Karakoram Highway — Islamabad to Khunjerab
Overview
A nine-day journey up the Karakoram Highway from Islamabad to the Khunjerab Pass at 4,693 m on the China border. Road-based, graded easy, and the single best introduction to northern Pakistan if you have never been.
The road itself
The KKH follows the Indus through the gorge where the Karakoram, Himalaya and Hindu Kush meet, with a marked viewpoint at the junction, then turns north up the Hunza river, where most of the time in Hunza, Attabad and Passu is spent. It took twenty years to build and around a thousand lives. The Shatial and Chilas rock carvings beside it record two thousand years of traffic on the same route, which is the thing that makes this a journey rather than a transfer.
Why we build in buffer days
The KKH is a good sealed road for most of its length with landslide sections that close and reopen. Anyone selling you a fixed nine-day schedule with no slack has not driven it recently. We carry buffer days, we drive our own vehicles with our own drivers, and we would rather hand a day back than run a closure at night.
The Khunjerab Pass
At 4,693 m, the highest paved border crossing in the world, inside Khunjerab National Park. You drive up and back in a day from Gojal, which gains a great deal of altitude quickly. Expect to feel it, and tell us if you have any history of altitude illness. We carry oxygen on the pass day, and the medical kit and oxygen inventory and our acclimatisation and turn-back criteria are published before you pay. The border itself is closed to tourists; the pass is the destination.
When it runs
April to October. The Khunjerab road closes for winter. Spring brings blossom in the Hunza valley through late March and April; autumn brings the poplars in October, which is the quieter and arguably better season.
What is inside the price
All permits and park fees, every kilometre on our own vehicles with our own drivers — this is a long road and the vehicle is the trip — hotels throughout, all meals, a guide on our payroll, oxygen on the pass day, satellite comms in Gojal and an evacuation plan for every stage of the highway. Deposit terms are on the payment and refunds page. The whole Karakoram Highway corridor and our other jeep safaris run on our own vehicles.
- Duration
- 7 – 10 days
- Trek days
- 0
- Maximum altitude
- 4,693 m
- Grade
- Easy
- Group size
- Max 10
- Guides
- 2 certified, 1 WFR
- Season
- April – October
- Starts / ends
- Islamabad / Islamabad
- Accommodation
- Hotels throughout
- The full KKH from Islamabad to the China border, not a Gilgit-to-Hunza shuttle
- The Khunjerab Pass at 4,693 m, the highest paved border crossing in the world
- The junction of the Karakoram, Himalaya and Hindu Kush, with a viewpoint on it
- Shatial and Chilas rock carvings, two thousand years of traffic on the same road
- Buffer days built in, because landslide closures are normal and not an emergency
Fixed departures
These prices are per person on a fixed departure, and they are the price — we do not discount a published figure. Deposit is 25%; the payment schedule and cancellation terms are published and sent with every quote. For your own dates, see the private pricing below.
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 2,650 | A full crew for two people |
| 3 – 4 | USD 2,250 | |
| 5 – 8 | USD 1,850 | 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 Arrive Islamabad Hotel · 540 m
Met inside the terminal. Briefing, SIM and cash.
02 Islamabad to Chilas Hotel
Down the Karakoram Highway into the Indus gorge. Long day, extraordinary road.
03 Chilas to Hunza Hotel · 2,400 m
The rock carvings at Chilas, the junction of the three ranges, and up into Hunza.
04 Hunza Hotel · 2,400 m
The forts and the terraces. A gentle day by design, and the first of the acclimatisation.
05 Attabad, Passu and Gojal Hotel
The lake, the cones, the Hussaini bridge if it is open, and on into Gojal.
06 Khunjerab Pass and back Hotel · 4,693 m
Up to the border and back down. Short time at altitude on purpose, oxygen carried.
07 Gojal to Gilgit Hotel
Down the valley with time for the stops you choose.
08 Gilgit to Islamabad Hotel · 540 m
By air if the weather allows, by road if not. Buffer built in.
09 Islamabad, and home —
Airport transfer.
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, but do not mistake easy for undemanding. This is a lot of time in a vehicle: two long road days at either end and shorter ones between. If sitting for six hours is a problem, this is the wrong trip and we would rather you knew now.
The altitude is the real medical consideration. Khunjerab at 4,693 m is reached in a morning from around 2,500 m, which is a steep gain by any standard. Most people feel it as a headache and breathlessness and nothing worse. If you have any history of altitude illness, heart or lung disease, declare it at enquiry — we carry oxygen on the pass day and we will plan the day differently for you rather than hoping.
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
Met inside the terminal by a member of our team, not a driver with a sign outside it. Briefing the same evening, SIM and cash sorted.
Up the highway
The whole point of the trip is the road, so we drive it northbound. Returning, we fly from Gilgit when the weather allows and drive when it does not.
On the ground
Our own vehicles and our own drivers for every kilometre.
Questions people actually ask
How fit do I need to be, and how much of this is sitting in a car?
No fitness requirement at all — there is no trekking on this trip. But most of it is sitting in a vehicle: two long road days at either end and shorter ones in between. The road is the attraction, and if six hours in a car is a problem then so is this trip.
How many days do I need to drive the whole KKH?
Nine is the shape we sell and seven is the minimum that is not a forced march. Anything shorter means driving the gorge sections in the dark, which we will not do.
Is the Karakoram Highway dangerous?
It is a good sealed road for most of its length, with landslide sections that close and reopen. We drive our own vehicles with our own drivers and we build buffer days, because closures are normal rather than exceptional.
How high does it get and will I feel it?
4,693 m at Khunjerab, reached in a morning from around 2,500 m. Most people get a headache and find themselves out of breath walking to the marker. We go up, stop, and come back down rather than lingering, and we carry oxygen.
Do I need a permit for Khunjerab?
Khunjerab National Park charges an entry fee and we pay it as part of the trip. There is no separate trekking permit for the highway itself. Your Pakistan visa is the paperwork that matters and we send a sponsor letter for it.
What does it cost and what moves the price?
Party size and hotel standard, in that order. Fuel and vehicle days are a real share of a trip this long, so the per-person figure drops noticeably with each extra seat filled. Deposit is 25 per cent and the balance is due before departure.
When is the best time to drive it?
Late March and April for blossom in the Hunza valley, October for the poplars and far fewer people. Midsummer is warm, hazy and busiest. The Khunjerab road is closed in winter.
Can we stop where we want?
Yes. It is your vehicle for the trip. Tell the driver. The itinerary is a plan, not a timetable.
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.
- Karakoram Highway · Riding & cycling Motorcycle the Karakoram Highway
- Gojal & Khunjerab · Riding & cycling Cycling the KKH — Gilgit to Khunjerab
If this one is not right
Naltar valley
Phander and Ghizer
Babusar Pass
Easy
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