9 days
Easy
Hunza Valley and the Khunjerab Pass
Nine days from Islamabad: fly to Gilgit, stay in Karimabad and Passu, and drive the Karakoram Highway to the China border.
Quoted in USD on request
View itineraryTour for international travellers
Hunza and Skardu Grand Tour
This is the fullest of our northern tours, joining the two main regions of Gilgit-Baltistan in one journey. You fly from Islamabad to Gilgit, travel the Karakoram Highway through Hunza to the Chinese border, cross to Baltistan by the road through the Indus gorge, and fly back from Skardu.
- Duration
- 13 days
- Starts and ends
- Islamabad
- Best months
- Mid June to September
- Effort
- Easy to moderate: long road days and short walks, with two day trips above 4,000 m
- Highest point
- 4,693 m at the Khunjerab Pass
- Price
- Quoted in USD
The route
Day by day
- Baltit and Altit forts in Karimabad, and Shigar Fort and Khaplu Palace in Baltistan
- The Khunjerab Pass at 4,693 m on the border with China
- Attabad Lake, the Hussaini suspension bridge and the Passu Cones
- The 167 km road through the Indus gorge from the Karakoram Highway to Skardu
- A day by 4x4 on the Deosai Plains to Sheosar Lake
- In by one mountain airport and out by another, with no road retraced
This is a private tour. Dates, pace and hotels are set for your group and confirmed in writing with your quote.
Travel advice, October 2026: As of October 2026 the UK Foreign Office (advice updated 22 September 2026) does not advise against travel to Gilgit-Baltistan, and this tour flies in and out, so it never uses the Karakoram Highway between Mansehra and Chilas, which the UK and Canada both advise against. The Gilgit to Skardu road and the highway north to Khunjerab are not covered by that advice, and Khunjerab is an official crossing exempt from the 10-mile restriction near the China border. Foreign nationals may not go within 10 miles of the Line of Control; Khaplu and Deosai are outside that zone by our reading of the map, and we go no closer. Check your own government's current advice before you book.
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Day 1
Arrive in Islamabad
You are met at Islamabad International Airport and driven about 35 km to your hotel. There is nothing planned for the day. Your guide briefs you in the evening and confirms the time of the flight north.
Overnight: Islamabad
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Day 2
Fly to Gilgit and drive to Karimabad
The flight to Gilgit takes about an hour, in a small turboprop that flies only in clear weather. From the airport it is about 100 km and 2 to 2.5 hours up the Karakoram Highway to Karimabad, at roughly 2,500 m, with a stop at the roadside viewpoint for Rakaposhi (7,788 m).
Overnight: Karimabad
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Day 3
Karimabad, Baltit Fort and Altit Fort
We walk up through the bazaar to Baltit Fort, now a museum run by the Baltit Heritage Trust, and then visit Altit Fort and the old village at its foot. Altit was restored in the 2000s with the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and has been open to visitors since 2007. Before sunset we drive 15 to 20 minutes up to Duikar for the view down the valley.
Overnight: Karimabad
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Day 4
Attabad Lake, Gulmit and Passu
The highway north passes through five tunnels, 7 km in total, opened in 2015 to bypass Attabad Lake, which a landslide created in January 2010. We stop at the lake, in the Wakhi-speaking town of Gulmit and at the Hussaini suspension bridge before reaching Passu, about 52 km from Karimabad. The afternoon is free for a walk near Borith Lake at about 2,600 m.
Overnight: Passu
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Day 5
The Khunjerab Pass
We leave early for the border, about 120 km and 2.5 to 3 hours from Passu. After the passport check at Sost (2,800 m) the road climbs through Khunjerab National Park to the pass at 4,693 m. We keep the stop at the top to under an hour and are back in Passu by late afternoon.
Overnight: Passu
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Day 6
Passu to Gilgit
A drive of 147 km down the Hunza valley, about 3.5 hours, broken at Ganish, the oldest settlement in Hunza, for a walk among its watchtowers and wooden mosques. In Gilgit there is time for the Kargah Buddha, a 7th-century rock carving 10 km from the town.
Overnight: Gilgit
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Day 7
The Indus gorge road to Skardu
About 210 km and 4 to 5 hours of driving, plus stops. We follow the Karakoram Highway south for about 40 km to the point near Juglot where the Gilgit River joins the Indus and three mountain ranges meet, then turn east on the 167 km Skardu road. It was widened between 2017 and 2021 but still runs through a narrow gorge where landslides can cause delays.
