Shandur polo festival 2027: dates, how to get there, where to stay

The Shandur polo festival 2027 has not been given official dates yet, but the last two editions ran in the second and third weeks of June, so plan around mid-to-late June and keep a few days either side flexible. It happens on a grass plateau at about 3,700 m between Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral, and getting there is half the adventure.

I grew up hearing about Shandur the way children elsewhere hear about cup finals. My uncles would drive west from Gilgit for two days in a borrowed jeep, sleep in a tent that leaked, and come home hoarse. I have been going myself since I could sit on a roof rack, and I have written this the way I would brief a friend who has already decided to come to Pakistan and wants the honest version: what the festival is, when it is likely to happen, how to reach it from our side, where you can sleep, and what to expect when the first chukka starts.

What the Shandur polo festival actually is

Shandur Top is a wide, flat pass at roughly 3,700 m (about 12,200 ft) in Ghizer District on our side of the line, with Chitral on the other. Beside a small lake sits what everyone here calls the highest polo ground in the world, a 200 by 56 m field edged with low stone walls rather than boards (Wikipedia). The ground was laid out in the early 1930s at the request of Major Evelyn Cobb, the British political agent, and annual tournaments under British patronage began in 1936 (Wikipedia).

The polo is freestyle, which means the old mountain rules. Six players a side, a match of about an hour in two halves with a ten-minute break, no helmets as a rule, and no referee's whistle to stop play (Wikipedia). Each region sends A, B, C and D teams, chosen in preliminaries at home, and the final on the last day is always Gilgit-Baltistan A against Chitral A. There is a brass-and-drum band playing the whole time, and when a goal goes in the scorer gallops the length of the field and throws the ball into the air to a particular tune. You will not understand the music, and you will still feel it.

Around the polo the two governments lay on paragliding displays, folk music nights, tableaux and school performances, and a camping village with food stalls grows on the plateau for the three days (Gilgit-Baltistan Tourism; Dawn, 24 April 2026).

Shandur polo festival 2027 dates: what we know

Nothing official yet. The dates are announced each spring by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan governments, usually in April or May. Here is the recent pattern, which is the best guide you have until then:

• 2026: announced for 11 to 13 June and opened on 12 June by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor (Dawn; Radio Pakistan). Gilgit took the final, ending a run of Chitral wins that went back to 2012 (The Peshawar Post).
• 2025: 20 to 22 June. Chitral beat Gilgit-Baltistan 9–8 in extra time after a 7–7 finish (GB Tourism Department; Dawn, 23 June 2025).
• Before that: for decades the festival sat on 7 to 9 July, and many older guides still print those dates (Wikipedia). Do not book flights around July unless the 2027 announcement says so.

My working assumption for 2027 is a Friday-to-Sunday window between about 11 and 27 June. [confirm locally: 2027 dates once the KP and GB governments announce them, normally April or May]. If you are booking a wider trip, our Ultimate Pakistan Tour runs Islamabad to Lahore via the Karakoram in 13 days and can be shifted to land at Shandur on the final day; the easiest way is to tell us your dates on the custom itinerary form.

Freestyle polo in northern Pakistan, played the mountain way: six a side and no helmets. Photo: pierre matile / Pexels [confirm locally: the photographer lists only "Pakistan" as the location; swap for an owner's Shandur photo if we have one]

How to get to Shandur from the Gilgit side

The pass is reached from two directions. From Chitral in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa it is a long day via Mastuj and Laspur. From our side it is a longer, prettier day through the Ghizer valley, and that is the route I will describe, because it is the one we run.

Islamabad to Gilgit. Fly if the weather allows (about an hour) or drive the Karakoram Highway over one long day or a comfortable two. We covered the choices in Islamabad to Skardu: flight vs road; the Gilgit decision is the same.

Gilgit to Phander. The road west follows the Gilgit River through Punial, Gahkuch and Gupis, then climbs beside the Phander River to Phander village and its lake. By private jeep or 4x4 this is about five to six hours with stops. The public option is the NATCO bus that leaves Gilgit for Mastuj around 6 am and reaches Phander in roughly six hours, or a Hiace minivan later in the morning; a few years ago those fares were a few hundred rupees (Lost With Purpose). [confirm locally: current NATCO timings and fares during festival week].

