Where the mountains meet the sky
16 destinationsHand-picked valleys, lakes & passes that define Northern Pakistan. Filter by region, or tap any place for guides, best times & tour packages.
Skardu or Hunza — which one first?
Almost everyone planning a first trip north is really choosing between these two, and they are not interchangeable.
Hunza
The easier half. The Karakoram Highway is paved the whole way to the Chinese border, the hotels are the best developed in the region, and the valley stays reachable later into the year. Forts, Attabad Lake, Passu Cones and Khunjerab Pass. Six to seven days by road from Islamabad.
Skardu & Baltistan
Emptier, drier and more dramatic. Lakes, cold desert, the Shigar and Khaplu heritage valleys, and Deosai above four thousand metres. You can fly in and save two days each way, which is why most Skardu trips are by air. Seven to eight days by road, or four to five flying.
You can do both. The road between them runs through Gilgit and takes seven to eight hours, so a combined trip needs ten to twelve days to be worth doing — under a week and you will spend most of it in the vehicle. See how we cover the whole region, or what to look for in a Gilgit-Baltistan tour company if you are still comparing operators.
When each place is worth going
The north does not have one season. High passes and plateaus open late and close early, while the lower valleys run much longer. These are the windows we plan around.
| Destination | Region | Best time |
|---|---|---|
| Hunza Valley | Gilgit Baltistan | Apr – Oct |
| Skardu | Gilgit Baltistan | May – Sep |
| Fairy Meadows | Diamer | Jun – Sep |
| Attabad Lake | Hunza | Apr – Oct |
| Deosai Plains | Skardu | Jul – Aug |
| Khunjerab Pass | Pak–China Border | May – Oct |
| Naltar Valley | Gilgit | Apr – Oct |
| Gilgit | Gilgit Baltistan | May – Sep |
| Baltistan | Gilgit Baltistan | Jun – Sep |
| Swat Valley | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | May – Aug, Dec – Feb |
| Naran Kaghan | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | Jun – Sep |
| Chitral | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | Apr – Oct |
| Azad Kashmir | Azad Jammu & Kashmir | Apr – Oct |
| Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | Apr – Sep |
| Sindh | Sindh | Oct – Mar |
| Balochistan | Balochistan | Oct – Mar |
Two things the table cannot show. Deosai and the high passes are decided by snow rather than by the calendar, so the edges of those windows move year to year and are subject to weather and road conditions on the day. And the Islamabad–Skardu flight is weather dependent all year, so a by-air trip is planned knowing the sector can cancel and you may be rebooked onto the next departure — see flying north.
Not sure where to go?
Tell us your dates, group size & interests — our team will suggest the perfect valleys and build a custom itinerary for you.