Skardu sits at about 2,230 metres on the Indus in Gilgit-Baltistan, and it is the capital of Baltistan, a region that is culturally Tibetan, speaks Balti, and was historically known as Little Tibet. It is also the road head for the greatest concentration of high mountains on earth: four of the world's fourteen peaks over eight thousand metres are within a hundred kilometres of here, K2 among them, along with the Baltoro and Biafo glaciers.
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The dunes in the photograph at the top of this page are the Katpana cold desert, one of the highest deserts in the world, which sits in the Indus valley floor with snow peaks behind it. That combination is the thing that makes Skardu look unlike anywhere else: sand and glaciers in the same frame, apricot orchards on the valley floor, and a broad brown river running through it.
What Is Here
In and around the town: Skardu Fort, or Kharpocho, on the rock above the Indus with the best view of the valley; the Katpana desert; and Satpara Lake just south, which is a reservoir and a short drive. Upper and Lower Kachura lakes are twenty minutes away, the lower one being Shangrila, in the second photograph here, which is a resort around a lake and is the region's most photographed spot.
Shigar valley, about an hour north, has the restored seventeenth-century Shigar Fort, now a heritage hotel, and the Amburiq Mosque, a very old Balti timber building. Khaplu, two to three hours east, has another restored palace and is quieter and more traditional than Skardu. Both are the best of Baltistan's built heritage.
Deosai National Park, the Plains of the Giants, sits at around 4,100 metres south of Skardu and is a high plateau of wildflowers and marmots that is open roughly June to September, home to the Himalayan brown bear. It is the single best day trip from here and the drive is a long rough one.
And the mountains. Skardu is where expeditions start: Askole, the last village on the road, is a long drive, and from there the Baltoro trek to Concordia and K2 base camp is a serious fourteen to twenty-one day expedition requiring a licensed operator, porters, permits and genuine mountaineering logistics. It is not a trip you add on, and anyone implying otherwise is selling something. What a normal visitor does from Skardu is the valleys, the lakes, Deosai and perhaps a shorter trek.
Getting There, Which Is the Hard Part
Gilgit-Baltistan is not advised against and its main road in is, and reading the boundary precisely is what makes the trip possible. The FCDO advises against ALL travel on the Karakoram Highway "between Mansehra and Chilas via Battagram, Besham City, Dasu and Sazin UP TO THE JUNCTION WITH THE N15". That is the standard route north from Islamabad, so the obvious drive is not available. BUT THE PROHIBITION ENDS AT THE N15, which means the N15 over the BABUSAR PASS, approached through the Kaghan valley and Naran, is NOT advised against and is a compliant road approach to Gilgit-Baltistan. The catch is seasonal: the FCDO notes Babusar is liable to close with snowfall, which in practice limits it to roughly July to September, and it separately warns that all sections of the Karakoram Highway north of Battagram up to the Chinese border have experienced landslides and that the road should not be driven at night because it is narrow with steep drops. THE ALTERNATIVE IS TO FLY AND THE FCDO IS LUKEWARM ABOUT IT: flights to Gilgit and Skardu "may be unreliable and may change at short notice", and flights to and from the mountainous north are frequently delayed or cancelled by weather, so alternative routes should be planned. A GUIDE THAT SAID ONLY "FLY" WOULD BE WRONG AND ONE THAT SAID "DRIVE THE KARAKORAM HIGHWAY" WOULD SEND YOU INTO AN ADVISE-AGAINST-ALL-TRAVEL ZONE. The honest answer is Babusar in late summer, or a flight with slack in the itinerary, and a plan for what happens if neither works.
For Skardu specifically there are three realistic options. Fly from Islamabad, which is a spectacular hour and is cancelled frequently for weather, so it needs slack in the itinerary on both legs. Drive via the Babusar Pass and the Kaghan valley in the open season, roughly July to September, which avoids the advised-against Karakoram Highway stretch and is the compliant road route, then turn east up the Skardu road from near Jaglot. Or combine them, flying one way and driving the other, which is what most well-planned trips do.
The Skardu road from the Karakoram Highway is a long and dramatic drive of around six hours along the Indus gorge, improved considerably in recent years and still subject to rockfall. Islamabad to Skardu by road is realistically two days with an overnight at Naran, Chilas or Gilgit, and driving at night on any of it is specifically warned against.