Phander to Shandur. Another two to three hours of climbing on a road that is partly surfaced and partly not, through Teru and up onto the plateau (Lost With Purpose). In festival week the last stretch is slow with traffic, so leave Phander early. The pass itself is only open from roughly late April or May to early November; the rest of the year it is under snow and the Gilgit–Chitral road is shut (Visit Silk Road).

Doing it as a loop. The best Shandur trip I know is Gilgit to Shandur, over the pass to Chitral, then Lowari tunnel to Swat and down to Islamabad. It turns a festival into a traverse of the Hindu Kush and Karakoram and avoids backtracking. It also needs a driver who knows both sides, which is the main reason people book it rather than wing it.

Where to stay for the Shandur polo festival

There are no hotels on the pass. You have three honest choices.

Camp on the plateau. This is the real experience. A tented village with basic facilities is set up for the festival by the organisers, and operators like us bring our own camps with proper sleeping bags, a cook tent and a toilet tent (Visit Silk Road). Nights at 3,700 m in June sit around freezing and the wind is constant; the days can be hot enough to burn. Bring a down jacket and sun cream in the same bag.

Sleep in Phander and drive up. Phander has the PTDC motel, a handful of family guesthouses around the lake and tent camps with power; the published prices I have seen run from about PKR 1,000 for a simple double to PKR 4,500 or so at the PTDC, though festival week is higher (Lost With Purpose). [confirm locally: 2027 festival-week rates and whether PTDC Phander is taking bookings]. It means two to three hours each way on match days but a warm bed and a hot shower.

Sleep on the Chitral side. Laspur and Mastuj have guesthouses an hour or two below the pass. Good if you plan to exit via Chitral anyway.

Whichever you choose, book early. Beds within three hours of Shandur sell out weeks ahead of the announcement because locals book on the rumour.

[owner: add a local detail here, for example the Phander family who have hosted our groups since 2019 and what they cook on festival mornings]

What a festival day feels like

Matches are usually mid-morning and mid-afternoon, with the final on the third day. Arrive two hours before the first match for a seat on the stone wall, because that is where the view is and the crowd behind you will stand for an hour. There is no ticket for general entry to the ground; the pavilion and VIP enclosure are by invitation ([confirm locally: any 2027 ticketing or pass system]). Between matches you wander the stalls for chapshuro and tea, watch the paragliders drop onto the plateau, and listen to the Chitrali and Gilgiti bands trying to out-play each other.

Two practical warnings from experience. First, altitude: Shandur is higher than most people have slept before, and headaches are common on night one. Drink more than you think, skip alcohol, and spend the night before in Phander (2,900 m) rather than coming straight from Gilgit (1,500 m). Second, horses. The field has no barrier worth the name, and the riders are not slowing for you. Stay behind the wall.

Is it suitable for families and older travellers?

Yes, with the Phander option. Children love the horses and the camping; grandparents manage well if they sleep low and drive up. We have taken three-generation groups of overseas Pakistani families from the UK and Canada and the only thing that ever caused trouble was the sun. If you are building a longer family trip, the Gilgit-Baltistan Autumn Tour is the wrong season but the right shape; ask us for a June version.

Plan it with us

Shandur is a logistics puzzle more than a safety question: one road, one week, and far more people than beds. We fix the jeep, the camp, the Phander nights and a driver who has done the Chitral side, and we slot it into a longer Karakoram itinerary if you want one.

Download the free Pakistan Trip Planner 2027 for month-by-month weather, visa steps and costs: Pakistan Trip Planner 2027.

Request a custom itinerary and tell us your dates; we will confirm the moment the 2027 festival dates are announced: Customise your tour.

Related reading: Best time to visit Hunza and Skardu, month by month and the Snow Lake / Biafo-Hispar La Trek if June puts you in the mood for a long walk.