Places to visit in the Northern Areas of Pakistan in winter
Every picture you’ve ever seen of the mountains in the north of Pakistan was taken in the summer or early winter. From December to March, half the roads are closed, most hotels become a lot cheaper, and there is plenty of space to enjoy the views of the world's best mountains, with no haze to obscure your view.
The key is figuring out what stays open. Between December and March, most of the valleys shut down because of the snow, while other valleys are in their prime. Here are the places to visit and what is closed during that time.
We Know What Is Open
HospitalityTours.com.pk plans tailor-made winter holidays to the northern areas from our Islamabad office. This includes organizing local drivers of 4x4s who know how to drive in snow and arranging accommodation that stays open during the winter and has heating. Our itineraries are flexible and planned depending on what is open and not based on pictures on the internet. Send us your travel dates on WhatsApp. You can find more information at the end of this post.
1. Hunza and Gojal
The main access road through the Karakoram Highway is open all winter, so January is a good time to visit Hunza. Roofs in Karimabad, Baltit and Altit are covered in snow, and it’s so clear that you can see Rakaposhi. Some waterfalls freeze along the Attabad and Passu stretches.
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Two notable features of winter Hunza are solitude and conversation. Because of the low season, hotels are few and far between; the ones that do open tend to lack centralized heating. There are still people who stay open, and this is one of the few places where you can actually strike up a conversation with the people who run your hotel.
2. Naltar Valley
For winter travelers who want something besides snow piled up outside their lodging, Naltar Valley is the place to go. The Valley is a little farther north on a jeep road, about forty kilometers from Gilgit. It is a great place to go and enjoy a winter wonderland of pine forest and, if you're lucky enough, a couple of freshly groomed slopes with an air force-maintained lift that hosts national and international ski competitions.
3. Skardu and Baltistan
Winter in Skardu and Baltistan makes the landscape a cold desert with snow on the dunes and frozen edges of Sadpara and Kachura Lake. The rock formations are also barren of Buddhist rock art in winter, but January and the rest of winter on the Indus River can be a great time to bring your camera and capture the light that makes these places special.
Flights from Islamabad depart, weather permitting, so give yourself some slack. Shigar Fort and Khaplu Palace accommodate travelers for the season. Winter is the time to visit and sleep in an old fort. Deosai is closed, and so Skardu and Astore are not accessible via that route until summer.
Skardu is where you can find the winter mountaineering crowd attempting the 8,000-meter peaks. This adds to the town having the most interesting atmosphere of all the areas you’ll travel to in winter.
4. Malam Jabba and Swat
Malam Jabba is the closest place to Islamabad to get to real snow. It is about a 5-hour drive. It has the largest developed ski slope, a main ski run that tops out at 2,800 meters, reopened its chairlift in 2016, and a Pearl Continental hotel built on the slope in 2020. The ski resort typically has good conditions in December and closes in March.
Like most other resorts, the weekends fill up fast after a fresh snowfall, so go during the week for a less crowded slope. Be sure to check the road above Mingora for a heavy snowfall.
5. The Kalash Valleys for Chaumos
The winter solstice celebrations in the valleys of Bumburet, Rumbur and Birir, known as Chaumos, are some of the best times to visit the Kalash people. While the festival officially lasts a few days, participants begin celebrations weeks in advance, with rituals, dancing and feasting well into the night (and morning) in the cold weather. Very few people make the trip to the valleys in winter, making it yet another reason why it is worth making the trek.
Travel to the valleys becomes more difficult due to the Col Lowari Tunnel, but the Chitral road stays open for the season. Be a guest and request permission to take photos. Obey the restrictions set by the community for all ritualistic activities. This is not an event meant to draw tourists.
6. Astore and Rattu
Pristine snow and almost complete absence of tourists in this area, combined with reliable slopes used by skiers and snowboarders for years near Rattu, make this an ideal winter destination. Astore gets lots of snow and has link roads to upper villages close in the season, so take the flexible option of a long stay rather than sticking to a 4-day program.
7. When you have only a weekend
Galiyat, and especially Nathia Gali, both a 2-3 hour drive from Islamabad, have skiing facilities in the form of a chairlift run by the Ayubia Park, and walking trails in snow. Shogran in the Kaghan Valley also gets lots of snow and closes the rest of the Naran Valley, but can be reached by jeep to offer snow opportunities within a 4-hour drive, even if it is not as close as the Northern Areas.
What is closed
Winter trekking itineraries should avoid the following:
Khunjerab Pass and the Chinese border (closed under snow for winter months)
Babusar Top (closed around autumn and opening sometime in June)
Deosai and the Skardu to Astore crossing
Shandur Pass and direct Gilgit to Chitral
Naran and upper Kaghan valley (town almost shuts down)
Fairy Meadows (track and the huts are not winter-friendly)
Upper Kalam roads towards Mahodand, which close after snow.
How winter travel actually works up there
Use a 4x4, but use one driven by someone with winter experience. You must always use chains, and more importantly, limit your driving to daytime hours. Most winter accidents in the north happen on roads that the driver has never seen before, at night, on ice.
Always ask your hotel three important questions before booking: are you open this month, is the heating working, and is there hot water outside generator hours? There are many properties that close starting in November, and plenty that remain open, but with no heat.
Days are short. You have moving hours instead of driving hours, so the time normally spent in five hours in July is better considered over the course of a full day. Flights to Skardu and Gilgit tend to be cancelled more often in winter than other seasons, and a road backup is not an option. The plans should leave a safety buffer, and you should carry your medications and a charged power bank. Bring plenty of extra layers as the stretch factor is higher than what is expected. It is not the daytime temperature that poses the biggest challenge to travelers; it is the cold in the rooms in the middle of the night.
Tell us your Winter dates.
Tell us your preferred travel dates. How many people will be in your group? Do you want snow sports, tranquil valleys, or relaxing short breaks? We will see what is available and arrange your transportation and hotels with working heating systems, and a guide who knows the trustworthy roads after a fall.
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