The journal
Field notes from Pakistan.
Practical guides and dispatches, written by the team that runs our trips on the ground. Use the chapters below to navigate by subject, or browse the index.
The pillar guides
Pillar · June 2026 · 16 min
The Complete Guide to Travelling in Pakistan (2026)
Visas, costs, when to go, where to go, what to pack, and how to actually book it, written by people who run trips here every week.
Pillar · June 2026 · 14 min
Is Pakistan Safe to Travel in 2026? An Honest Guide
Region by region, in plain language: where it is safe, where it isn't, and what has actually changed in 2026.
Pillar · June 2026 · 15 min
Hunza Valley: The Complete Travel Guide
When to come, where to base, what to do, and the villages that reward slow time, written by the people who guide here every season.
Pillar · June 2026 · 14 min
Skardu: The Complete Travel Guide
Skardu is the gateway to the Karakoram giants, and a place worth a week in its own right. Lakes, cold deserts, fort-hotels, and the road to K2.
Pillar · June 2026 · 12 min
Pakistan in 10 Days: The Itinerary We Actually Run
Ten days, north loop. The exact itinerary we run for first-time travellers, road timings, overnight stops, altitudes, and the trade-offs we tell clients about up front.
Pillar · June 2026 · 13 min
The 14-Day Pakistan Grand Loop
Two weeks is the right shape for a first, complete trip, Mughal Lahore, the capital, and a proper run through both Hunza and Skardu with breathing room.
Pillar · June 2026 · 10 min
Visiting Pakistan from Abroad: A Diaspora Guide
Returning to Pakistan after years away is a specific kind of trip. The country has changed; you have changed; the people travelling with you may have never been. Here is how we plan it.
Pillar · January 2026 · 11 min
How to Choose a Pakistan Tour Operator
The right operator is the difference between a trip that works and one that unravels. Here is what to look for, and what questions to ask before you book.
All entries
June 2026 · 9 min
The Best Time to Visit Pakistan, Month by Month
Pakistan is two countries weather-wise: the north and everywhere else. Here is what each month is actually for, by region.
June 2026 · 9 min
How Much Does a Trip to Pakistan Cost?
The real budget for a private Pakistan trip in 2026, by hotel tier, by group size, by itinerary length. No invented averages.
June 2026 · 8 min
Private vs Group Tour in Pakistan: Which Is Right For You?
Group saves money. Private buys time, access, and the trip changing shape around you. Here is when each one is the right call.
June 2026 · 10 min
Things To Do in Hunza: The Days That Actually Matter
Forget the listicle. These are the Hunza days we build into every itinerary, what to do, when to do it, and what to skip.
June 2026 · 9 min
Fairy Meadows: The Honest Guide
The infamous jeep road, the meadow under Nanga Parbat, and the truth about whether Fairy Meadows is still worth the journey it asks of you.
June 2026 · 13 min
The K2 Base Camp Trek: Everything You Need to Know
Two weeks, one of the great walks on earth. The route day by day, what it costs, what it takes, and who has no business attempting it.
June 2026 · 10 min
Pakistan for First-Time Foreign Visitors
What the guidebooks don't say. The practical and cultural ground rules that make a first trip to Pakistan land well.
June 2026 · 8 min
The Pakistan Visa Guide for Tourists
The Pakistan e-visa is faster than its reputation. Here's exactly what to file, when, and what trips up first-time applicants.
June 2026 · 7 min
What to Pack for Pakistan: A Real Packing List
Not a catalogue. The actual list, clothes, gear, electronics, medical, built around the trips we run.
June 2026 · 9 min
Getting Around Pakistan: Flights, Roads and Drivers
Flights cancel. Roads are long. Trains have their own romance. Here's what to use for which leg, and what the realistic timings are.
June 2026 · 7 min
Internet, SIM Cards and Staying Connected in Pakistan
Zong in the south, SCOM in the north, eSIMs as a backup, and the valleys where nothing works at all.
June 2026 · 7 min
Money in Pakistan: Cash, Cards, ATMs and Exchange
Cash is king once you leave the cities. Here's what to carry, where to change it, and what tips look like.
June 2026 · 10 min
Solo Female Travel in Pakistan: An Honest Guide
Pakistan rewards solo female travellers who plan with care. Region by region, the realistic picture, what works, what doesn't, what to ask for.
June 2026 · 8 min
How to Read a Pakistan Travel Advisory
Government advisories are written for the worst case. Here is how to read them honestly, and what is actually open, closed, or in between.
June 2026 · 9 min
Is Gilgit-Baltistan Safe? The Picture in 2026
Gilgit-Baltistan is the safest region of Pakistan for travellers. Here is the honest, regional, current picture.
June 2026 · 8 min
Is Lahore Safe? A Traveller's Guide
Lahore is the cultural capital of Pakistan and one of the most rewarding cities in South Asia. Here is the realistic safety picture, area by area.
June 2026 · 9 min
Driving the Karakoram Highway: The Honest Brief
One of the world's great roads, in plain terms, how long it takes, where to break, what to avoid after dark, and what the road actually feels like.
