Hunza in Winter

You are met at the airport and taken to rest after the flight. In the evening the group sits down together for a welcome dinner, with the plan for the road north laid out over tea.

Night at Hotel, 540 m.

North through Haripur, Abbottabad and Mansehra, then up into the hills to Besham on the Indus. With the Babusar Pass closed for the winter, the whole journey keeps to the Karakoram Highway. Houses and terraces cling to the mountain tops above the river, and the night is in Besham.

Night at Besham, 580 m.

The Indus road carries you through Sazin, Dassu and Kumaila to Chilas, then on to the Nanga Parbat viewpoint at Jaglot. In the Hunza valley you stop for tea at the Rakaposhi viewpoint in Ghulmet, in Nagar, before the last stretch to Karimabad. The snow line is low and the light on the peaks at day's end is something to remember.

Night at Karimabad, 2,500 m.

Baltit Fort, seven hundred years old, opens the day, with a short presentation on the Mirs of Hunza and the early settlement of the valley. Altit Fort, older still, is next, with a walk through the lanes of Altit and a pause in the royal gardens. In the afternoon you drive up to Duikar, the highest viewpoint over Hunza and Nagar, to watch the snow peaks turn gold.

Night at Karimabad, 2,500 m.

North along the Karakoram Highway through ancient Ganish, the Haldeikish rock carvings left by Silk Road travellers, and the frozen edge of Attabad Lake. You pass through the Pak-China Friendship Tunnels, Gulmit, Hussaini and Passu, with the Passu Cones and Shispare in view. At Dhe you enter Khunjerab National Park, where ibex and marmots are the wildlife to look for, and the road climbs to the border at 4,693 m. Sost is the place for a short shopping stop on the way down, and the night is in Passu.

Night at Passu, 2,500 m.

You turn back down the valley to Nomal, change into jeeps, and climb the rough track up into Naltar, home of the longest ski slope in Pakistan. The pine forest is white, and the coloured lakes at the top lie under snow and ice. After a long afternoon to explore and warm up with tea, you return down the track to Gilgit for the night.

Night at Gilgit, 1,500 m.

The Indus road takes you back south toward Islamabad. You retrace the gorges of Diamer by daylight and stop for the night at Besham.

Night at Besham, 580 m.

The last leg of the road, down through Mansehra and Abbottabad to Islamabad, with a drop in altitude of two thousand metres from the high valleys.

Night at Hotel, 540 m.

A free day for the twin cities. Islamabad is the planned modern capital, good for its parks and museums, and Rawalpindi is the older city of British era streets, busy bazaars and kebab stalls.

Night at Hotel, 540 m.

You are taken to the airport in time for your flight home.

540 m.