Skardu Scenic Route

The road to Skardu is one of Pakistan's most dramatic and least-known scenic drives, a 7–8 hour journey from Gilgit through a landscape that shifts from green irrigated valleys to stark, Mars-like desert canyons carved by the Indus River over millions of years. The route follows the Indus through its deepest and narrowest gorge in Pakistan, where towering cliffs of red, ochre, and grey sandstone rise vertically above the turquoise river. It is a landscape of almost planetary scale — barren, silent, and breathtaking.

Skardu itself sits at 2,228 metres in a wide, sandy basin surrounded by mountains on all sides, with the Indus River flowing along its northern edge. Often called the gateway to K2 and the world's highest peaks, Skardu is also home to some of Pakistan's most beautiful lakes: Shangrila Resort with its airplane-shaped restaurant perched above a mirror-still lake, Upper Kachura Lake (accessible only by boat or trek), and the sublime Lower Kachura Lake. The massive Skardu Fort (Kharpocho) overlooks the entire valley from a rocky promontory.

This tour combines the spectacular road journey with the best of Skardu's highlights and an optional excursion to Deosai National Park. You drive through some of the most dramatic terrain in Central Asia, arriving in a valley that has inspired travelers for centuries to compare it to a lost paradise.