Travel tips & packing
Written for people going north for the first time. Everything here comes from things that have actually gone wrong on trips.
Pack this whatever the month
- A proper warm jacket. Naran is single digits at night in July; Khunjerab and Deosai are near freezing.
- Walking shoes with grip. Not new ones.
- Sunscreen and sunglasses. The sun at 3,000 m burns faster than you expect, even when it is cold.
- All regular medication in your hand luggage, plus a few days spare.
- Enough cash for the whole trip.
- A power bank. Electricity above Chilas is unreliable.
- Your CNIC. It is checked at multiple points on every northern road.
By season
April to May
Blossom in Hunza, green in Swat and Kashmir. Passes still closed — Babusar and Deosai will not be open. Pack for cold nights and warm afternoons.
June to August
Everything is open and everything is busy. Monsoon brings landslide risk on the KKH and the Kaghan road in July and August; build a spare day into your plans if you can. Light layers, plus one warm jacket for the passes.
September to October
Our favourite window. Fewer people, stable weather, and from mid-October the poplars in Hunza turn gold. Deosai and Babusar close during this period. Warmer clothing needed.
November to March
Snow in Murree, Galiyat, Swat and lower Hunza. Khunjerab closed, Deosai closed, Naran road closed above Kaghan. Proper winter clothing, and expect road closures at short notice.
Altitude
Drink more water than you think you need, avoid alcohol the night before a high day, and tell the tour leader immediately if you have a headache that paracetamol does not touch, nausea, or shortness of breath at rest. The treatment is descent and it is not a discussion — if the leader says you are going down, go down.
Mobile coverage by area
- Up to Mansehra and Balakot: all networks.
- Naran and Kaghan: patchy Jazz and Telenor, better in Naran town.
- Swat and Kalam: reasonable to Kalam, nothing above Ushu.
- Chilas onward into Gilgit-Baltistan: SCOM only, reliably. Buy a SCOM SIM in Gilgit.
- Fairy Meadows, Deosai, above Kel: nothing at all.
- Hotel wifi exists in Karimabad, Gilgit and Skardu and is slow.
Money
ATMs exist in Mansehra, Gilgit, Aliabad and Skardu, and they run out of cash at weekends and in peak season. Card payment is accepted at a handful of hotels and almost nowhere else. Carry the full trip's cash from your home city, in a mix of notes.
Roads
The Karakoram Highway is a maintained two-lane road and is generally good. The Skardu road via Jaglot is paved and much improved. The jeep tracks — Fairy Meadows, Deosai, Naltar, Mahodand, Saif-ul-Malook, Ratti Gali — are rough, slow and driven by specialists. Distance means nothing in the mountains; ask about hours, not kilometres.