Skardu to Hunza to Naran Road Trip: Full 2026 Cost & Route Guide

Planning a Gilgit-Baltistan road trip that covers Skardu, Hunza, the Khunjerab Pass (China border), and the Naran-Kaghan valley in one loop? Here is a real route breakdown, based on an actual 10-day itinerary built for a family group of 4.

Route overview

Leg	Distance	Drive time
Skardu local (Shigar, Khaplu, Kachura Lakes)	~370 km round trips	Spread over 3 days
Skardu -> Hunza (Karimabad)	290 km	5-7 hrs
Hunza local + Attabad Lake (combined day)	51 km	Full day
Hunza -> Khunjerab Pass (round trip)	320 km	6 hrs driving + 2-3 hrs at the pass
Hunza -> Gilgit -> Naran (via Babusar Pass)	323 km	7-8.5 hrs
Naran -> Islamabad	280 km	6-7 hrs

What it actually costs

For a group of 4 travelling in a rented Toyota Land Cruiser TX with driver, staying in named hotels (Serena-tier in Hunza and Islamabad, Rivage/Tibet-tier in Skardu), the real per-person cost lands around PKR 340,000-370,000 depending on fuel type and whether flights are included for the Islamabad-Skardu leg. That figure covers: 2 double hotel rooms, vehicle + driver rental, fuel at a conservative 5 km/l, and activity/entry fees (Attabad zipline/boating/jetski, Khunjerab Pass entry, Saiful Muluk jeep).

Key planning notes

Babusar Pass (4,173m) is only open roughly May-October and should be crossed before early afternoon due to fast-changing weather.
Gilgit-Baltistan hotels carry a 5% GB levy on top of the room rate; Naran (KP) and Islamabad hotels do not.
Combining the Hunza local sightseeing day with the Attabad Lake day (water activities first, forts in the afternoon, sunset at Duiker) saves a full hotel night and a full vehicle-rental day versus splitting them.
The Skardu-Islamabad flight is weather-dependent and known for delays in September - build in buffer, don't schedule anything tight the same day.

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