Where to stay in Skardu

You feel the distances the first evening you fancy dinner in the bazaar and realise you're a drive away from it. Skardu spreads much further than Hunza does, and the three realistic bases sit far enough apart that this choice decides what your days actually look like.

Skardu town — if you are here to do something

The town has the bazaar, the airport and the operators. If you're staging for a trek, chasing a permit, hiring porters or buying supplies, sleep here and don't romanticise it. It's a working town. The hotels are functional rather than lovely, the plumbing is a lottery, and at some point in the evening you'll hear the generators start up along the street.

It's also the right base if your flight looks shaky and you might have to pivot to the road before breakfast.

Kachura and the lakes — if you are here to look at it

Upper and Lower Kachura, twenty-odd minutes out of town, are where the properties with a view are. The best-known resort in northern Pakistan is out here, and you still can't book it online with a card. That tells you most of what you need to know about how the accommodation market in Baltistan actually works.

Stay here if the setting is the point and you have your own transport. Without a vehicle you're stranded at dusk, and the road back into town in the dark isn't the evening anybody wants.

Shigar — heritage, and a commitment

The fort-palace up the Shigar valley is a properly restored building and worth your afternoon, with the road past it running on towards the Baltoro. As a base, though, it's a commitment. Sleep there and most of your mornings begin with the drive back down the valley, which wears thin faster than you'd expect.

What is actually bookable

Less than you'd expect, and much less than for Hunza. What you get instead is a phone number, a WhatsApp reply at midnight and a name to mention at the desk. Bookable hotels covers the pattern and why it exists.

Related

Things to do in Skardu · Best time to visit Skardu · Where to stay in Hunza