Hunza, Attabad and Passu
Overview
A six-day journey based in the Hunza valley and Gojal, with Baltit and Altit forts, Attabad Lake, the Passu cones and sunrise from Duikar. Road-based, graded easy, and built around staying still rather than covering ground.
Why you stop rather than pass through
Most itineraries give Hunza one night on the way to somewhere else, which is what the full Karakoram Highway journey to Khunjerab has to do to cover the road. The valley is the reason people come to northern Pakistan and it is wasted as an overnight stop, so this trip stays three nights in Karimabad and two in Gojal and uses them.
The forts
Baltit Fort in Karimabad is around seven hundred years old, restored in the 1990s, and sits directly above the valley with Rakaposhi at 7,788 m opposite. Altit Fort below it is older still, and the restored settlement around it is the part most people skip and should not. We go with a guide who can tell you what you are looking at, which is not the same as a ticket.
Attabad, Passu and Gojal
Attabad Lake was created by the 2010 landslide that buried the old road and displaced several villages. It is now turquoise, with the new highway and its tunnels running above it, and it is worth knowing what you are looking at before you photograph it. Passu and its glacier, and the ridge of rock spires locally called the cones, are a short way beyond.
Duikar
Eagle’s Nest at Duikar is where people go for sunrise over the Hunza valley, and it earns the early alarm. We drive up in the dark and bring breakfast.
When it runs
March to November, which is a longer season than the full highway trip because it does not depend on the Khunjerab road being open. Blossom runs through late March and April, and if that is the reason you are coming, the blossom trip is built around the window. Autumn colour runs through October.
What is inside the price
All permits and fees, our own vehicles and drivers, hotels throughout, all meals, fort entries, and a guide on our payroll. Medical kit, satellite comms where the signal stops and a published evacuation procedure. If you want to walk from here rather than drive, Rakaposhi Base Camp is two hours down the highway. Our other Hunza trips and jeep safaris share the same crew.
- Duration
- 5 – 7 days
- Trek days
- 0
- Maximum altitude
- 2,900 m [confirm]
- Grade
- Easy
- Group size
- Max 10
- Guides
- 2 certified, 1 WFR
- Season
- March – November
- Starts / ends
- Gilgit / Gilgit
- Accommodation
- Hotels in Karimabad and Gojal
- Three nights in Karimabad, not one — the valley is the trip, not a waypoint
- Baltit and Altit forts with a guide who can read the buildings
- Attabad Lake, and an honest account of the 2010 landslide that made it
- The Passu cones and the glacier, a short drive up the valley
- Sunrise from Duikar, driven up in the dark with breakfast carried
Private departures and group pricing
Your party, your dates. The per-person figure falls as the party grows, because the guides, the vehicles and the camp cost the same split more ways. Everything in the inclusions list applies, and the safety standard is the one published above.
| Party size | Price per person | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | USD 2,100 | A full crew for two people |
| 3 – 4 | USD 1,750 | |
| 5 – 8 | USD 1,450 | Second guide joins at six |
Deposit is 25% of the trip price. The payment schedule and the cancellation terms are published and sent with every quote, before you pay anything.
Day by day
Buffer days are built in, not padding. If the weather takes them, nothing downstream collapses and you are not charged twice.
01 Gilgit to Karimabad Hotel · 2,400 m
Met at Gilgit and up the highway into Hunza. Afternoon to settle, and the valley from the terrace.
02 Baltit, Altit and Karimabad Hotel · 2,400 m
Both forts and the old settlement between them, at the pace they deserve. A gentle day by design.
03 Duikar at sunrise, Hunza by day Hotel · 2,400 m
Up to Duikar in the dark for first light over the valley, breakfast carried. The rest of the day is yours, and we will suggest things.
04 Attabad and into Gojal Hotel
The lake, the tunnels and the story of the landslide. On to Gulmit and Gojal.
05 Passu and the cones Hotel
The glacier, the cones, and the Hussaini bridge if it is open. Back down for the last night.
06 Hunza to Gilgit —
Down the valley with stops you choose, and on to the airport or the next leg.
