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Witness / Attend in Hunza Valley
A valley of terraced villages climbing the mountainside above the Hunza river in northern Gilgit-Baltistan, watched over by Rakaposhi at 7,788 metres and the Passu Cones. Its old capital Karimabad holds two restored forts, the 700-year-old Baltit Fort and the older Altit Fort, and the largely Ismaili communities of the valley are known across Pakistan for near-universal literacy and a calm, welcoming culture. Attabad Lake and the Wakhi villages of Gojal lie up-valley toward the Khunjerab Pass.
Why here
Hunza is the valley that gave the wider world its idea of a Shangri-La, a string of terraced villages climbing the mountainside above the Hunza river with Rakaposhi at 7,788 metres and the Passu Cones filling the skyline. The old capital of Karimabad is watched over by two restored forts: the 700-year-old Baltit Fort, once the palace of the Mirs of Hunza and now a museum rescued by the Aga Khan Cultural Service Pakistan, and the older Altit Fort below it with its royal garden. The people here are mostly Ismaili, followers of the Aga Khan, and the valley is known across Pakistan for near-universal literacy, the prominence of women, and an openness to outsiders that has shaped its travel culture for decades. Beyond the forts, the draw is the everyday life of the valley: apricot and cherry orchards in blossom in April, the turquoise flood-lake of Attabad, the Wakhi villages of Gojal at Gulmit and Passu, and the ancient Silk Road rock carvings at Ganish. It is the cultural heart of the Karakoram, as much a reason to come as the mountains.
Best months
Hunza rewards a visit across a long season. Spring, from late March into April, brings the apricot and cherry blossom, autumn in October and November turns the poplars and orchards gold, and summer is warm, green and busy. The forts and museums at Karimabad are open through the season, roughly nine in the morning to sunset. Winters are cold and quiet, with snow and short days, though the valley stays reachable on the Karakoram Highway. The high side valleys of Gojal and the passes above only open fully in summer.
Getting there & around
Hunza centres on Karimabad, about a two to three hour drive north of Gilgit on the Karakoram Highway, and Gilgit is reached by air from Islamabad or by the long overland KKH route. Karimabad is walkable, with Baltit and Altit forts, guesthouses and the Ganish old town all close together, and local jeeps and vans run up-valley to Attabad Lake, Gulmit and Passu. A local guide adds a lot to the forts and the Silk Road sites. The valley is one of the most relaxed and traveller-friendly parts of Pakistan, and English is widely spoken.
Skill levels: beginner
Schools & guides (2)
BTV Adventures
OutfitterBTV Adventures is a Pakistani tour operator based in DHA Lahore that runs its own cultural itineraries in the Hunza valley, including a nine-day Colors of Hunza cultural tour and a women-only Hunza nature tour. Its trips cover Karimabad and the Baltit and Altit forts, Attabad Lake and the Gojal villages of Upper Hunza, using local guides and homestays, and the company puts its emphasis on community-based and sustainable travel rather than reselling packaged departures from third parties.
Hunza Guides Pakistan
OutfitterHunza Guides Pakistan is a Karimabad-based operator at Zero Point in Aliabad, Hunza, holding government license number 396, with a smaller office in Islamabad and close to thirty years in the trade. Founded in the late 1990s and run by local Hunza guides, it operates its own cultural tours of the valley, taking in Baltit and Altit forts, Karimabad, Attabad Lake and the Passu villages, alongside its trekking and expedition programmes, and it works directly with valley homestays and drivers.