June 2026 · 8 min · By Zain Karim
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.
Pakistan festivals span polo at 3,700 m, four-day spring rites in the Kalash valleys, and centuries-old Sufi gatherings in Sindh. We build trips around five we know well.
The calendar
| Month | Festival | Where |
|---|---|---|
| February | Urs of Shah Abdul Latif | Bhit Shah, Sindh |
| April | Basant (kite flying, limited) | Lahore |
| May | Chilam Joshi (Kalash spring) | Bumburet, Rumbur, Birir |
| July | Shandur Polo Festival | Shandur Pass |
| August | Silk Route Festival | Hunza |
| September | Phool (Kalash harvest) | Kalash valleys |
| December | Choimus (Kalash winter) | Kalash valleys |
Shandur Polo Festival
Held the second week of July on the world's highest polo ground at 3,700 m. Chitral plays Gilgit in a tournament that has run, on and off, for over a century. We camp clients on the pass for three nights, no hotels exist at that altitude.
Chilam Joshi
Four-day Kalash spring festival in mid-May. Open to outsiders but it is a religious event, not a performance, we brief clients carefully on etiquette and photography. Detailed in our Kalash guide.
Silk Route Festival
Mid-August in Hunza. Music, polo, traditional sports, food stalls in Karimabad and Aliabad. Less ancient than the others, revived in the 2010s, but a genuinely good week to be in the valley.
Q. Are these safe to attend?
Shandur and the Hunza festivals are very safe. Kalash festivals are safe but we ask clients to follow community guidance on photography and dress.
Q. Do festivals need to be booked far ahead?
Shandur in particular, limited camping infrastructure, books out 6 months ahead.
Q. Will the festival be the whole trip?
No, each one slots into a wider 10-14 day route that uses the rest of the time normally.
Written by
Zain Karim
Head of mountain operations
Zain has run private trips through Hunza, Skardu and the Karakoram since 2019. He spends about 120 nights a year above 2,500 m and writes about the routes he guides.
Has guided the Hunza-Skardu loop more than forty times.
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