Luxury
10-Day Skardu & Hunza Tour
Skardu • Shigar • Khaplu • Gilgit • Hunza 10 Days / 9 Nights 4.9
PKR 320,000for the group
about $1,100 · rate of 10 Sep 2026
Attabad Lake
Gojal, Hunza
Published September 25, 2026 Pakistan Travellers Team 5 min read
Quick answer
What is Attabad Lake and how was it formed?
Attabad Lake is a turquoise lake in Hunza, about 14 km upstream of Karimabad. It formed on 4 January 2010, when a huge landslide blocked the Hunza River at Attabad village. The lake is up to about 21 km long and flooded part of the Karakoram Highway, which now runs past it through tunnels.
- Formed
- 4 January 2010
- Length
- Up to about 21 km
- Best months
- April to October
- Time needed
- 2 to 3 hours
Few places in Pakistan are as instantly recognisable as Attabad Lake. Its colour, a milky turquoise that changes with the light and the season, comes from glacial silt carried down the Hunza River. What visitors see as a postcard began as a disaster, and knowing the story makes the place more interesting to stand beside.
The 2010 landslide
On 4 January 2010, a massive landslide came down on Attabad village and blocked the Hunza River. Twenty people died, around 6,000 were displaced and some 25,000 more were cut off upstream as the water rose behind the natural dam. The lake that formed drowned more than 19 km of the Karakoram Highway and parts of several villages in Gojal.
For five years the only way through was by boat. In September 2015 a realigned 24 km section of the highway opened, bypassing the lake through five tunnels, known as the Pakistan–China Friendship Tunnels, about 7 km long in total. Driving through them today, the lake appears in flashes of blue between the tunnel mouths.
What to do at the lake
Boat rides are the classic Attabad experience: small boats and faster jet skis run from jetties along the shore, and the view back towards the cliffs is the one in most photographs. Fishing is also offered. There are lakeside hotels and cafés for anyone who would rather sit and watch the colour change through the day.
Prices for boats and jet skis are set by local operators and change, so we arrange them on the day rather than print figures here. Life jackets are worth insisting on, especially with children.
When to go
The lake is part of the Hunza season, April to October. The water is at its most vivid on sunny days in late spring and summer. In autumn the poplars around Gulmit and Passu turn gold, which makes the drive north especially beautiful. In winter the surrounding area is very cold and some facilities close. Early mornings are usually the calmest time on the water, before the valley wind picks up.
Nearby: Passu, Gulmit and the road north
Attabad is the gateway to Gojal, or Upper Hunza. North of the lake the road passes Gulmit and then Passu, with the famous Passu Cones rising above the village and the Hussaini suspension bridge across the river. Further on lie Sost and the climb to the Khunjerab Pass on the China border. Many trips stop at the lake on the way to Khunjerab and again on the way back.
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Frequently Asked Questions
On 4 January 2010, when a landslide blocked the Hunza River at Attabad village.
About 14 km upstream (north-east) of Karimabad, along the Karakoram Highway.
Yes. Boat rides and jet skiing run from the lakeside jetties through the season; we confirm current rates on the day.
The Pakistan–China Friendship Tunnels: five tunnels, about 7 km in total, on a 24 km realignment of the Karakoram Highway opened in 2015 to bypass the lake.
April to October. Sunny days in late spring and summer show the colour best; autumn adds golden poplars on the road north.
Up to about 109 m, according to published figures. The water stays cold all year because it comes from the glacier-fed Hunza River.