Serena Khaplu Palace
The grandest royal house in Baltistan, under Masherbrum.
Khaplu Palace (1840), restored by the Aga Khan Trust and run by Serena, is the finest surviving royal residence in the region — a four-storey timber-and-stone seat above the Shyok river, two hours east of Skardu, with Masherbrum's 7,821 m pyramid framed from its balconies. Rates run roughly PKR 38,000–90,000; the former royal chambers on the upper floors are the prize.
Where Shigar is intimate, Khaplu is stately — theatre-box balconies stacked over an orchard, a museum floor that explains the yabgo dynasty, and a dining terrace that catches the last light off the Shyok. It carries a tenth of Shigar's traffic, which residents count as a feature.
It's also the practical base for the east: Chaqchan Mosque is ten minutes away, Hushe valley's trailheads ninety, and the Nangma valley trek stages from Kanday just up the road. Our Grand Circuit ends here deliberately — the quietest grand finale in Pakistani travel.
The connoisseur's fort. Pair one Shigar night with one Khaplu night and you've slept through Baltistan's whole royal history.
Questions, answered
Is Khaplu Palace worth the drive from Skardu?
Two hours along the Shyok — one of the region's most beautiful drives — to a palace with a fraction of the visitors and bigger mountain frames. For a second night in Baltistan it beats repeating Shigar.
Stay here inside a journey.
We hold seasonal allocations and pair Serena Khaplu Palace with private days, drivers and the routes that make it sing.
Request a stay + tour bundle