Safety

See Pakistan for yourself.

We understand that personal safety is one of the first questions people have when considering a journey through Pakistan. For many people, their impression of the country has been shaped by international headlines rather than by the experience of actually traveling through it. Those who do visit often leave with a very different perspective — particularly when it comes to the extraordinary landscapes and unmatched hospitality of the people they encounter along the way.

Pakistan is a large and diverse country, and security conditions vary considerably between regions. Some of the areas that receive the greatest security attention are in the south-west, including parts of Balochistan and areas close to the Afghanistan border. Our journeys do not travel through these regions. Instead, our route is specifically designed around Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan's northern mountain region and home to K2, Nanga Parbat, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum I and Gasherbrum II — five of the world's fourteen 8,000-metre peaks.

This is not an isolated corner of the country that occasionally receives a handful of adventurous foreigners. Gilgit-Baltistan has a long-established international mountaineering and adventure-tourism industry. In 2023, more than 2,000 foreign climbers and trekkers visited the region, alongside roughly 9,000 other foreign tourists. In 2024, more than 1,700 foreign climbers applied for permits, including 175 intending to climb K2. More recently, more than 2,200 foreign climbers and trekkers visited GB between April and August 2026, with expeditions targeting K2, Nanga Parbat, Broad Peak and the Gasherbrums.

The importance of tourism to the region is reflected in the infrastructure and attention devoted to visitors. Gilgit-Baltistan has a dedicated Tourist Police, with the government specifically describing the region as a safe destination for tourists and providing a dedicated helpline for visitor assistance. There has even been a dedicated high-altitude police unit established to provide security and assistance to foreign mountaineers and tourists undertaking expeditions in the region.

Even the journey from Islamabad to Skardu reflects the authorities' emphasis on protecting tourism. Foreign visitors traveling to Skardu by road are accompanied by police escorts, even through the road route is otherwise peaceful, as an additional precaution by the government to ensure that tourists remain safe and undisturbed during their journey. We avoid this entire road journey by flying from Islamabad to Skardu, allowing the adventure to begin in the mountains without the additional time and energy spent in the long road transfer.

From Skardu onwards, our journey takes place through some of the best-established tourist areas of Gilgit-Baltistan — including Skardu, the Karakoram Highway, Naltar, Hunza, Passu and the surrounding mountain valleys. These are places that have welcomed generations of mountaineers, trekkers and independent travelers from around the world.

But don't just take our word for it.

Perhaps the best way to understand what traveling through Pakistan is actually like is to hear from people who have done it themselves.

Over the years, foreign motorcyclists, solo travelers and solo female travelers have traveled extensively through Pakistan, documenting their experiences along the way. Some have crossed the country independently on motorcycles; others have spent weeks or months traveling through its cities, villages and mountain regions. Their experiences provide a perspective that is difficult to get from a news headline.

Below, we've collected a selection of first-hand videos, travel channels and accounts from people who have actually traveled through Pakistan — including women who have traveled independently and, in some cases, alone on motorcycles.

Watch their journeys, the roads, the people. Then decide what you think.

Road safety in the mountains