13 days in Pakistan: Islamabad to Lahore via the Karakoram

Thirteen days is enough to see the Karakoram properly and still finish among the Mughal domes of Lahore, provided you fly at least one of the long legs and keep two buffer days for mountain weather. This is the route we run most often for first-time visitors, written out day by day with the timings, prices and honest caveats we give our own guests.

I grew up between Hunza and Islamabad and have travelled this loop in every season. What follows is the shape of our 13-day Ultimate Pakistan Tour, but you can use it to plan independently too. Anything that changes often is marked for you to confirm before you travel.

The route in one paragraph

Land in Islamabad, fly or drive north to Gilgit and Hunza, spend four nights in the valley with a day trip to the Khunjerab Pass, cross to Skardu for three nights of lakes, forts and the Deosai plateau in season, fly back to Islamabad, then take the motorway to Lahore for two nights of forts, mosques, food and the Wagah ceremony. Total driving on the mountain days is long but never more than one big day in a row.

Best months for this itinerary

May to October. The Khunjerab Pass typically opens to tourists from about May to late November, weather permitting, and the road beyond Sost closes under snow from December to April (Hunza Tours). Deosai National Park is accessible roughly June to September. Autumn, from late September to late October, gives the clearest skies and the orchard colour in Hunza and Skardu; our 13-day Gilgit-Baltistan Autumn Tour follows the same northern half in those weeks. Lahore is hot from May to September, so in summer we move the city sightseeing to early morning and evening.

Day by day

Day 1: Islamabad

Arrive and ease in: Faisal Mosque in the late afternoon light and dinner at Saidpur village. Sleep early; departures to Gilgit and Skardu are all before 9 a.m.

Day 2: Islamabad to Hunza

Fly to Gilgit (around an hour) and drive two and a half hours up the Karakoram Highway to Karimabad, with the Rakaposhi viewpoint at Ghulmet on the way. If the flight is cancelled, which happens, the alternative is the long drive: 14 to 18 hours via Babusar Top in summer or via Besham all year, broken at Naran or Chilas. We always hold a vehicle in Islamabad on this morning. Overnight Karimabad.

Day 3: Karimabad and Altit

Baltit Fort in the morning, a walk down through the old bazaar to Altit Fort and its garden, lunch at the women-run café in the Altit grounds, and the Eagle's Nest at Duikar for sunset over Rakaposhi, Diran and Ultar. This is the day most guests say they will remember. Overnight Karimabad.

Day 4: Upper Hunza: Attabad, Hussaini, Passu

Drive north through the Attabad tunnels to the turquoise lake, take a boat if you like, cross the Hussaini suspension bridge, and stop under the Passu Cones. Lunch in Passu or Gulmit. Return to Karimabad, or stay in Gulmit tonight to shorten tomorrow. Overnight Karimabad or Gulmit.

Day 5: Khunjerab Pass day trip

An early start. From Sost the pass is about 90 km and roughly three hours up through Khunjerab National Park, where foreigners pay a park fee; it was about PKR 1,300 a few years ago and has since risen, so check the current rate (Against the Compass). [confirm locally: current Khunjerab National Park fee for foreigners and Pakistanis] At 4,693 m you will feel the altitude; we keep summit time to an hour or two, take photographs at the gate and with the yaks and marmots, and descend. Carry your passport for the checkpoints. Back to Karimabad for the night.

Day 6: Hunza to Skardu

The road from Hunza to Skardu is a full day: back down the KKH to the Alam Bridge junction, then east along the Indus for around 170 km to Skardu. Allow eight to nine hours with stops. The Indus gorge is austere and enormous, and the moment the valley opens at Skardu is one of the great arrivals in Pakistan. Overnight Skardu.

Day 7: Skardu: Shigar and the lakes

Shigar Fort in the morning, lunch there, then the Kachura lakes in the afternoon: Upper Kachura for the walk and Lower Kachura, also called Shangrila, for the view. Kharpocho Fort above the town at sunset if your legs allow the climb. Overnight Skardu.

