Pakistan country guide

Things To Do In Pakistan

Five of the world's fourteen peaks over 8,000 metres, the Karakoram Highway, and hospitality that visitors describe as overwhelming. A serious mountain country that requires serious planning.

Pick a place What it costs

€8

Dorm bed, from

Peaks over 8,000m

1,300km

The Karakoram Highway

€2

A plate of biryani

The mountains are the reason

Pakistan holds five of the world's fourteen 8,000-metre peaks, including K2, and the northern areas around Gilgit-Baltistan and Hunza are among the most spectacular mountain landscapes anywhere. That is what visitors come for, and it is worth the effort involved.

The Karakoram Highway runs 1,300km from Islamabad to the Chinese border at Khunjerab Pass, at 4,693 metres one of the highest paved border crossings in the world. The Hunza valley along it, with terraced orchards under 7,000-metre peaks, is the centre of most trips north.

The cities are the other half. Lahore has Mughal architecture, the Badshahi Mosque and the country's best food; Islamabad is modern, green and orderly; Karachi is enormous and coastal.

This is not a country to travel casually. Government advice restricts several regions, permits are required for some areas, and it needs more research than anywhere else in this guide.

Where to go

Domestic flights link the cities and save two days on the road north. The Karakoram Highway is the alternative.

Lahore

4 hostels · dorms from €4

Mughal architecture, the Badshahi Mosque, and the best food in Pakistan by common consent.

The Lahore guide

Islamabad

30 hostels · dorms from €8

The planned capital: green, orderly, and the usual arrival point for the north.

It's the best city in Islamabad with vibrant youth It's most organised city you will get in whole of Pakistan. Nice infrastructure with blest of nature, hills , parks .
A traveller, on Hostelworld

The Islamabad guide

What kind of trip is this?

Pakistan is a mountain trip with two great cities attached, and it takes planning.

Adventure in Pakistan

Five 8,000-metre peaks and a highway through the Karakoram.

What to do

Trek to K2 base camp
Ride the Karakoram Highway to Khunjerab
Walk to Fairy Meadows

Spots to visit

Hunza
Baltoro glacier
Fairy Meadows

Best cities for it

Things to do

Things to do in Pakistan

The Karakoram Highway is the trip. From Islamabad it runs north through Gilgit to Hunza and on to the Khunjerab Pass at the Chinese border, and the section through Hunza — Attabad Lake, Passu Cones, the Baltit and Altit forts — is the one most visitors build a week around.

Fairy Meadows, facing the 8,126-metre Nanga Parbat, is reached by a famously rough jeep track and then a walk, and is one of the great campsites anywhere. It is seasonal and closes with snow.

For serious trekkers, the route to K2 base camp along the Baltoro glacier is a two-week expedition requiring guides, porters and permits, arranged from Skardu.

In the cities, Lahore is the highlight: the Badshahi Mosque and Lahore Fort face each other, the Walled City is best walked at dawn, and the Wagah border ceremony with India each evening is theatre of an unusual kind.

Food and drink

Eating in Pakistan

Lahore is the food city and most Pakistanis will tell you so. Nihari, a slow-cooked beef stew eaten at breakfast, haleem, and the food streets around the Walled City where you eat on rooftops facing the Badshahi Mosque, are the reasons.

Everyday eating is cheap and excellent: biryani at €2, chapli kebabs in the northwest, karahi cooked in a wok at the table for €5 to €10 shared. Naan comes from a tandoor at a few cents.

In the north, the food is different again — Hunza is known for apricots, walnut and mulberry, and the diet there is lighter and more vegetable-based than the plains. Green tea replaces the sweet milky chai of the south.

Nightlife

Going out in Pakistan

Alcohol is prohibited for Muslims and heavily restricted for everyone else — a handful of licensed hotel bars serve foreign passport holders with a permit, and that is effectively the extent of it. There is no bar or club scene in the way this guide means elsewhere.

What there is instead is a night-time food and social culture that is genuinely lively. Lahore's food streets run until the early hours, tea houses stay open late, and Thursday night qawwali at Sufi shrines — devotional music played to large crowds — is the most memorable evening available in the country.

In the north, evenings are dinner at a guesthouse and an early start, because everything worth doing there happens at dawn.

Getting around

Getting around Pakistan

Domestic flights connect the main cities cheaply, and flights to Gilgit and Skardu save two long days on the road — though they are weather-dependent and cancel often, so build in buffer days.

The Karakoram Highway is the alternative and an attraction in itself: Islamabad to Gilgit takes 15 to 20 hours by bus, with Natco and private operators running the route. Landslides and closures are common.

In the north, shared jeeps reach the valleys and are the only option for most places. In the cities, Careem and inDrive work well and remove the negotiation. Note that some routes and regions require a No Objection Certificate or are closed to foreigners entirely.

Costs

What Pakistan costs

Pakistan is very cheap. Dorms start around €8, biryani is €2, a karahi shared between two is €5 to €10, and city transport costs almost nothing.

A day is €20 to €35 in the cities. The north costs more because transport is the expense — shared jeeps, drivers and domestic flights — and organised treks with guides and porters run €60 to €120 a day.

The rupee has weakened considerably in recent years, which makes the country cheaper for foreign visitors than it was. Cash is essential outside major cities, and card acceptance is limited even in some hotels.

