Where to Stay in Skardu: City, Kachura or Shigar?

For most first visits, the best place to stay in Skardu is the town itself. It is central for Deosai, Shigar and Khaplu, close to the airport, and has the widest choice of rooms at every budget. Kachura is where to stay for lake views and quiet mornings, and Shigar for a night in a restored palace among the orchards. On a trip of five days or more, many people spend most nights in town and one in Kachura or Shigar.

This guide compares the bases for views, convenience and budget, gives rough 2026 room prices, and ends with which base suits which kind of trip.

Staying in Skardu town

Skardu town is the practical choice. Everything starts from here: the Satpara road up to Deosai, the road east to Khaplu, the K2 road north to Shigar and the Jaglot road west past the airport to Kachura. None of the main sights is more than an hour away, except Khaplu and Deosai.

Why stay here:

• The widest choice. Skardu has everything from simple guesthouses to large modern hotels, so this is where you are most likely to find a room at short notice in peak season.
• Food and services. The bazaar has restaurants, pharmacies and shops, and you are not tied to one hotel restaurant for every meal. There are ATMs too, though they are not always dependable, so bring cash from Islamabad as well.
• Shorter days. Staying central cuts driving time on every day trip, which matters most on the long Deosai and Khaplu days.
• Cheaper, on the whole. The same standard of room usually costs less in town than at a resort by the lakes.

What to watch for: the main roads through town are busy and dusty in summer, and some hotels look onto a street rather than the mountains. Views are the main difference between hotels at the same price. Ask for a room facing the river or the mountains, and read recent reviews for noise.

Within town, hotels spread along the main bazaar and out along the roads towards Satpara and the airport. Places a little away from the bazaar tend to be quieter and have better views; places in the centre are handier for eating out.

Staying at Kachura

The Kachura lakes are about 26 to 30 km west of town, past the airport, at around 2,500 metres. This is the Skardu of photographs: blue water, orchards and poplars, and mountains rising behind.

• Shangrila Resort, on Lower Kachura, opened in 1983 as Skardu's first resort hotel. It is known for its landscaped grounds and a restaurant built inside the fuselage of an aircraft. It is also a popular day-trip stop, so the grounds are busy on summer afternoons; our Shangrila Resort guide covers staying and visiting.
• Around Upper Kachura there are smaller hotels, resorts and guesthouses along the lake road, generally quieter than Shangrila.

Why stay here: you wake up by the lakes and can be on the water at first light, before day visitors arrive. It is greener and quieter than town, and a little higher, so evenings are pleasant in summer. For couples and anyone who wants a slower trip, it is the most attractive base in Skardu.

What to watch for: you are 35 to 45 minutes from town, so most other trips get longer. Deosai and Khaplu both mean driving back through Skardu first, although Shigar can be reached directly from the Kachura side, about 40 km away. There are also fewer places to eat outside your hotel. Resort rooms also cost more than a similar room in town.

A good compromise is one or two nights at Kachura at the start or end of a trip, since the airport lies between the lakes and the town.

Staying in Shigar

Shigar is about 30 km north of Skardu, up to an hour's drive, at the start of the road towards Askole and K2. It is a farming valley of apricots, walnuts and stone houses, and it feels much further from the bazaar than it is.

• Serena Shigar Fort is the reason many people stay. The seventeenth-century palace, restored by the Aga Khan Cultural Service, has 20 rooms: 13 in the old palace and 7 in the Garden House. Staying inside the fort itself is unlike anywhere else in Skardu.
• Smaller hotels and guesthouses in the valley cost much less and share the same quiet.

Why stay here: peace, heritage and the orchards. Evenings in Shigar are quiet and dark, and the mornings are for walking the village lanes before anyone else is about.

What to watch for: Shigar is 30 to 40 km from everything else, including Kachura, the airport and the Deosai road, which starts in town. Using it as a base for the whole trip adds driving every day. One or two nights, at the end of a trip, is the way most people do it.

Other options: Katpana and Khaplu

Katpana and the airport side. A handful of resorts and pod-style camps sit near the Katpana cold desert and the airport, a few kilometres from town. They put you close to the dunes for sunset and near the airport for an early flight. The choice is limited, so read recent reviews.

Khaplu. At 103 km east of Skardu, about three hours' drive, Khaplu is too far to be a base, but it is one of the best overnight stops in Baltistan. The Serena Khaplu Palace has 21 rooms and suites in and around the restored 1840 palace, and there are simpler hotels in the town. A night in Khaplu turns a rushed day trip into a relaxed one.

What does a room in Skardu cost?

Room rates move a lot with the season. Booking.com's average prices for Skardu, checked in September 2026, give a rough idea of the levels: a simple guesthouse room runs to about PKR 2,500 to 4,500 a night, a three-star hotel around PKR 8,000 to 9,000, and a four-star around PKR 25,000. Five-star and heritage hotels averaged roughly PKR 45,000 to 50,000.

Expect to pay more:

• in July and August, and on Eid and 14 August weekends;
• for a lake or mountain view;
• at Kachura and in the heritage hotels, compared with a similar room in town.

Our Skardu trip cost guide puts room prices together with flights, jeeps and food.

How to choose a hotel in Skardu

A few questions are worth asking before you book, wherever you stay:

1. What does the room look at? Two rooms at the same price can face a car park or the Indus.
2. Is there power backup and reliable hot water? Ask directly, especially outside summer.
3. How is the room heated? From October to April this matters more than anything else. Ask whether heating is in the room rate.
4. Is breakfast included, and is there somewhere to eat nearby in the evening?
5. Can they arrange an airport pick-up and a Deosai jeep? Good hotels can, and it saves time.
6. When were the recent reviews written? Standards change, and new hotels open every year.

In peak season, book as early as you can. Rooms at Kachura and the heritage hotels go first.

Which base suits your trip?

• First visit, five days or less: Skardu town, one hotel for the whole trip. It is how our 5-day Skardu itinerary works.
• A week or more: most nights in town, with one or two at Kachura or Shigar, and a night in Khaplu if you are going east.
• Couples and honeymooners: Kachura, or a night at Shigar Fort.
• Families with children: town, for food, shops and short drives, with a lake day rather than a lake stay if the budget is tight.
• On a budget: a guesthouse in town, where the choice of cheaper rooms is widest.
• Photographers: Kachura for sunrise on the lakes, then Katpana at sunset.
• In winter: town, where heating, food and services are easiest to find. The lakes are frozen, and a warm room matters more than a view.

If you would rather not choose at all, our Skardu and Deosai trip includes accommodation throughout, with two days on the Deosai plateau. For an overview of the valley, see the Skardu destination page, and for what to see from each base, our guide to places to visit in Skardu.

Frequently asked questions