Locally, everything is by hired jeep with a driver, which is how Deosai, Shigar and Khaplu are reached. Public transport exists between the main towns and is not practical for sightseeing.
Registration, Permits and the Rules That Apply Here
Three Gilgit-Baltistan requirements that are not advisory holds and will change your trip. ALL FOREIGN NATIONALS MUST REGISTER with the local authorities when visiting the region. A permit may be needed for mountaineering or trekking, PARTICULARLY FOR MOUNTAINS OVER 6,000 METRES, and the FCDO says the permission process CAN TAKE UP TO TWO MONTHS and is best organised through a travel company. And the clause that costs the most if ignored: THE VALIDITY OF YOUR TRAVEL INSURANCE MAY BE AFFECTED IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THE CORRECT PERMITS. Trekking without the paperwork is therefore not a technicality, it is potentially an uninsured helicopter rescue in the highest concentration of 7,000m peaks on earth. The FCDO also says to use reputable trekking agencies, stay on established routes, always walk in groups and NOT TREK ALONE, and notes that the terrain is remote and difficult to police so you should get local security advice before you go.
In practice, for an ordinary visitor doing valleys, lakes and Deosai, the registration is the operative requirement and a reputable hotel or operator handles it as a matter of course. If you intend any trekking at altitude, and especially anything on the Baltoro or towards the high peaks, the permit regime is a serious administrative process that must go through a licensed Pakistani operator months in advance, and a foreign visitor cannot arrange it independently at short notice.
Pakistan has a permission regime that applies before you arrive and it is easy to miss because it is not in the advised-against lists. The FCDO states that you MUST obtain advance permission from local or federal authorities to travel in KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA, BALOCHISTAN and several districts of AZAD KASHMIR, and that there are prohibited areas across the country particularly around military installations, nuclear plants and naval and air bases, where officials may stop you and turn you back. It adds that you or your agency should contact the local authorities of your destination in advance to check the security situation, that in higher-risk areas the authorities sometimes arrange POLICE ESCORTS for your own protection, and that they will tell you if you need a NO OBJECTION CERTIFICATE. NOTE WHAT THIS CATCHES: the Kaghan valley and NARAN are in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and so is the Babusar Pass road, so the one compliant driving route into Gilgit-Baltistan runs through a province that requires advance permission. This is a question for a reputable operator rather than something to improvise at a checkpoint.
Note that Gilgit-Baltistan is not Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, so the KP advance permission rule does not apply to Skardu itself. It does apply if you drive up through the Kaghan valley, because that road is in KP, which is a point worth raising with your operator when you book the route rather than discovering at a checkpost.
When to Go
May to October is the season. July and August are the warmest, up to thirty degrees in the valley, and are when Deosai and the high routes are open and when the domestic holiday traffic peaks. September and early October are the best weeks of the year here: clear, cool, the poplars turning, and far quieter. April and May bring the apricot and cherry blossom, which is beautiful, with the high country still closed.
November to March is winter and Skardu is genuinely cold, well below freezing, with the Deosai road shut, many hotels closed and flights frequently cancelled for weeks. It is possible and it is for people who want winter in the Karakoram specifically.
Whatever the month, nights are cold. At 2,230 metres in dry mountain air the temperature drops hard after sunset even in July, and Deosai at 4,100 metres can be near freezing in August.
Is Skardu Safe for Women Travelers
What is NOT advised against, which is the half most summaries leave out. LAHORE, ISLAMABAD, RAWALPINDI, KARACHI, MULTAN and the rest of PUNJAB and SOUTHERN SINDH carry no advise-against at all, and neither does GILGIT-BALTISTAN, which is the mountain region most visitors actually come for. The FCDO has specific advice for several of these and specific advice is not a prohibition: for Lahore it notes a widespread police presence alongside recent terrorist attacks on public places and security forces, and says to avoid religious events, public events and large crowds; for Islamabad it says to exercise caution in the outlying districts I-8, I-9, I-10 and I-11 and areas further west, and names the Red Mosque, Aabpara Market in G-6 and the Islamabad Press Club as protest focal points; for Karachi it records that criminal and political violence is common including armed carjacking, robbery, kidnap and murder, that major hotels and the financial district are GENERALLY SEEN AS MORE STABLE, and that eight areas carry a greater risk based on past activity: Lyari, Malir, Quaidabad, Orangi Town, Baldia Town, New Karachi Town, Surjani Town and Gulistan-e-Jouhar. In southern Punjab the advice is to take local security advice in advance.