Overnight: Skardu
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Day 8
Skardu and the Kachura lakes
A lighter day after the long drive. We visit the Manthal Buddha Rock, with its relief probably carved in the 8th century, and drive about 30 km to Upper and Lower Kachura lakes at roughly 2,500 m. Towards evening we walk on the dunes of the Katpana cold desert, at 2,226 m beside the Indus.
Overnight: Skardu
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Day 9
The Deosai Plains and Sheosar Lake
We change to a 4x4 and climb past Satpara Lake on to the Deosai plateau, a national park with an average height of 4,114 m. Sheosar Lake is about 70 km from Skardu on a rough track, a slow drive of several hours there and back. We return to Skardu the same evening.
Overnight: Skardu
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Day 10
Shigar and Khaplu
Shigar, about 30 km from Skardu, has a 17th-century fort restored between 1999 and 2004 and the old Amburiq Mosque. From there it is about 100 km, roughly three hours, to Khaplu at 2,600 m on the Shyok River.
Overnight: Khaplu
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Day 11
Khaplu Palace and return to Skardu
In the morning we visit Khaplu Palace, built in 1840 and restored between 2005 and 2011, and the wooden Chaqchan Mosque, one of the oldest in the region. The drive back to Skardu is about 100 km and takes 2.5 to 3 hours.
Overnight: Skardu
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Day 12
Fly to Islamabad
The flight from Skardu to Islamabad takes about an hour. The afternoon is for the Faisal Mosque, the Pakistan Monument and the Lok Virsa heritage museum.
Overnight: Islamabad
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Day 13
Spare day and departure
This day absorbs a one-day flight delay if there has been one. Otherwise the morning is free, and we drive you to the airport in time for your flight.
The detail
What your quote covers
What is included
- Airport pickup and drop-off in Pakistan
- Private vehicle with an experienced driver for the whole route
- English-speaking guide throughout
- Accommodation on a twin-share basis with breakfast
- Entry tickets, park fees and permits named in the itinerary
- Visa support letter for your Pakistan e-visa
- 4x4 vehicle with driver for the Deosai Plains day
- Registration of foreign nationals with the authorities in Gilgit-Baltistan
- Booking of the domestic flights, and rebooking if weather cancels them
What is not
- International flights
- Pakistan visa fee
- Travel insurance, which every traveller must carry
- Lunches and dinners unless stated
- Domestic flights, quoted separately with your itinerary
- Tips and personal expenses
- Boat rides on Attabad Lake, paid locally if you want one
- Extra nights or transport caused by flight cancellations or road closures beyond the spare day in the plan
Good to know before you book
How do I get there and back?
You fly from Islamabad to Gilgit at the start and from Skardu to Islamabad at the end, each about an hour. Everything in between is by road in a private vehicle, and the longest single transfer is about 210 km from Gilgit to Skardu. Flying into one airport and out of the other means you never repeat a long drive.
What if a flight is cancelled or a road is blocked?
Having two airports helps. If the Gilgit flight is cancelled on Day 2 we can fly you to Skardu and run the tour in reverse, and if Skardu is closed at the end we wait for the next flight, using the spare day. A landslide on the Gilgit to Skardu road usually means waiting until machinery clears it, which can take anything from a few hours to more than a day, and we adjust the Skardu days to suit. We do not use the Karakoram Highway through Besham and Dasu as a fallback.
How tiring is it, and what about altitude?
There is little walking, but there are several days with three hours or more in the vehicle on mountain roads. You sleep at 2,600 m or lower every night. The two high points, the Khunjerab Pass at 4,693 m and Deosai at about 4,100 m, are day trips made after several nights in the mountains, with a return to lower ground the same day. Tell us before you book if you have a heart or lung condition.
What are the hotels and food like?
Comfortable hotels and guesthouses throughout, the best available in smaller places such as Passu and Khaplu. Standards are simpler than in Islamabad, and power cuts and weak internet are part of mountain travel. Food is Pakistani home-style cooking with some local Hunza and Balti dishes. Vegetarian meals are easy to arrange if we know in advance.
Do I need permits, and what about the visa?
You need a Pakistan visa issued before you travel, applied for online at visa.nadra.gov.pk; allow at least four weeks. This route keeps to the open areas, so no trekking permit is required. Park tickets for Khunjerab and Deosai are bought at the gates and are included. Passports are checked at Sost and at check posts along the route, so keep yours to hand, with a few photocopies of the photo page and visa.
Why is this tour only offered in summer?
Because Deosai is under snow from about November to May and the Khunjerab Pass is closed by snow in winter. Outside mid June to September we suggest the Hunza tour or the Skardu tour on its own, or this route without the Deosai day.
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