Gilgit-Baltistan

Skardu

Where mountains meet serenity

Weather now in Skardu 2,226 m

Live weather loads here.

When it snows: Winter sets in during December, with snow possible in the town; Deosai is closed until June. More on the seasons

Forecast from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0), updated every 30 minutes. Mountain weather changes fast: check again before you set off.

The place

Where mountains meet serenity

Skardu sits in a broad valley where the Indus slows and widens, ringed by peaks that keep their snow all summer. It is the staging post for Concordia and K2, but it rewards the traveller who never leaves the valley floor just as well.

Region: Gilgit-Baltistan
Best time: June to September for Deosai and the high valleys. April and May for blossom in the orchards, with the plateau still under snow.
Getting there: Flights from Islamabad when the weather allows, or two days by road up the Karakoram Highway through Chilas.

Highlights

What people come for

Shangrila and Upper Kachura

Two lakes twenty minutes apart, best in the hour after sunrise before the day boats start out.

Katpana cold desert

Sand dunes at 2,200 metres, with snow peaks behind them. The light an hour before sunset is the reason to come.

Shigar and Khaplu

Two restored valley palaces, an hour and three hours out, both still surrounded by working apricot orchards.

Deosai National Park

The plateau above the town, open roughly June to September, and in July a continuous field of wildflowers.

Plan your trip

Getting there, seasons and what to expect

Getting to Skardu: fly or drive?

Skardu is the northern town where flying is a realistic plan. PIA, Airblue and AirSial fly from Islamabad in about an hour (AirSial started the route on 18 May 2026), and some weeks also have direct flights from Lahore and Karachi. The runway takes jet aircraft, so flights run through the winter and are grounded less often than Gilgit's small turboprops, though cloud and snow still cancel them. By road it is two long days from Islamabad. In summer the route is about 360 km over the Babusar Pass to Chilas, then about 280 km up the Karakoram Highway and the Indus gorge road that turns off near Jaglot. When Babusar is shut, the only road is the Karakoram Highway through Besham and Dasu, which is longer and slower. From Lahore, add about 375 km of motorway to Islamabad, or fly direct.

Skardu month by month

June to September is the full season. The Deosai plateau is usually passable from about mid-June, once the track above Satpara is clear of snow, until the first heavy snow, which can come in late September or October. July brings the plateau's wildflowers and the biggest crowds, with school holidays filling the flights and the Kachura hotels. Eid weeks are the busiest of all; Eid ul-Adha is expected around 16 May 2027, subject to the moon. April is blossom time in the orchards of Skardu, Shigar and Khaplu, while Deosai and Babusar are still closed. October is clear and quiet, but Babusar usually shuts in mid-October (on 13 October in 2026). From November to February Skardu is very cold and power cuts in town can run beyond 20 hours a day, so most winter visitors fly and keep plans short.

How many days do you need in Skardu?

Flying both ways, four or five days cover the essentials: a day for Shangrila, Upper Kachura and the Katpana sands, a day for Shigar, a day on Deosai in season, and a day for Khaplu or Manthokha. Driving both ways needs at least six days, because four of them are spent mostly in the car; that is how our six-day Skardu trip is built. Seven days lets you add Khaplu without rushing. Combining Skardu with Hunza needs about nine days by road, since the drive between Karimabad and Skardu is a full day of about 290 km through Gilgit. Whichever you choose, we keep one spare day at the end, because a cancelled flight or a landslide on the gorge road can cost you a day with no warning.

Roads and jeeps around Skardu

The 167 km gorge road from near Jaglot was widened between 2017 and 2021, but the planned tunnels were left out, so landslides still close it. On 23 October 2026 a large slide near Shangus in the Roundu valley shut the road completely and the FWO had to blast the boulders, with travellers stranded on both sides. Before setting out, ring the police helpline on 15 for the road's status. Around Skardu itself, a normal car is fine for the paved roads to Shigar, Khaplu and the Kachura lakes. Deosai is different: beyond Satpara Lake the road becomes a rough track climbing above 4,000 m, with no fuel and no phone signal on the plateau, and we use a jeep with a local driver for it.