UK FCDO: Pakistan carries both grades of warning over substantial parts of the country, and the lists are specific enough to plan around rather than vague enough to frighten. ALL TRAVEL is advised against to twenty-one districts of KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA, which the FCDO names individually: Bajaur, Bannu, Buner, Charsadda, Dera Ismail Khan, Hangu, Karak, Khyber, Kohat, Kurram, Lakki Marwat, Upper Dir, Lower Dir, Mohmand, Orakzai, PESHAWAR INCLUDING THE CITY, SWAT, Tank, North Waziristan, and Upper and Lower South Waziristan. Also to the whole of BALOCHISTAN PROVINCE; to the N45 HIGHWAY from the north of the Mardan ring road to the edge of Chitral; to the KARAKORAM HIGHWAY between Mansehra and Chilas; and to within 10 miles of the Line of Control in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. ALL BUT ESSENTIAL TRAVEL is advised against to Malakand, Mardan, Nowshera, Shangla and Swabi in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; to AZAD JAMMU AND KASHMIR as a whole; to ALL OF SINDH PROVINCE NORTH OF AND INCLUDING THE CITY OF NAWABSHAH; to Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab; and to within 5 miles of the border with India except at official crossings. TWO CONSEQUENCES THAT CATCH PEOPLE OUT. PESHAWAR AND SWAT ARE BOTH IN THE ALL-TRAVEL LIST, so the Khyber Pass and the Swat valley are not available whatever a tour operator says. AND MOHENJO-DARO IS INSIDE THE SINDH ZONE: Pakistan's most famous archaeological site and a UNESCO World Heritage Site sits in Larkana district, roughly 300km north of Nawabshah, so it falls under the all-but-essential advice even though the advisory never names it. That determination is geographic and it is not close.
Gilgit-Baltistan carries no advise-against at all, which is the fact that makes northern Pakistan available to visitors, and Skardu is in it. The restriction that affects this trip is the Karakoram Highway stretch between Mansehra and Chilas, which is an access problem with a compliant solution rather than a prohibition on the destination. Note that Azad Jammu and Kashmir, which is a different territory, is under all-but-essential advice, and the Line of Control 10-mile zone is under all-travel advice: neither touches Skardu, and the confusion between Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir is common enough to be worth stating.
On terrorism the wording is the strong form and the geography is specific. The FCDO states that terrorists are VERY LIKELY to try to carry out attacks and that there is a HIGH THREAT of terrorism and sectarian violence THROUGHOUT Pakistan. It names the groups operating: Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan, Tehreek-e Jihad Pakistan, Balochistan separatists, Islamic State Khorasan Province and al-Qaida. It records that they MAINLY TARGET GOVERNMENT SECURITY FORCES, that areas of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including Peshawar, and Quetta, suffer regular attacks, and that attacks have also taken place in KARACHI, ISLAMABAD AND LAHORE and other major cities. A number of attacks have targeted CHINESE NATIONALS specifically, and some have targeted people of East Asian appearance more generally. ON KIDNAP it is equally direct: there is a threat throughout the country, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan; terrorist groups are UNLIKELY TO PRIORITISE the kidnap of westerners and any such kidnap would likely be OPPORTUNISTIC; and British nationals including tourists are seen as legitimate targets. It also states that the British government does not make substantive concessions to hostage takers.
Gilgit-Baltistan is among the safer parts of the country in practice, with a low crime rate and a strong local interest in tourism, and the historic sectarian tension in the region has largely concerned Gilgit town rather than Baltistan. The honest risks here are environmental and medical rather than criminal.
