with parking in Murree and Nathia Gali. Street parking is scarce and slow.
• Watch for closures on the way out. Protests and security operations sometimes close roads out of Islamabad; in late September 2026 the Hazara Motorway and the GT Road were among those shut ahead of a planned march.

Which weekend suits you?

With young children or older parents, Nathia Gali: short drive, flat walks, cool nights.

For a couple who want quiet, the Galiyat midweek or out of season, or Shogran on a weekday.

For friends who want a change of scene, Muzaffarabad and Pir Chinasi, or Balakot and Shogran, when the news from Kashmir and Kaghan is quiet.

For snow, Murree or Nathia Gali in January or February, on a weekday after the snow has fallen, never on the day of a big storm.

The one weekend that rarely works is any of these on Eid or 14 August. If your only free days fall then, leave at dawn and come back a day later than everyone else.

Frequently asked questions