Not every good trip in Pakistan is in the Karakoram. Indeed, some of our best-value Pakistan tours run nowhere near it. South and west of Gilgit-Baltistan there is a second northern Pakistan. For example, there is the Kaghan valley and its glacial lake, Swat and Kalam, and the pine meadows of Kumrat. Then comes the Neelum valley in Azad Kashmir, and the Galiyat hill stations an hour from Islamabad. There is also a turquoise reservoir beside a UNESCO world heritage site. These trips are shorter, cheaper, lower and greener than our Baltistan programmes. Moreover, they work when you have a few days rather than a few weeks, or when you are travelling with family. In any case, we run them with the same drivers and the same rules.
Pakistan tours at a glance
| Naran and Kaghan | Four days to Lake Saif ul Malook, alpine valleys and waterfalls, topping out around 4,173 m at the Babusar side. From $180 per person, May to September |
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| Neelum Valley | Six days through Azad Kashmir to Ratti Gali Lake at about 3,700 m. From $250 per person, April to November |
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| Kalam and Swat | Five days into upper Swat to about 3,500 m, forests, rivers and the Kalam valley. From $220 per person, May to October |
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| Kumrat | Four days in Dir district to Jahaz Banda meadow and the pine forests, about 3,500 m. From $160 per person, May to October |
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| Murree and the Galiyat | Three days in the hill stations above Islamabad, around 2,500 m. From $120 per person, open most of the year |
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| Khanpur Dam | Two days on a turquoise reservoir with Khanpur Cave, the Haro River gorge and the Taxila world heritage site. From $75 per person |
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| Fitness needed | None. These are road trips with short walks, suitable for families and for first visits to Pakistan |
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| Getting there | All six start and finish in Islamabad by road. No permits beyond the tourist e-visa |
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When these trips make more sense than the Karakoram
Three situations. First, you have four or five days, not two weeks. Second, you are travelling with children or with parents and want green valleys rather than glacier moraine. Third, you are coming in a shoulder month when the high passes in Gilgit-Baltistan are still under snow. Meanwhile, Naran, Swat and the Galiyat are already open. If none of those apply, go north instead: the Gilgit-Baltistan guide covers that side of the country.
The lakes and the valleys
Lake Saif ul Malook above Naran is the one everyone pictures. It is a glacial lake under snow peaks, reached on a jeep track from the Kaghan valley. Similarly, Ratti Gali in Neelum is its Kashmiri equivalent, higher and much quieter. Kumrat is different again. Instead of a single lake it offers pine forest, river meadows and the Jahaz Banda pasture. Kalam sits where upper Swat narrows into the mountains, and it is the greenest of all of them.
Short Pakistan tours from Islamabad
Murree and the Galiyat work as a two or three day escape, and they run almost all year. Therefore they are the practical answer in winter. Khanpur Dam is closer still. It is a two-day trip to turquoise water, caves and the Haro gorge. The Taxila world heritage site sits on the way back. Either way, both are the right first move if you have landed in Islamabad with a spare weekend.
The Pakistan tours in this group
Each of these runs on its own dates. There is the Naran Kaghan Tour and the Neelum Valley Tour in Azad Kashmir. Then come the Kalam Valley Tour in upper Swat and the Kumrat Valley Tour in Dir. Finally there are the Murree and Nathia Gali Tour in the Galiyat and the two-day Khanpur Dam trip near Taxila.
If you want the big mountains instead
K2 and the Baltoro · Skardu and Baltistan · the Hunza Valley · Nanga Parbat and Fairy Meadows · how to prepare for a trek · visa and safety
Related guides: Gilgit-Baltistan & Karakoram · Pakistan travel: safety & visa · Hunza Valley
Heading north from Kaghan? Our Babusar Pass Road Journey takes you from Islamabad up the Kaghan valley and over Babusar Top at 4,173 m into Gilgit-Baltistan in two days by private car, from $180 per person, summer only.
Frequently asked questions
A few days in Pakistan? Tell us when you land
We will match the valley to the season and the time you have. Moreover, we will say plainly if the north is the better use of your trip. Local hands, real safety, fair price.
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