Safety

Staying safe in Pakistan

This section matters more here than on any other page in this guide, and it needs reading before anything else.

Government travel advice from the UK, US and most European countries restricts or advises against travel to several parts of Pakistan, including Balochistan, parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa near the Afghan border, and areas of Sindh. Those restrictions change, and travelling against them typically voids travel insurance entirely. Check current advice from your own government before booking anything.

The areas most travellers visit — Islamabad, Lahore, Hunza, Gilgit-Baltistan — are generally considered safer, and visitors consistently report extraordinary hospitality and feeling welcomed. Some northern regions assign police escorts to foreigners, which is normal here rather than a warning sign.

Beyond that: register with your embassy, carry copies of your passport and visa, dress modestly, and understand that women travelling alone face more restrictions and attention than in most countries covered here.

Entry and documents

Pakistan introduced an e-visa system that covers most nationalities and is applied for online, and it has also offered visa on arrival for tourists from a long list of countries under schemes that have changed several times. Check the official Pakistani visa portal before booking.

Passports need six months' validity.

Some regions require a No Objection Certificate arranged in advance, and areas near the Afghan and Indian borders and in Balochistan have their own restrictions. Your accommodation and any trekking agency will know the current position, and it is worth asking before finalising a route.

When to go

The north opens roughly May to October and the plains are unbearable in summer. April to June and September to October work best overall.

17°

Jan

Cold in the north, with roads closed. Mild in Lahore

20°

Feb

Still closed up north. Good for the cities

26°

Mar

Spring in the plains. Northern roads beginning to open

32°

Apr

Blossom in Hunza, which is the sight of the year

38°

May

The north opens properly. Plains getting very hot

40°

Jun

Trekking season starts. Avoid the plains entirely

38°

Jul

Peak trekking. Monsoon affects the south and Kashmir

36°

Aug

Trekking continues. Landslides close roads periodically

35°

Sep

The best month. Clear, stable and the harvest in Hunza

30°

Oct

Autumn colour in the north. Superb, and cooling in the plains

24°

Nov

North closing. Cities comfortable

19°

Dec

Northern passes shut. Lahore and Islamabad are pleasant

Bar height is temperature. Colour is how busy it gets: quiet busy peak

Average highs for Lahore, which reaches 40°C in summer. The north is an entirely different climate, with the Khunjerab Pass and high valleys only accessible roughly May to October.

What your trip will cost

Pick how you travel and how long for. Per night, for one person, in euro equivalents of rupees.

Guided treks at €60–120 a day and domestic flights to Gilgit or Skardu sit outside these figures.

Nights 7

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Beds—
Food and drink—
Getting around—
Doing things—

What's on

What is on while you are there

The Hunza blossom in April is the most photographed week of the Pakistani year.

Late March to April

Hunza blossom

Hunza Valley

Apricot and cherry blossom across the terraces under snow peaks. The image of northern Pakistan.

Varies yearly

Ramadan and Eid

Nationwide

Daytime fasting, and eating in public is not done. Eid brings several days of holiday.

July

Shandur Polo Festival

Shandur Pass

Polo played at 3,700 metres on the highest polo ground in the world.

June to September

Trekking season

Gilgit-Baltistan

When the Baltoro, K2 base camp and high passes are accessible.

Spring

Basant

Lahore

A kite festival with a long history, though it has been restricted in recent years.

Various dates

Urs festivals

Sufi shrines nationwide

Anniversary festivals at Sufi shrines, with qawwali music and large crowds.

All events in Pakistan

Hostels

Where to stay in Pakistan

The highest-rated hostels in the country, live from Hostelworld. Islamabad has the most, and guesthouses in Hunza and Gilgit are usually booked directly.

9.8 70

Pakistan travel questions

The ones we get asked most.

Is Pakistan safe to visit?

It depends heavily on where. Government advice from the UK, US and most European countries restricts several regions including Balochistan and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and travelling against that advice usually voids your insurance. The areas most visitors go — Islamabad, Lahore, Hunza and Gilgit-Baltistan — are generally considered safer, and travellers consistently report extraordinary hospitality. Check your own government's current advice before booking.

How long do you need in Pakistan?

Three weeks. Reaching the north takes time — 15 to 20 hours by road from Islamabad, or a weather-dependent flight — and the Hunza valley alone deserves a week.

What is the Karakoram Highway?

A 1,300km road from Islamabad to the Chinese border at the Khunjerab Pass, 4,693 metres up and among the highest paved crossings in the world. The Hunza section is what most trips are built around.

When should I go?

April to June and September to October. The northern valleys and passes are only accessible roughly May to October, the Hunza blossom is late March to April, and the plains reach 40°C in summer.

Is Pakistan cheap?

Very. Dorms from €8, biryani at €2, and a day around €20 to €35 in the cities. The north costs more because of transport, and guided treks run €60 to €120 a day.

Do I need permits?

For some regions, yes — a No Objection Certificate is required in certain areas, and border zones have their own restrictions. Trekking agencies and guesthouses know the current position, so ask before finalising a route.

What is it like for solo women travellers?

More restrictive than most destinations in this guide, with more attention and fewer women in public spaces. Many women do travel Pakistan, often with a guide or joining groups, and report warm treatment — but it requires more planning than elsewhere.

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Things To Do In Pakistan

The mountains are the reason

Where to go

Lahore

Islamabad

What kind of trip is this?