Hotel near Khunjerab Pass
Villa Darya is in Shishkat, Upper Hunza, about 140 km from the Khunjerab Pass along the Karakoram Highway. That makes it a realistic base for the trip to the pass — a long day out and back, on good road, without having to move hotels.
The drive to the pass
140 km in the mountains is not 140 km on a motorway. Allow most of a day for the round trip, including the stops you will want to make and the time spent at the top. The road climbs steadily through Passu and Sost and then up into the Khunjerab National Park, and the last section is the part everyone photographs.
Khunjerab is the highest paved border crossing in the world, at 4,693 metres. That altitude is the thing to plan around: it is high enough that people who felt fine in Hunza get headaches and shortness of breath at the top. Go up slowly, drink more water than you think you need, and do not plan anything strenuous when you get there.
Before you go
- The pass stays open year-round. For the last few years the Khunjerab crossing has run through the winter rather than closing for the season. Heavy snow can still shut the road for days at a time, so check conditions before setting out.
- Take your ID. This is a border zone and there are checkposts; foreign nationals should carry their passport.
- Dress for a different climate. It can be warm in the valley and near freezing at the top on the same day.
- Start early. The weather is more reliable in the morning, and you do not want to be coming down in the dark.
Why stay in Shishkat rather than closer
There is accommodation nearer the pass, at Sost, but there is much less reason to spend your evenings there. From here you are among the things people come to Upper Hunza for — Attabad Lake at 5 km, Passu Glacier at 13 km, the Passu Cones at 21 km — and the pass is still a day trip. Staying here means the drive to Khunjerab is one day of your trip rather than the shape of it.