June 2026 · 10 min
The Kalash Valleys: A Travel Guide
Three small valleys in Chitral hold one of Asia's last pre-Islamic cultures. How to visit them well, and what not to do.
June 2026 · 9 min
Khaplu and the Hushe Valley: The Quiet Side of Baltistan
Two and a half hours east of Skardu, almost no tourists, a 19th-century palace as your hotel, and trailheads to peaks most travellers never see.
June 2026 · 7 min
Naltar Valley: Pakistan's Coloured Lakes and Pine Forest
Two hours from Gilgit and worlds away, pine forest, coloured lakes and the country's only proper ski lift. An easy side trip done well.
June 2026 · 7 min
Phander Valley: The Quiet Side of Gilgit
West of Gilgit, on the long road to Chitral, sits a turquoise lake almost no first-time traveller sees. Phander is the slow-trip reward.
June 2026 · 8 min
Shimshal: The Highest Village in Pakistan
Three hours of one of the world's most committing jeep roads delivers you to the highest village in Pakistan, and to the climbing tradition that shaped a generation.
June 2026 · 9 min
Chitral: A Travel Guide to Pakistan's Westernmost Valley
Tucked against the Afghan border in the western Hindu Kush, Chitral is the gateway to the Kalash valleys and one of the most distinctive corners of Pakistan.
June 2026 · 9 min
Hunza in 7 Days: A Slow, Honest Itinerary
Seven days is enough to do Hunza properly without the back-of-the-jeep blur. This is the itinerary we run for travellers who want one valley, done well.
June 2026 · 8 min
Lahore to Hunza Overland: The Honest Version
The romantic Lahore-to-Hunza overland is doable, but it isn't a single drive. Here's how we break it, where we stop, and when we tell clients to take the flight.
June 2026 · 10 min
A Photography Itinerary for Pakistan
We rebuilt our standard north loop around dawn and dusk. Same country, completely different trip. Here is the itinerary we run for photographers.
June 2026 · 7 min
Cherry Blossom in Hunza: A Spring Trip to Pakistan
Hunza in April is the trip we wish more people knew about. Pink valleys, snow on the ridges, almost empty hotels. Here is how to time it.
June 2026 · 8 min
Rakaposhi Base Camp: The Short Trek with the Big View
Three days, one of the easiest base-camp treks in the Karakoram, and a wall of 7,788 m ice at the end. The trip we suggest when clients want a taste of the high mountains without committing two weeks.
June 2026 · 7 min
The Patundas Trek: A Quiet Alternative to Rakaposhi BC
Patundas is the trek we suggest when clients want what Rakaposhi base camp offers but with one fewer person on the trail and a 360-degree summit-plateau finish.
June 2026 · 10 min
Concordia: The Trek Beneath Four Eight-Thousanders
Concordia is the amphitheatre at the meeting of the Baltoro and Godwin-Austen glaciers, surrounded by four of the world's fourteen 8,000-metre peaks. The walk to it is one of the great treks on earth.
June 2026 · 9 min
Snow Lake and the Biafo-Hispar Traverse
The Biafo-Hispar traverse crosses 100 km of glacier and tops out at Snow Lake, one of the great wilderness walks left on earth. We run it as a 21-day expedition.
June 2026 · 8 min
Trekking Around Nanga Parbat: Three Routes Worth Doing
Nanga Parbat is the ninth-highest mountain on earth and one of the most photographed faces in the Karakoram. Three trekking routes, three completely different experiences.
March 2026 · 6 min
What private travel means now
On the small, deliberate decisions that separate a luxury trip from one that quietly changes you.
February 2026 · 9 min
A week of suppers in Lahore
Seven evenings, seven kitchens, and what they taught us about the city's relationship with its food.
June 2026 · 9 min
Eating Across Pakistan: A Food Trail from Lahore to Hunza
Food is half of why people come back to Pakistan. A region-by-region map of what to eat and the kitchens we keep returning to.
June 2026 · 7 min
Autumn in Hunza: When the Valley Turns Gold
For three weeks each October the valley becomes one continuous corridor of gold. Most people miss it by a week in either direction.
June 2026 · 8 min
A Year of Festivals in Pakistan
Five festivals are worth shaping a trip around. Here is the calendar and what each one is really like on the ground.
June 2026 · 8 min
Bringing Foreign-Born Children to Pakistan
Most of our diaspora clients bring teenagers or young children who have never set foot in Pakistan. Here is what we have learnt about making it work for them, not against them.
January 2026 · 8 min
Bespoke vs Packaged Tour: Which Suits Your Pakistan Trip?
A packaged tour is a proven route with fixed dates. A bespoke trip is built around you. Here is how to decide which fits your Pakistan journey.
January 2026 · 9 min
Local vs International Operator: The Real Trade-Offs in Pakistan
A local operator knows the terrain. An international brand offers financial protection and familiar service. Here is how to weigh the trade-offs for your Pakistan trip.