SafarGB
Route guide · updated for 2026

Islamabad Hunza

Islamabad–Hunza is the drive that made the KKH legendary — the eighth wonder billboards undersell it. Fly/drive combinations let you keep the best half and skip the motorway prologue.

Distance
600 km
Drive time
13–15 h (usually split) · or fly to Gilgit + 2.5 h
Via
Hazara Motorway → Besham → Chilas → Gilgit → KKH to Karimabad
By air
Duration
50 min to Gilgit + 2–2.5 h drive
Airlines
PIA Gilgit daily (weather-dependent)
Indicative fare (one-way)
PKR 20,000–30,000

Gilgit's short sector is scenic and famously weather-sensitive; mornings complete most reliably.

By bus
Operators
NATCO & Faisal Movers to Aliabad/Gilgit
Duration
16–18 h
Indicative fare
PKR 6,000–9,000
The road, honestly

The KKH proper: Besham's river bends, the Nanga Parbat face at Raikot, Rakaposhi rising after Gilgit. Split at Besham or Chilas southbound of Gilgit; the final Hunza hour is the reward reel.

Stops worth the minutes
BeshamRaikot bridge (Nanga Parbat view)GilgitRakaposhi viewpoint
FAQ

Questions, answered

Fly or drive Islamabad to Hunza?

Fly to Gilgit if your dates are tight (50 minutes + a 2.5-hour valley drive); drive at least one direction if you can spare a day — Raikot's Nanga Parbat view and Rakaposhi's arrival are road-only privileges.

Skip the logistics. Keep the scenery.

Private convoys on this corridor with photo-stop discipline, or the full journey folded into a SafarGB itinerary at Hunza.

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