Our Skardu tour package, 6 days and 5 nights from Lahore, is a group trip by road to Baltistan, with three nights in Skardu. It covers the lakes, the cold deserts, Shigar Fort and the Deosai plains, at a group price instead of the cost of a private car or flights.
We leave Lahore at 11 pm, pick up Islamabad guests around 3 am, cross Babusar Top and spend the first night in Chilas. Day two follows the Indus to Skardu, past the Nanga Parbat viewpoint and the junction of three mountain ranges, with Shangrila and Upper Kachura Lake on arrival.
Day three is for Shigar Fort, the Sarfaranga cold desert and Manthokha Waterfall. On day four local jeeps take the group up to the Deosai plains and Sheosar Lake, and the evening is a BBQ and bonfire. On day five we see the Katpana desert and drive back to Chilas or Naran, and on day six we drive home.
Five nights in hotels, breakfast and dinner, a BBQ night, tolls and a tour guide are included. The Deosai jeeps are shared and paid locally. Rooms are shared by 3 to 4 people.
From
PKR 33,000 / person
Day by day
Times are a guide and can shift with the road and the weather.
We leave Lahore at 11 pm the night before from Thokar Niaz Baig or Barkat Market, with a short stop at Bhera, and Islamabad guests join around 3 am. Breakfast is in Balakot or Kiwai, and we drive up the Kaghan Valley past Naran and Lulusar Lake to Babusar Top (4,173 m). From the pass we drop down to Chilas on the Indus for dinner and the night.
After an early breakfast we follow the Karakoram Highway past the Nanga Parbat viewpoint, the point where the Karakoram, Himalaya and Hindu Kush meet, and Alam Bridge, where the rivers join. We then turn onto the Skardu road along the Indus gorge. Before Skardu we stop at Shangrila (Lower Kachura) Lake and Upper Kachura Lake, where boats can be hired. Dinner and the night are in Skardu.
After breakfast we drive to the Shigar Valley to see Shigar Fort, the old palace of the local Raja, and the dunes of the Sarfaranga cold desert. In the afternoon we drive east to Manthokha Waterfall, then back to Skardu for an evening in the old bazaar. Dinner and the night are in Skardu.
A jeep day. After breakfast local jeeps climb past Sadpara Lake to the Deosai plains, one of the highest plateaus in the world at about 4,000 m. We stop at Deosai Top, Kala Pani and Bara Pani and drive on to Sheosar Lake if the track is open. We come back to Skardu for a BBQ dinner and a bonfire. If Deosai is closed, the day goes to Sadpara Lake and Kharpocho Fort instead.
After breakfast we stop at the Katpana cold desert near Skardu airport, then drive back along the Indus to the Karakoram Highway. Depending on the time and the road, the night is in Chilas or, over Babusar Top, in Naran. Dinner is at the hotel.
After breakfast we drive down the Kaghan Valley to Balakot and Islamabad, where Islamabad guests get off. With a stop on the motorway, we reach Lahore late at night.
The full package
Everything covered by the price — and the few things to budget for separately.
On the road
Breakfast
Paratha, omelette, milk tea, and channay or aloo bhujia
Dinner
Chicken karahi, korma or pulao, or biryani, with daal or a vegetable dish, chapati, raita, a cold drink and water. The guide picks the dish each day
BBQ night
Chicken BBQ (leg or chest piece) with a bonfire
LunchNot included
We stop at a restaurant on the way and you pay for your own
Documents
Original CNIC, and a B-form for children
Luggage
One bag of about 10 kg and a small backpack for the day
Also bring
A warm jacket even in July, because Deosai and Babusar Top are cold and windy. Bring comfortable shoes, sunglasses, sunscreen and any medicines you take, and carry cash, since card machines are rare outside Skardu city.
Travellers' Voices
The coaster leaves at 11 pm from Thokar Niaz Baig or Barkat Market, and Islamabad guests are picked up around 3 am. We confirm the exact pickup point and the departure date when you book. Departures from June to September, WhatsApp us for the next date. There is no extra charge for joining in Islamabad. The pickup point is near the motorway or GT Road so the coaster stays on its route, and we share the exact spot with booked guests before departure.
PKR 33,000 per person in a room shared by 3 to 4 people. Children aged 3 to 9 pay PKR 23,000 and children under 3 travel free. A couple who want a room to themselves pay PKR 77,000 in total.
No. The coaster cannot go up to Deosai, so local jeeps take the group. Their fare is set by the drivers on the day and shared by the people in each jeep. The Deosai National Park ticket is also paid there.
About 24 hours of driving in all, which is why we split it with a night in Chilas each way. The road over Babusar Top is the shorter way in summer.
Standard hotels in Chilas, Skardu and Chilas or Naran, booked on availability for your dates. We confirm the names a few days before departure. Rooms are shared by 3 to 4 people.
No. Breakfast and dinner are included. For lunch we stop at a restaurant on the way, and you pay for your own.
The coaster waits about 15 minutes and then leaves. A missed departure counts as a no-show and is not refunded, so please be at the pickup point on time.
Yes, but the days you miss are not refunded, and the trip home from there is at your own cost.
A 30% advance confirms your seat. Cancel more than 7 days before departure and we refund 75% of what you paid; 5 to 7 days before, we refund 50%. Cancellations in the last 4 days, and no-shows, are not refunded.
June to September. We drive over Babusar Top, which is usually open from mid-June to late September, and the Deosai plains are normally open from about July to September. Early or late in the season, when Babusar is closed, we go along the Karakoram Highway through Besham instead, which adds a few hours, and we tell you the plan before you pay the advance. If Deosai is still closed, that day goes to Sadpara Lake and Kharpocho Fort instead.
Our 8-day Hunza and Skardu tour follows these Skardu days and adds two nights in Hunza, with Attabad Lake, the Khunjerab Pass and Naltar Valley.
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