Gilgit Town Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Land

Bus & minibus

The general bus stand is well out of town near the intersection with the KKH. Most long-distance buses terminate here. Catch a taxi (Rs 70 to Rs 80) or a Suzuki (Rs 8) to or from town. There are several companies operating from here, some with booking offices in town.

K-2 Tours (51103) An office is just outside the gate of the Madina Hotel & Guest House as well as at the general bus stand.

Mashabrum Tours (53095; NLI Chowk) Also at the general bus stand (52784).

Natco (50684; Punial Rd) Also at the general bus stand (50435).

Sargin Travel Service (54591; General Bus Stand)

Silk Route Transport Company (55234; General Bus Stand)

Tais Transport Service (55774, 033553926; General Bus Stand) A 24-hour operation that launches heavily loaded minibuses up the KKH to Hunza, Nagyr and Gojal.

Chitral, punial, ishkoman, yasin & ghizar

Yaqub from Gupis travels to/from Chitral (about Rs 10, 000 for up to four passengers) via the Shandur Pass and can be contacted at Madina Hotel & Guest House. Natco buses and Land Cruisers leave from the Natco bus yard (Punial Rd), which is hidden down the first laneway immediately behind the Kakakhel General Store. Natco fares for Chitral and destinations west of Gilgit include the following:

Chitral (Rs 650, 16 hours) Ten-seat Land Cruiser at least once a week in summer, usually Sunday. Alternative is a daily minibus to Mastuj (Rs 360) where you can board a minibus to Chitral (Rs 130).

Gakuch (Rs 60) On the Yasin or Gupis bus.

Gupis (Rs 90) Departure 9.30am.

Ishkoman (Rs 90) Departure 11am.

Yasin (bus Rs 90) Departure 9.30am.

Hunza, nagyr & gojal

From the general bus stand, Tais Transport Service and Sargin Travel Service have minibuses departing from 7am, stopping at Karimabad (Rs 100), Gulmit (Rs 135), Passu (Rs 160) and Sost (Rs 185, five hours). Natco has one bus daily to Aliabad (Rs 80, departing 7am), a short distance from Karimabad.

Rawalpindi

From the general bus stand, buses (usually air-con) bound for Rawalpindi can take anything from 12 to 18 hours. Most terminate at the chaotic Pir Wadhai bus stand.

Mashabrum Tours (Rs 650) Daily departures noon, 3pm and 5pm.

Natco (Rs 650 to Rs 800) Daily departures at 7am, 8am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm and 6pm. Different classes of vehicles leave at these times, ranging from rattle-trap bus to air-con Coaster.

Sargin Travel Service (Rs 650) Daily 3pm Coaster service.

Skardu

From the general bus stand, minibuses take about six hours. Try to get a window seat on the right-hand side (going to Skardu) for heart-stopping views.

K-2 Tours (Rs 200, six hours) Three departures daily from 8am.

Mashabrum Tours (Rs 200) Three minibus departures 8am, 10am and noon.

Natco (Rs 130) Daily 9am minibus.

Other destinations & options

Private transport (jeeps and minibuses) departs from where people from outlying areas have their shops; eg Jamaat Khana Bazaar for Hunza, lower Khazana Rd for Nagyr, Garhi Bagh for Haramosh and Bagrot, and Punial Rd for the upper Gilgit River basin. There are minibuses (Rs 50) to Chalt/Minapin leaving from near the corner of Shaheed-e-Millat and Khazana Rds after noon. Natco has a daily minibus (Rs 130) to Astor village leaving from the general bus stand.

Though it would mean passing through and missing the best that northern Pakistan has to offer, Natco’s daily bus to Kashgar (US$14 or rupee equivalent, 15 hours) leaves the general bus stand at 6am. You need to book your ticket the day before. Note that the service operates from 1 May to the end of December (snow levels permitting); that is, beyond the dates that non-Pakistani/Chinese foreigners may cross the Khunjerab Pass (1 May to 15 November). At the time of writing Natco and the Chinese had agreed to allow returning buses to carry passengers and so every alternate day the bus is a Chinese bus not a Natco bus. If you can organise it, the Natco bus (and drivers) is the better (safer) option.

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Air

PIA (50348; Domyal Link Rd) also has an office at the airport (50354). There are two flights to/from Islamabad each day (one way Rs 3540), weather permitting. The waiting list can get very long in poor weather. Be sure to follow the instructions outlined by the PIA office staff. It’s very important to check/confirm one hour before your flight at the airport office or you won’t be on the manifest, which means you won’t be on the plane.

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