Hunza or Skardu: which should you choose for your northern Pakistan trip?
Hunza and Skardu are both in Gilgit-Baltistan and both are spectacular, but they feel different. If you only have time for one, the right choice depends on what you want to see, how many days you have and how you prefer to travel.
Hunza at a glance
- Highlights: Karimabad, Baltit and Altit forts, the Eagle's Nest viewpoint, Attabad Lake, the Passu Cones and the Hussaini suspension bridge.
- Further north: the Karakoram Highway continues to the Khunjerab Pass on the China border, one of the highest paved border crossings in the world. It is open to visitors in the warmer months.
- Feel: villages, orchards and culture, with the road itself as part of the experience.
- Best for: spring blossom and autumn colours, as well as summer.
Skardu at a glance
- Highlights: Shangrila and Upper Kachura lakes, Shigar Fort, the cold desert at Sarfaranga, Manthokha waterfall and Khaplu.
- Deosai: the high plateau of Deosai National Park, reachable by jeep in summer only.
- Feel: wide landscapes, lakes and big-sky scenery.
- Best for: summer, when Deosai and the high roads are open.
Getting there and trip length
Both are a long road journey from Islamabad, usually two days each way. Flights from Islamabad to Gilgit (for Hunza) and to Skardu save a lot of time, but they depend on the weather and can be cancelled, so keep a spare day in your plan. As a rough guide, allow at least seven to eight days by road for either destination, and around ten days or more to combine both.
Which one should you choose?
- Choose Hunza for culture, forts, the Karakoram Highway and the China border.
- Choose Skardu for lakes, Deosai and quieter, open landscapes.
- For a first visit with families or older travellers, Hunza's hotels and shorter sightseeing drives are often easier.
- For photographers and nature lovers in summer, Skardu and Deosai are hard to beat.
Plan your northern Pakistan tour
We plan private tours to Hunza, Skardu and the Khunjerab border for families, couples, groups and companies, by road or with flights, with day-by-day plans you can adjust.