Where to stay in Baltistan

Most visitors base themselves in Skardu town, which has the widest choice of hotels and guesthouses and puts every day trip within reach. The Kachura lakes, about 30 km out, have lakeside resorts that are quieter but leave you further from the airport and the bazaar. Shigar and Khaplu both have heritage stays in restored old buildings as well as simpler guesthouses, and a night in Khaplu saves a long return drive. There is nowhere to stay on Deosai: the Gilgit-Baltistan government banned night camping on the plateau after a brown bear injured a visitor in September 2025, and in December 2025 banned seasonal hotels and camps inside the park too. Book early for July and the Eid weeks, and in winter ask whether rooms are heated and what happens when the power goes.

Money, signal and power in Skardu

Carry most of your cash from Islamabad. Skardu town has bank machines, but do not rely on them working when you need them, and jeep drivers, small guesthouses and dhabas outside town expect cash. SCOM gives the widest coverage in Gilgit-Baltistan and came first for coverage and speed in the PTA's quality survey for the second quarter of 2026, though that survey tested only a few towns. Other networks work in Skardu town and are patchy on the gorge road; nothing works on Deosai. Electricity comes almost entirely from hydropower, so supply falls when the rivers drop in winter. In February 2026 Dawn reported cuts of more than 20 hours a day in Skardu, easing after April. Bring a power bank, and in winter warm clothes for indoors as well as out.

Skardu travel conditions, November 2026

As of early November 2026, Babusar Top has been closed by snow since 13 October and normally stays shut until late May or June, so the road route is the Karakoram Highway through Kohistan, with much longer driving days. Deosai is under snow and usually reopens around June. Flights to Skardu continue, weather permitting. The road route also crosses Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which has been under an emergency and governor's rule since 11 October 2026; in the first days containers closed parts of the M-1 near Swabi and mobile service was cut there. Gilgit-Baltistan itself is not on the UK's list of areas to avoid, but the UK advises against all travel on the Karakoram Highway between Mansehra and Chilas. Foreign passport holders should check their own government's advice, because travelling against it can void insurance.

Questions people ask

Is Skardu open in winter?

Yes. Skardu town, Shigar, Khaplu and the Kachura lakes can be visited all year, and flights from Islamabad keep running in clear weather. Deosai and the Babusar Pass are closed by snow from about October to June. Expect days around freezing, much colder nights and long power cuts, so a winter trip suits people who want snow and quiet and are happy to fly in and keep the plan short.

How long is the drive from Islamabad to Skardu?

It is about 640 km and two full days in summer, over the Babusar Pass with a night in Chilas: roughly 10 to 12 hours on the first day and 6 to 7 on the second. When Babusar is closed, the Karakoram Highway through Besham adds distance and several hours. Landslides on the Indus gorge road can add more, so treat any single-day estimate with caution.

Can you stay overnight on Deosai?

No. Night camping has been banned on the plateau since September 2025, after a brown bear injured a visitor near Bara Pani, and from December 2025 seasonal hotels and other commercial set-ups inside the national park were banned as well. Deosai is now a day trip from Skardu, or a crossing towards Astore, done in daylight.

Are flights to Skardu reliable?

More reliable than Gilgit's. Skardu's long runway takes jet aircraft, and three airlines fly the route from Islamabad, so in season there is usually more than one flight a day to be moved to. Bad weather still grounds flights in every season, especially in winter and during heavy summer rain. Keep a spare day before any international connection, and book a flexible ticket if you can.

Do you need a jeep in Skardu?

Only for Deosai and a few side valleys. The roads from Skardu to Shigar, Khaplu, Manthokha and the Kachura lakes are fine in a normal car with a driver who knows them. For the plateau, the rough track above Satpara Lake is best done in a jeep with a local driver, and there is no fuel once you are on it.

Skardu or Hunza for a first trip?

Hunza is easier: it sits on the Karakoram Highway, the roads are good and the villages are close together. Skardu is wider and emptier, with Deosai, the cold deserts and two restored palaces, and it is the easier of the two to fly to. With nine days or more you can do both by road, driving Hunza to Skardu through Gilgit in one day.

Tour packages

Trips that go here

All tour packages

6 days

From Islamabad

Skardu in 6 days

Six days by road over Babusar and the Indus gorge road to Skardu: Kachura lakes, a daytime jeep day on Deosai, Shigar, and Manthokha or Khaplu.

Price on request

View itinerary

9 days

From Islamabad

Hunza and Skardu in 9 days

The full northern road trip: Hunza's forts, Attabad Lake and Passu, then the Indus gorge road to Skardu for Kachura, Shigar and a daytime jeep day on Deosai.

Price on request

View itinerary

8 days

From Islamabad