11 Days Lahore Islamabad Hunza Skardu

Road Trips

A road trip in Pakistan can take you up the Karakoram Highway to Hunza, over the Babusar Pass in summer, along the Indus to Skardu or west along the Makran Coast to Hingol National Park. We plan private road trips with experienced local drivers, with overnight stops chosen to break up the long mountain days.

Why take a road trip in Pakistan

Distances in Pakistan are long, but the drive is often the best part. Roads climb from the plains of Punjab into gorges cut by the Indus, cross passes above 4,000 metres and run past lakes, glaciers and villages you would never see from a plane. Going by road also means you can stop for chai at a roadside dhaba or spend a night beside a river when the view deserves it.

Best road trips in Pakistan

  • Karakoram Highway: the classic northern Pakistan road trip, following the Indus and Hunza rivers to Hunza, Attabad Lake and the Khunjerab Pass on the Chinese border.
  • Babusar Pass: the summer route from Naran over 4,173 metres to Chilas, usually open only from around June or July until late September.
  • Skardu: the Indus gorge road into Baltistan, with 4x4 trips onward to the Deosai Plains, Shigar and Khaplu.
  • Makran Coastal Highway: desert hills, rock formations such as the Princess of Hope and the beach at Kund Malir, around 240 km west of Karachi in Hingol National Park.

Driving times from Islamabad

Hunza is about 600 km from Islamabad, and most travellers split the drive over two days with a night in Chilas or Besham. Skardu is a similar distance and is also best done over two days by road. In the mountains, allow extra time for landslides and roadworks, which can hold up traffic for hours.

Our road trip tours and car hire

For a ready-made route, the 11 Days Lahore Islamabad Hunza Skardu tour covers Punjab and the north in one trip. In the south, the 8 Days Balochistan Hingol National Park Tour follows the coast. Foreign visitors to Balochistan often need a No Objection Certificate (NOC); the rules change, so we check the current position and arrange one where it is required.

To plan a route of your own, book a car with driver and choose where to stop.

Best time for a road trip

  • May to October: the northern mountain roads are open, with Babusar and Deosai from high summer.
  • October to March: the cooler months for Sindh and the Makran Coast, which are very hot in summer.

Plan your road trip

Tell us your dates and the roads you want to drive, and we will plan the route, stops and stays. Riders can also look at our motorbike tours.