Karakoram Highway Explorer — Hunza, Skardu & Khunjerab Pass

About this trip

Fourteen days along the Karakoram Highway from Islamabad to the Chinese border at 4,693 m — Attabad Lake, Baltit and Altit forts, the Hunza valley, Deosai's high plains and Skardu, with the Nanga Parbat viewpoint on the way. Return flights from the UK included.

This is the tour British-Pakistani families ask us for most: two weeks doing the north properly, without the guesswork of arranging drivers, permits and mountain hotels from 6,000 km away. You fly into Islamabad, drive the Karakoram Highway — the highest paved international road on earth — and work north through Kaghan, Chilas, Hunza and Khunjerab before crossing to Skardu and the Deosai plateau. Everything is arranged: 4x4 Land Cruisers with mountain-experienced drivers, verified hotels with hot water and back-up power, NOC permits where required, and a guide who speaks English, Urdu and Burushaski. Group sizes stay small because the roads in Gilgit-Baltistan reward flexibility. It runs May to early October only, when the passes are open.

Trip highlights

• Khunjerab Pass at 4,693 m — the highest paved border crossing in the world
• Attabad Lake, Passu Cones and the Hussaini suspension bridge
• Baltit Fort (700 years old) and Altit Fort in Karimabad
• Sunrise over Rakaposhi (7,788 m) from the Eagle's Nest viewpoint
• Nanga Parbat, the Killer Mountain, from the Fairy Meadows viewpoint
• Deosai National Park — the second-highest plateau on earth at 4,114 m
• Shangrila Resort, Upper Kachura Lake and the cold desert of Skardu
• Junction of the Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindu Kush ranges