What the advisory says and does not say about women travelling here. Pakistan has no dedicated sexual assault section of the kind the FCDO writes for Turkey, Egypt or Sri Lanka, which is an absence of published data rather than an absence of risk and should be read that way. What it does carry is a DRESS CODE instruction stated as a requirement rather than a suggestion: Pakistan is an Islamic country, both men and women should cover shoulders and legs in public, and women should cover their heads when entering mosques and holy places AND IN RURAL AREAS. That last clause is the one visitors miss, and it covers most of Gilgit-Baltistan and the Kaghan valley. A shalwar kameez bought locally is the most comfortable and least conspicuous solution and costs very little. TWO MORE LAWS WORTH KNOWING. It is illegal for unmarried couples to live together, although the FCDO notes the hotel-room rule does not generally apply to visiting foreign nationals, particularly in tourist areas. And ALWAYS CARRY PHOTO ID, because you may be asked for it and you might be detained until you can produce valid identification.
Baltistan is conservative and is also notably hospitable to visitors, and women travelling here consistently report it as the easiest region in Pakistan. A foreign woman in Skardu is not unusual, the hotels are used to foreign guests, and the mountain tourism economy means English is more widely spoken than in the plains. Shalwar kameez with a dupatta remains the sensible standard and a headscarf is expected at mosques and in villages. Hire jeeps and drivers through your hotel, which is both the normal arrangement and the safe one for long days in remote valleys, and ask whether a female guide is available if you want one, as a few operators now have them.
The mountains and the monsoon are the two environmental facts. The monsoon runs from late June to early October and the FCDO records that flooding can affect ALL PROVINCES, with roads and bridges damaged or destroyed; the 2022 floods put roughly a third of the country under water. Landslides and road blockages are a particular risk in hilly and mountainous regions, the advice includes taking extreme care crossing swollen rivers, and the Pakistan Meteorological Department and the National Disaster Management Authority are the sources to watch. Pakistan is also seismically active: the 2005 Kashmir earthquake killed more than 70,000 people. AND THE PRACTICAL POINT FOR AN ITINERARY is that monsoon season and the Babusar Pass window overlap, so the one time the compliant road north is open is also the time landslides are most likely, which is the strongest argument for building slack into a northern trip.
The specifics that matter most here are altitude and the roads. Skardu at 2,230 metres is fine for most people; Deosai at 4,100 is a serious altitude to reach by vehicle in a morning, and people do get sick on that day trip, so take a headache with nausea or breathlessness at rest as a reason to turn back rather than push on. The valley roads have steep drops and no barriers, rockfall is routine, and the single best safety decision available to you is a driver who will not be rushed. The Indus and the glacial rivers are fast, silty and lethally cold, so they are not for swimming or wading.
The photography rules here are enforced and British nationals have been arrested under them. Do not photograph military establishments, airports, or ANY infrastructure including BRIDGES AND DAMS, and do not photograph from an aircraft. The FCDO records that British nationals have been ARRESTED ON SUSPICION OF SPYING, and advises checking with officials if you are unsure. This is more restrictive than it sounds on a trip north, because the Karakoram Highway is a sequence of bridges and the region's most photographed features include reservoirs and dams. It also asks that you not photograph people without permission, which in practice matters most in conservative rural areas and with women.
British nationals of Pakistani origin face a specific and documented criminal risk. The FCDO records that they HAVE BEEN TARGETED BY CRIMINALS INCLUDING KIDNAPPERS, because they are often perceived as wealthier than locals. Given how much of the British Pakistani community traces its families to Mirpur in Azad Kashmir and to central Punjab, this affects a large share of the people most likely to make this trip, and it is a reason to be discreet about plans, itineraries and money with anyone outside the family rather than a reason not to go.
The Skardu Packing List
Warm merino, which you will wear every day
Our merino base layers are 100% Australian merino at 17.5 micron, and a long sleeve merino wool base layer for women is the single most useful garment for Baltistan. It is warm at a cold 2,230-metre night and on a near-freezing morning at Deosai, it keeps you covered wrist to ankle in a conservative region, and it is the only fibre that stays tolerable across a week in which you will not wash anything, because mountain hotel laundry is slow and nothing dries in dry cold air as fast as you expect.
