Motorcycle the Karakoram Highway
Overview
A twelve-day supported motorcycle journey up the Karakoram Highway from Islamabad to the Khunjerab Pass at 4,693 m and back down to Gilgit. Lead rider, mechanic, and a support vehicle carrying luggage and spares.
What supported actually means
A lead rider who knows the road, a mechanic travelling with the group, a backup vehicle carrying your luggage and fuel, and a plan for what happens when a bike goes down a long way from a town. The road is the attraction; the support is what makes it a holiday rather than an expedition.
Being honest about this segment
Motorcycle touring in Pakistan is owned by specialists who do nothing else, and they do it well. We are not pretending to have invented it. What we add is the same thing we add everywhere: our own vehicles, our own staff, published standards, and one contract from the visa to the airport. If you want a pure riding company, we will happily say so.
The bikes
Rental is arranged and specified at booking rather than assumed on arrival. Tell us your height, your experience and what you have ridden, and we will tell you honestly what is available and what will suit the road.
The altitude
Khunjerab at 4,693 m is reached from around 2,500 m in a morning. Riding at that altitude is more tiring than driving it, and cold. We carry oxygen on the pass day and build acclimatisation nights in Hunza and Gojal first, to the criteria we publish.
When it runs
May to September. The Khunjerab road is shut outside that.
What is inside the price
Lead rider, mechanic and support vehicle, all fuel, permits and park fees, hotels throughout, all meals, oxygen on the pass day, satellite comms and an evacuation plan for every stage of the highway. See the rest of the Karakoram Highway and our other riding and cycling trips. Bike rental is quoted separately because it depends on what you ride.
- Duration
- 10 – 12 days
- Trek days
- 0
- Maximum altitude
- 4,693 m
- Grade
- Moderate
- Group size
- Max 8 riders
- Guides
- Lead rider, mechanic, 1 WFR
- Season
- May – September
- Starts / ends
- Islamabad / Gilgit
- Accommodation
- Hotels throughout
- Islamabad to the Khunjerab Pass at 4,693 m on two wheels
- A lead rider who knows the road, a mechanic with the group and a support vehicle
- Luggage and fuel carried, so you ride light
- Acclimatisation nights in Hunza and Gojal before the pass day, with oxygen carried
- Buffer days built in, because landslide closures are normal rather than exceptional
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 3,150 | A full crew for two people |
| 3 – 4 | USD 2,650 | |
| 5 – 8 | USD 2,200 | 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 Bike handover and shakedown Hotel · 540 m
Bikes checked and fitted, a short ride out of the city, and anything that does not suit is swapped today rather than in Chilas.
03 Islamabad to Chilas Hotel
Down the highway into the Indus gorge. Long first riding day.
05 Chilas to Hunza Hotel · 2,400 m
Past the junction of the three ranges and up into Hunza. A shorter day on purpose.
06 Hunza — rest and acclimatisation Hotel · 2,400 m
Bikes serviced, riders rested, and height gained gently before the pass.
07 Hunza to Gojal Hotel
Attabad, the tunnels and Passu. Short riding, long looking.
08 Khunjerab Pass and back Hotel · 4,693 m
Up to the border gate and down. Cold, thin air, and the high point of the trip. Oxygen carried.
10 Gojal to Gilgit Hotel
Down the valley at your own pace, with the support vehicle behind.
11 Gilgit — buffer day Hotel
Held against weather and the road. Yours if it is not needed.
12 Gilgit, and onward —
By air, or the long road south with the bikes.
What is included
- Lead rider, mechanic and support vehicle throughout
- All fuel for the route
- All permits, park fees and NOCs
- Visa sponsor letter
- Hotels and all meals
- Oxygen on the pass day
- Satellite comms and a daily message home
- A written evacuation plan for every stage
- International flights
- Visa fee itself
- Motorcycle rental, quoted separately
- Travel insurance covering motorcycling and evacuation
- Riding gear, helmet and 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
Riding fitness rather than walking fitness. Long days in the saddle on a road that is sealed for most of its length and rough in places, with landslide sections and loose surfaces that demand attention rather than skill.
Be honest with us about your experience. We will ask what you have ridden and where, and if the answer suggests the KKH is too much we will say so — not because the riding is technical, but because tiring days at altitude on unfamiliar roads a long way from help is how people get hurt. Riding at 4,693 m is more tiring than driving it and a good deal colder.
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
- Support vehicle, mechanic and spares
- Fuel for the route
- Group first aid and oxygen for the pass day
- Satellite phone
Personal — yours
- Full riding gear — helmet, jacket, gloves, boots
- Thermal layers for the pass; it is cold at 4,693 m in July
- Waterproofs
- Sunglasses and sunscreen
- 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. Briefing, bike handover and a shakedown ride before the route starts.
Up the highway
Islamabad to Khunjerab over several days, northbound, with the support vehicle following.
Out from Gilgit
By air when the weather allows, or the bikes go back down by road with the support vehicle.
Questions people actually ask
How many days is it, and when does it run?
Twelve, Islamabad to Gilgit, with buffer days built in. May to September — the Khunjerab road is shut outside that.
Do you provide the bikes?
Rental is arranged and specified at booking rather than assumed on arrival, and quoted separately because it depends what you ride. Tell us your height, your experience and what you have ridden and we will tell you honestly what is available.
How experienced and how fit do I need to be?
Riding fitness rather than walking fitness — long days in the saddle on consecutive days. Be honest with us about your experience and we will be honest back. The riding is not technical, but long tiring days at altitude on unfamiliar roads a long way from help is how people get hurt. If your experience does not suit the road we will say so.
How high does it get, and does altitude matter on a bike?
4,693 m at Khunjerab. Riding at that altitude is more tiring than driving it and considerably colder. We build acclimatisation nights in Hunza and Gojal first and carry oxygen on the pass day.
Why book this with you rather than a motorcycle specialist?
Motorcycle touring here is owned by specialists who do nothing else, and they do it well — we are not pretending to have invented it. What we add is our own vehicles and staff, published standards, and one contract from the visa to the airport. If you want a pure riding company we will say so.
Do I need a permit?
Khunjerab National Park charges an entry fee, which we pay. There is no separate permit for the highway. 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, bike choice and hotel standard. The support vehicle, mechanic and lead rider cost the same whether there are three riders or eight, so the per-person figure falls as the group grows. Deposit is 25 per cent.
What happens if a bike breaks down?
The mechanic is travelling with the group and the support vehicle carries spares and your luggage. That is most of what you are paying for on a road this long.
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 Cycling the KKH — Gilgit to Khunjerab
You have already chosen the region, which is the harder decision. These run from the same roadhead.
- Karakoram Highway · Jeep safari Karakoram Highway — Islamabad to Khunjerab