Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan — where the Karakoram, Himalaya & Hindu Kush meet
Some places you visit.
This one you remember.
Private tours of Hunza Valley, Skardu, Fairy Meadows and the high Karakoram — designed by the people who call these valleys home.
A word from the valley
Five of the world’s fourteen highest mountains. A thousand-year-old fort above an apricot bazaar. A lake the colour of another planet. And a tradition of hospitality older than any of it — this is the north we grew up in, and the north we’d like to show you.
— Your hosts at Hunza & Beyond, Karimabad
Memories — Field notes from a family departure · Fairy Meadows, June
Three generations, one meadow, and the mountain that silenced them all
Read the full story →Stories & memories
What people bring home
Not itineraries — memories. Field notes from the seasons and the travelers who shared them with us.
Field notes from a Baltoro expedition · Concordia, August
The long way to Concordia: fourteen days to the throne room
There is a moment, two hours past Goro II, when the trek stops being about endurance and becomes something closer to ceremony.
Read the story →
Field notes from blossom season · Hunza, April
Blossom week: when Hunza turns pink and the photographers go quiet
Blossom doesn't arrive in Hunza so much as climb it, village by village, a hundred metres of altitude at a time.
Read the story →
Field notes from a winter expedition · Khunjerab, February
Tracking shadows: a winter week waiting for the grey ghost
You do not find a snow leopard. You arrange your week so that a snow leopard might consent to be found.
Read the story →
Field notes from the Shandur festival · July
Dust and drums at Shandur: three days at the top of the polo world
Nobody warned me that the world's highest polo ground would also be the loudest, coldest, happiest place I'd sleep all year.
Read the story →
Field notes from a Hunza winter · January
Winter morning in Hunza: the valley nobody told me about
Everyone plans Hunza for blossom or autumn gold. I came in January by accident of timing, and I would now defend that accident with my life.
Read the story →
Field notes from Gulmit · March
The music school of Gulmit: an evening where the old songs live
I have spent twenty years convincing teenagers to practise. In Gulmit I met a room full of them who needed convincing to stop.
Read the story →
Editorial · The creators bringing Gilgit-Baltistan to the world
Riding the Karakoram: The Year the World Watched Northern Pakistan
In August 2025, one of the world's most-watched motorcycle travelers pointed her bike at the Karakoram — and millions of viewers rode along through Skardu, Hunza and valleys most maps barely name.
Read the story →Editorial · Women travelers, in their own words
Solo Women in the Karakoram: What 2025's Travelers Actually Reported
A blogger who spent five months traveling Pakistan alone called the north the safest, most welcoming region she found. She wasn't the only woman who came back saying so.
Read the story →Editorial · Off-season in the high Karakoram
A Winter Drive to the China Border, and Other Off-Season Truths
Every guide says come between May and October. Two published accounts of deep-winter Gilgit-Baltistan explain what happens when you don't — the hardship, and why neither traveler regretted it.
Read the story →Signature places
Destinations travelers cross the world for
peak · 6,106 m
Passu Cones
The jagged cathedral skyline that defines the Karakoram Highway
lake · 2,550 m
Attabad Lake
A disaster that became one of Pakistan's most beautiful places
meadow · 3,300 m
Fairy Meadows
The grassland the German climbers called Märchenwiese
wildlife · 4,114 m
Deosai National Park
The Land of Giants: a rolling world above 4,000 metres
trek · 4,600 m
K2 Base Camp & Concordia Trek
Walking into the throne room of the mountain gods
pass · 4,693 m
Khunjerab Pass
Drive to 4,693 m and stand at the China border gate
lake
Phander Lake
A deep-blue lake in the greenest valley of the north
valley · 2,300 m
Shigar Valley
Sleep in a raja's fort on the road to K2
01 — 15 destinations
Hunza Valley
The crown jewel of the Karakoram Highway
Explore Hunza Valley →
02 — 15 destinations
Baltistan & Skardu
Gateway to K2 and the throne room of the mountain gods
Explore Baltistan & Skardu →
03 — 3 destinations
Astore Valley
Quiet valleys beneath the Killer Mountain's greatest wall
Explore Astore Valley →
04 — 3 destinations
Fairy Meadows & Diamer
A grassland in the sky facing the Killer Mountain
Explore Fairy Meadows & Diamer →
05 — 5 destinations
Ghizer Valley
Slow rivers, blue lakes and the last unhurried corner of the north
Explore Ghizer Valley →Small groups & private departures
Journeys we run best
Use these as starting points — every itinerary is rebuilt around your dates, your pace and your people.
Hunza Explorer
from $950The classic first taste of the Karakoram, done properly
Skardu & Baltistan Discovery
from $1,150Forts, cold deserts and the roof-of-the-world plateau
Grand Gilgit-Baltistan Circuit
from $2,200One road trip, every face of the Karakoram and Himalaya
Fairy Meadows & Nanga Parbat
from $650Three nights in a meadow staring at an 8,000-metre wall
K2 Base Camp & Concordia Trek
from $3,800Walk into the throne room of the mountain gods
Autumn Colours Photography Tour
from $1,650Late October, when the Karakoram turns to gold
For every traveler
Your pace, your mountains
Families with young kids, photographers chasing blossom, mountaineers bound for Concordia, grandparents who want fort views with their tea — we host them all.
Know before you go
Guides written from here, not from a desk
Plan Your Trip · 9 min read
Pakistan Tourist Visa: How to Apply Online (e-Visa Guide)
Plan Your Trip · 10 min read
Is Pakistan Safe for Tourists? An Honest, Evidence-Based Guide
Seasons · 11 min read
Best Time to Visit Hunza & Gilgit-Baltistan: Month-by-Month Guide
Plan Your Trip · 8 min read
Islamabad to Skardu: Flights, Roads and How to Choose
Start the conversation
Ready to plan your journey north?
Tell us your dates, interests and pace — we'll design a private itinerary with local guides, reliable 4x4s and hand-picked stays.