An insulated jacket, for Deosai above all
A Columbia Powder Lite insulated jacket. At 4,100 metres on the Deosai plains in August, in wind, it is the difference between a good day and a miserable one, and in September and October you will want it in Skardu itself after dark.
A windproof shell
A Marmot PreCip Eco rain jacket, in the bag as a wind layer first. Deosai is an open plateau with nothing to shelter behind, and an open jeep in wind at that altitude is cold whatever the thermometer in Skardu said.
Boots, because the ground is loose everywhere
A waterproof hiking boot with ankle support. The walks here are on scree, moraine and sand rather than on paths, Skardu Fort is a rocky climb, and the Deosai stops involve wet ground and stream crossings.
Warm socks, a hat and gloves
Two pairs of Darn Tough merino hiking socks. A warm hat and gloves for Deosai in any month, both of which can be bought in the Skardu bazaar if you arrive without them, along with excellent local woollens.
Serious sun and glare protection
A wide brim UPF 50 sun hat, high-factor sunscreen, lip balm and proper sunglasses. This is the item people underestimate most: UV at altitude in dry air with snow and sand reflecting it is severe, and the cold air hides it completely. Sunburn and cracked lips are the commonest complaints of a Baltistan trip.
Water, treated
An insulated water bottle, which also stops it freezing overnight in the shoulder season. Bottled water is available in Skardu and not in the valleys or on Deosai, and the rivers are glacial silt rather than drinking water, so carry a day's worth.
The small things
Rupees in cash, and a lot of it: there are ATMs in Skardu that work unreliably and nothing at all in the valleys, Shigar or Khaplu, and the whole local economy is cash. Your passport, because registration is required and checkposts ask for it. A power bank, since electricity is intermittent and load-shedding is routine. Lip balm, again, because it genuinely matters here. And apricot kernels and dried fruit from the bazaar, which are the local speciality and the best thing in your bag on a long jeep day.
Recommended Tours and Experiences
Essential Resources for Women in Skardu
Emergency numbers: 15 for police and 1122 for Rescue, with the realistic caveat that in Gilgit-Baltistan these reach a district system and mobile coverage is patchy outside the main towns and absent on Deosai and in the upper valleys. There is a police headquarters in Skardu and the Gilgit-Baltistan Tourism Department maintains a presence in the season. Your hotel or operator is the first and most effective link in any emergency chain here, which is the honest practical position. Registration with the local authorities is required of all foreign nationals, and your hotel normally handles it; keep a copy. A First Information Report is the document to ask for in any incident you will claim on.
US State Department travel advisory: the Pakistan advisory. Read the current level there directly rather than relying on a figure printed in any guide.
UK FCDO travel advice: gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/pakistan, and read the safety and security page rather than only the landing page, because that is where the substance sits.
Main hospital: Skardu has a District Headquarters Hospital and a Combined Military Hospital, which between them handle ordinary emergencies, fractures and altitude illness, and that is the limit of local capability. For anything serious the answer is Islamabad, which is a one-hour flight or a two-day drive, and specifically Shifa International or the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences. The flight is the problem: Skardu's airport closes for weather for days at a time, so a medical evacuation that depends on it may not be immediate, and that is the single most important thing to understand about being ill or injured here. Confirm in writing that your insurance covers helicopter evacuation, travel and trekking to at least 4,200 metres to cover Deosai, and Pakistan as a destination at all, because many policies exclude it. If you are trekking beyond the valleys, your operator's evacuation arrangement and who pays for a helicopter up front are the questions that matter at the time.
Official health authority: the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, Pakistan's federal health ministry. Altitude illness is the likely medical problem, especially on the Deosai day trip at 4,100m reached by vehicle in a morning, and local capability stops at fractures and altitude sickness
US Embassy: the United States Embassy in Islamabad.
Official tourism authority: the Government of Gilgit-Baltistan, used here as a LABELLED SUBSTITUTE rather than as the national tourism board. Pakistan's national tourism bodies cannot be linked safely: every URL form of tourism.gov.pk fails certificate verification and the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation's domain does not resolve to a working site, so a link to either would give you a browser security warning or a dead page. Gilgit-Baltistan's own government is the authority that actually administers the registration and trekking permits this guide tells you about. The Government of Gilgit-Baltistan is the LABELLED SUBSTITUTE used here because Pakistan's national tourism bodies cannot be linked safely, and in this case it is also the correct authority: it is the regional government that administers the trekking and mountaineering permits, the foreign national registration and the Deosai National Park access, and is the place to confirm whether the Babusar Pass and the Deosai road are currently open
Gilgit-Baltistan carries no advised-against. The Karakoram Highway stretch from Mansehra does.