What is included
- Visa sponsor letter
- All permits, park fees and NOCs
- Met inside the terminal, all transfers
- Our own 4x4s and drivers
- Certified guides and insured crew
- All meals and accommodation throughout
- Medical kit, oxygen where the route calls for it
- Satellite comms and a daily message home
- International flights
- Visa fee itself
- Travel insurance covering evacuation and repatriation
- Personal equipment
- Tips
If our price is wrong for you we will move you to a lower tier or remove a named inclusion. We do not discount a published price, and we do not cut the crew.
Fitness and difficulty — read this honestly
No trekking and no fitness requirement. The forts involve stairs and uneven stone, and Baltit is a climb up through the old settlement to reach it. Neither is long, but neither is step-free.
There is no meaningful altitude on this trip. Karimabad sits at around 2,400 m, which is high enough that a few people notice the first night and almost nobody notices the second. If you want the Khunjerab Pass at 4,693 m, that is the Karakoram Highway trip, and the altitude note there is a different conversation.
Kit list
The full list with quantities is sent with your quote. Rental is available in Skardu for most of it, priced separately. Your kit is checked item by item in Islamabad, not the night before the trek.
Group — we provide
- All vehicles, drivers and fuel
- Group first aid
- Satellite phone where there is no mobile signal
Personal — yours
- Layers for a wide temperature range; valley heat and pass cold on the same day
- Comfortable walking shoes for short walks off the road
- Sun hat, sunglasses and sunscreen
- Power bank; mains power is intermittent outside the towns
- Personal medication and a declared medical history
Safety, evacuation and insurance
Helicopter rescue in the Karakoram is not guaranteed. Weather, altitude, daylight and clearance all decide whether a helicopter flies, so every stage carries a named drive-out or walk-out plan. Your insurance must cover helicopter evacuation and repatriation to the maximum altitude on your itinerary, and we verify the certificate before the trip starts.
A graded medical kit sized to the trip, oxygen, a portable altitude chamber, a satellite phone and a messenger, and a wilderness first responder in the crew.
The lead guide’s decision to turn back is final. Not a guest, not an agent, not this office — whatever has been paid.
Getting there
Islamabad to Gilgit
By air when the weather allows, which is the short way and the one that cancels. By road up the Karakoram Highway when it does not, which is long but reliable and is scenery rather than dead time.
Gilgit to Hunza
Around two to three hours up the highway in our own vehicle.
On the ground
Our own vehicles and drivers throughout, including the Duikar road, which is steep and narrow in the dark.
Questions people actually ask
How many days do I need in Hunza?
Six is the shape we sell. Four is enough to see the forts and Attabad without rushing. One night, which is what most itineraries give it, is not enough to have been there.
How is this different from the Karakoram Highway trip?
That one drives the full road from Islamabad to the China border and is nine days. This one starts at Gilgit, stays in the valley and does not go to Khunjerab. If you want the pass, take the highway trip.
How fit do I need to be?
Not very. There is no trekking. The forts have stairs and uneven stone and Baltit is a climb up through the settlement, so tell us about mobility at enquiry and we will plan around it.
Is there any altitude to worry about?
Not really. Karimabad is around 2,400 m. Some people notice the first night and almost nobody notices the second. Nothing on this trip goes high enough to need oxygen.
Do I need a permit for Hunza?
No trekking permit. Hunza and Gojal are open zones and your Pakistan visa is the only paperwork that matters. We send a sponsor letter for the visa as part of the booking.
What does it cost and what moves the price?
Party size first, then hotel standard — Hunza has genuinely good places to stay and some very ordinary ones, and the gap between them is most of the difference. Deposit is 25 per cent.
When should I come for the blossom?
Late March and through April, but the window moves with the winter and it is short. We will tell you what the valley is actually doing in the weeks before you travel rather than quoting an average date.
Is it worth getting up for Duikar?
Yes, and we say that as the people who have to drive you up there in the dark. Clear mornings over the valley are the picture most people come back with.
If this one is not quite right
The commonest reason a trip is wrong is that it is too hard or too easy, not that it is in the wrong place.
- A step harder Deosai plateau and Sheosar Lake
You have already chosen the region, which is the harder decision. These run from the same roadhead.
- Hunza · Cultural journey Hunza heritage — Baltit and Altit
- Hunza · Cultural journey Autumn colour in Hunza and Baltistan
- Gojal & Khunjerab · Day excursion Duikar, Eagle’s Nest and Borith
If this one is not right
Naltar valley
Phander and Ghizer
Babusar Pass
Easy
Shigar & Braldu · Jeep safari