Passu & Gojal: Cones, Glaciers and Upper Hunza’s Wild End
Short Answer Gojal is Upper Hunza — the Wakhi-speaking stretch of the Karakoram Highway (KKH) north of Attabad Lake — and Passu is its showpiece village. Come for the Passu Cones (Tupopdan, 6,106 m), a short walk to the Passu Glacier snout, Borith Lake above Hussaini village, the Hussaini Suspension Bridge, and the onward road […]
International Silk Route Festival Opens in Islamabad: What It Means for Pakistan Travellers
What happened The International Silk Route Festival opened on Saturday at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) in Islamabad, The Express Tribune reported on Monday 26 October. Diplomats, government officials, tourism representatives, businesspeople, exhibitors and young delegates gathered to celebrate Pakistan’s cultural heritage and promote regional cooperation through tourism, trade and cultural exchange. […]
Astore Valley Travel Guide: Rama, Minimarg and the Deosai Back Door
Short Answer Astore Valley, reached from the Karakoram Highway at Jaglot, is Gilgit-Baltistan’s quiet alpine valley: pine forests, the meadows of Rama, the Rupal approach to Nanga Parbat, and — for those with the right permission — Minimarg beyond Burzil Pass. Astore town (Eidgah) sits at about 2,600 m. Come May to October; the Minimarg–Deosai […]
Phander Valley & Ghizer: The Greenest Valley in Gilgit-Baltistan
Short Answer Phander Valley, in Ghizer District about 170 km and 5–7 hours by road from Gilgit, is Gilgit-Baltistan’s greenest valley: a wide, poplar-lined valley floor at about 2,900 m, a turquoise trout lake, and the road on to Shandur Pass. Come late May to September for the greenest valley and the trout season. Allow […]
Khaplu Valley Guide: Palace, Lakes and Ghanche’s Slow Corner
Short Answer Khaplu, the capital of Ghanche District in eastern Baltistan, is the slow alternative to Skardu: a green Shyok Valley town at about 2,600 m, home to Khaplu Palace — the 1840 Yabgo royal residence, restored by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and now a Serena heritage hotel with a museum. Allow two […]
Shigar Valley Travel Guide: Fort, Cold Desert and the Road to K2
Short Answer Shigar Valley, a half-hour to an hour’s drive from Skardu along the Shigar River, is Baltistan in miniature: the restored Shigar Fort (now a Serena heritage hotel and museum), the still waters of Blind Lake (Jarba Zhou), apricot orchards, and the road that leads on to Askole — the last village before K2 […]
Things to Do in Skardu: Lakes, Forts and the Gateway to the Karakoram
Short Answer The best things to do in Skardu are: climb Kharpocho Fort for sunset over the Indus, spend a slow morning at Shangrila (Lower Kachura) Lake, walk the dunes of the Katpana cold desert, see the 8th-century Manthal Buddha Rock, and use the town as a base for day trips to Satpara Lake, Shigar […]
Best Time to Visit Gilgit-Baltistan: A Month-by-Month Guide for Every Traveller
I have watched travellers get this question wrong in both directions. Some arrive in February expecting the Hunza of the postcards and find a valley shut down by snow, its hotels closed and its road a gamble. Others write off July entirely because someone told them “monsoon,” and miss the greenest Deosai and the wildest […]
Rakaposhi Base Camp Trek: Minapin to Tagaphari in 2–3 Days
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no extra cost to you. There is a particular moment on this trek, about an hour above Hapakun, when the trail stops being a walk and starts being a viewpoint. The trees thin out, the valley drops away behind […]
K2 Base Camp Trek Itinerary: The Classic 14 Days, Day by Day
Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you — it helps keep these guides free and independently written. There is a moment on the Baltoro Glacier, somewhere between Goro II and Concordia, when the scale of the place finally breaks […]
Best Hotels in Skardu: From Shangrila to Family Guesthouses
Skardu is not one place to stay. It is three different trips wearing one name: a working town with a bazaar and an airport, a pair of famous lakes half an hour out, and two heritage valleys — Shigar and Khaplu — that deserve nights of their own. Pick the wrong base and you will […]
Best Hotels in Hunza Valley: Where to Stay in Karimabad, Aliabad, and Passu
Hunza’s best hotels are not lined up on one strip. They are scattered across a valley that climbs from Aliabad’s bazaar crossroads to Karimabad’s old stone lanes, up to Duikar’s sunset ridge, and on to the lake and the cones of Upper Hunza. Pick the wrong base and you spend your trip in taxis; pick […]
How to Get to Skardu: Flights, the KKH Road, and the Deosai Shortcut
The first decision of a Skardu trip is also the one that shapes it most: fly, or drive? I have done both, and I will not pretend one is obviously right. The flight is one of the great mountain flights on earth — an hour over the Karakoram, Nanga Parbat filling the window — and […]
How to Get to Hunza Valley: Flights, Road, and Bus Compared
Getting to Hunza Valley is half the adventure — and the half most first-timers get wrong. I have watched travellers land in Islamabad with three days for the whole trip and no idea that the valley sits a full day’s drive up the Karakoram Highway, and I have watched others book a “quick flight” to […]
Skardu Trip Cost: What a Week in Baltistan Actually Costs in 2026
Skardu is the rare Himalayan destination that is both genuinely spectacular and genuinely affordable — but only if you know where the money actually goes. The shock for most first-timers is not the hotel or the food. It is the transport: a weather-cancelled flight, a private jeep day to Deosai, a last-minute peak-season fare. Get […]