All foreign nationals must register with the local authorities in the region.
Solo women safety assessment: Skardu is among the easiest and most rewarding destinations in Pakistan for a woman travelling alone, and women who travel here consistently say so. The FCDO advises against ALL travel to twenty-one districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to all of Balochistan, to the N45 towards Chitral, to the KARAKORAM HIGHWAY BETWEEN MANSEHRA AND CHILAS up to the junction with the N15, and to within 10 miles of the Line of Control; and against ALL BUT ESSENTIAL travel to five further KP districts, to AZAD JAMMU AND KASHMIR, to Sindh north of and including Nawabshah, to Dera Ghazi Khan and to within 5 miles of the Indian border. GILGIT-BALTISTAN CARRIES NO ADVISE-AGAINST AT ALL and Skardu is in it; note that Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir are different territories with different advice, which is a common confusion. THE RESTRICTION IS AN ACCESS PROBLEM WITH A COMPLIANT SOLUTION: fly from Islamabad, or drive the Babusar Pass route through the Kaghan valley in the open season, roughly July to September, rather than the advised-against Karakoram Highway stretch. Flights to Skardu may be unreliable and change at short notice, so build in slack. ALL FOREIGN NATIONALS MUST REGISTER with the local authorities in the region, and a permit is required for mountaineering and much trekking, which must go through a licensed Pakistani operator well in advance. The KP advance permission rule does not apply to Skardu itself but does apply to the Kaghan valley road if you drive. On terrorism the wording is the strong form nationally, with a HIGH THREAT throughout Pakistan, though Gilgit-Baltistan is among the safer parts in practice and the historic sectarian tension has concerned Gilgit town rather than Baltistan. Pakistan has no dedicated sexual assault section in its advisory, which is an absence of published data rather than of risk; in practice Baltistan is conservative and notably hospitable, hotels are used to foreign guests, and shalwar kameez with a dupatta plus a headscarf at mosques and in villages is the sensible standard. Hire jeeps and drivers through your hotel. THE REAL RISKS ARE ENVIRONMENTAL AND MEDICAL: altitude on the Deosai day trip at 4,100m, valley roads with steep drops, no barriers and routine rockfall where an unhurried driver is your best protection, glacial rivers that are lethally cold, and local hospital capability that stops at fractures while the evacuation flight depends on an airport that closes for weather. Photography rules are enforced and British nationals have been arrested. British nationals of Pakistani origin have been specifically targeted by criminals including kidnappers. Carry cash; the ATMs are unreliable and the valleys have none. 15 for police, 1122 for Rescue, your hotel or operator in practice, and Islamabad an hour's flight away for anything serious.
Reading On
Northern Pakistan is one trip and the posts are best read together. The Hunza packing list covers the other great Gilgit-Baltistan valley, west of here up the Karakoram Highway, and the Naran packing list the Kaghan valley and the Babusar Pass, which is the compliant road route in and carries the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa permission requirement that applies if you drive. The Islamabad packing list covers the capital the flights leave from and the hospitals that matter if anything goes wrong. For the plains, the Lahore packing list and the Multan packing list cover Punjab, and the Karachi packing list the coast. For comparable high-altitude trekking logistics in the next range east, read the Upper Mustang packing list and the Namche Bazaar packing list in Nepal. The Pakistan travel guide for women carries the country-level advice, with the advised-against zones mapped precisely, the Babusar Pass route set out as compliant access, and the permit and insurance implications stated. For why wool is the only fibre worth carrying for a week without laundry in dry cold, read the guide to merino wool base layers for women. Every destination we cover is indexed at the travel packing guide for women, and the base layers are at the Roman Trail collection.
If the outer journey is calling you, the inner one usually is too. Explore SoulMap at romantrail.com/blogs/soulmap.
