Northern trips are where a good plan saves the most money and the most stress. The distances are long, the roads change with the seasons, and mountain driving days are slower than they look on a map. This is a practical guide to the three trips we are asked about most.

Murree: the short one

Murree is the closest hill station to Lahore. You drive the M-2 to Islamabad, then roughly an hour up the Murree Expressway. Budget six to seven hours from Lahore with a stop.

  • Best season: spring and autumn for clear roads; winter (roughly December to February) for snow.
  • In snow season: roads can be closed or restricted at short notice and traffic backs up badly. A 4x4 such as a Fortuner or Prado handles it far better than a sedan.
  • Car: in good weather, any sedan is fine. A Corolla Altis X is the comfortable middle ground.

Naran and the Kaghan Valley

From Lahore you take the M-2, then the Hazara Motorway past Abbottabad to Mansehra, then the valley road through Balakot and Kaghan to Naran. Plan seven to twelve hours, depending on traffic and how often you stop. Most families split it with a night in Islamabad.

  • Best season: summer, roughly May to September. The road beyond Naran is closed by snow for much of the year.
  • Babusar Top (about 4,170 m) links Naran to Chilas and the Karakoram Highway. It usually opens between late May and June and closes again with the first heavy snow, around November. The opening date changes every year, so check the latest National Highway Authority news before you leave.
  • Lake Saif-ul-Muluk: the track from Naran is usually done in local jeeps, not in your own car.
  • Car: a Fortuner or Prado for comfort and ground clearance. A crossover such as a Corolla Cross is fine on the paved valley road in summer.

Hunza

Hunza is the big one: roughly 600 km from Islamabad, and 12 to 18 hours of driving with sensible stops. Almost everyone breaks it into two days.

There are two ways up:

  • The Karakoram Highway (KKH) via Abbottabad, Mansehra, Thakot, Besham, Dasu, Chilas and Gilgit. Open all year, but long, and rough in places.
  • The Babusar route through Naran, joining the KKH at Chilas. Shorter and very scenic, but open only in summer.

A common plan is up via Babusar in summer and back down the KKH, which turns the drive itself into part of the trip.

  • Car: a Fortuner, Prado or Land Cruiser. For a group, a Hiace or Coaster with an experienced mountain driver.

Why mountain days cost more than you expect

Our day is 12 hours of use, and going past 12 hours is charged as another full day. A Lahore–Naran day that runs to 13 or 14 hours with traffic and stops counts as two days. That is why we plan northern trips around realistic driving days, with overnight stops, rather than one long push.

On every northern trip:

  • the driver’s food and room are added for each night away;
  • fuel is full to full, and mountain driving uses more of it;
  • tolls on the motorways are paid on the way.

Tours are priced per route, so we quote your exact itinerary rather than a flat number. As a starting point, a Fortuner is PKR 18,000 a day and a Prado PKR 20,000. See the full list in our price guide.

Before you go

  1. Check the weather and road status the day before. Landslides and snow close mountain roads with little warning.
  2. Carry cash. Card machines and ATMs thin out as you go north.
  3. Expect weak mobile signal in parts of the Kaghan Valley and along the KKH.
  4. Leave space in your plan for a slow day.

Plan your route

Choose Tour & trip in the trip planner and pick your destination: Murree, Naran and Kaghan, Hunza, or a custom route. We reply on WhatsApp with a written plan and price for your exact itinerary.