Day 8: Deosai or Khaplu

June to September: a day on the Deosai plateau at over 4,000 m, Sheosar Lake, bears if you are lucky, and the flowers in July. Outside those months, or if you prefer culture to altitude, drive east to Khaplu for the restored palace and the Chaqchan mosque, and return via the Shyok valley. Overnight Skardu.

Day 9: Skardu to Islamabad

Fly to Islamabad, about 1 hour 5 minutes, usually departing early morning. Fares run roughly PKR 25,000 to 45,000 one way (Skyscanner, Bookme). If the weather cancels it, this is where your first buffer day goes: we drive instead, and you lose the Islamabad afternoon but not Lahore. Overnight Islamabad.

Day 10: Islamabad to Lahore

Four to five hours on the M-2 motorway, with a stop at the Kallar Kahar salt-range services or a detour to the Katas Raj temples. Arrive Lahore for lunch. Afternoon at Shalimar Gardens, open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. with entry around PKR 30 (Pak Citizen Guide, May 2026). Evening on Fort Road Food Street with the Badshahi Mosque lit up across the way. Overnight Lahore.

Day 11: Lahore: the Walled City and Wagah

Morning in the Walled City: Lahore Fort opens 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. with foreigner entry around PKR 500; the Badshahi Mosque next door is open through the day with a small fee for non-Muslim visitors; then Wazir Khan Mosque inside Delhi Gate, free, and the bazaars around it (Pak Citizen Guide, May 2026). [confirm locally: current Lahore Fort and Badshahi Mosque fees for foreign visitors]

Leave for the Wagah border by about 2:30 p.m. Gates open between 3 and 3:30, the flag-lowering ceremony starts around 5:30 p.m. in summer (April to September) and 4:30 p.m. in winter (October to March), entry is free, and foreign passport holders get a separate queue and seating nearer the front. Bring your physical passport (Punjab Village Farm, 2026). Overnight Lahore.

Day 12: Lahore at leisure, or your second buffer day

Lahore Museum, the Anarkali bazaar, a Thursday Sufi evening at Shah Jamal, or simply more food. If a mountain flight was cancelled earlier, this is the day that absorbs it. Overnight Lahore.

Day 13: Depart

Fly home from Lahore, or take the motorway back to Islamabad for an evening departure. Both airports have good international connections to the Gulf, the UK and onward.

What it costs

A guided private trip on this route with a dedicated vehicle and driver, good mid-range hotels, domestic flights, all permits and most meals works out between roughly USD 1,800 and 2,800 per person for two travellers sharing, with the spread driven by hotel class, season and whether you fly or drive the long legs. Independent travellers on buses and guesthouses can do it for far less, with the trade-off of long nights on the road and no fallback when a flight is cancelled. [confirm locally: current Third Pole Adventures pricing for this itinerary]

Visas and permits

Most nationalities apply online through Pakistan's e-visa portal; see our step-by-step e-visa guide. No special permit is needed for Hunza, the Khunjerab day trip, Skardu or Lahore on this itinerary. Trekking beyond the road, for example on our 20-day Snow Lake / Biafo-Hispar La trek, is a different matter and needs permits we arrange in advance.

Honest caveats

The two mountain flights are the weak point. Gilgit and Skardu operate under visual flight rules in deep valleys, and cancellations are common in winter and in unsettled monsoon spells (IIPS). That is why there are two buffer days and why we never put an international departure the day after a mountain flight. The Hunza to Skardu road day is long. Lahore in June and July is above 40°C by mid-morning. And Khunjerab is high: if you have a heart or lung condition, talk to your doctor first.

[owner: add a local detail here]

Plan this trip

Download our free Pakistan Trip Planner 2027, which has this route and three others laid out with flight times, buffer days and a budget sheet: get the free guide.

Prefer a version with more trekking, fewer cities, or built around a family wedding in Lahore? Request a custom itinerary and we will reshape the 13 days around you.

Hira Karim is a travel writer with Third Pole Adventures.