Climate of the Northern Areas of Pakistan
In northern Pakistan, three main Himalayan systems meet above Gilgit. The Himalaya, the Karakoram, and the Hindu Kush channel practically all weather patterns in this area. The three systems block the monsoon rain, offer upward air currents that dry the air of any moisture, and create valleys and passages that span up to 4,000 vertical meters.
These patterns create a lot of confusion. The area of Gilgit-Baltistan is a desert area yet is home to one of the largest deposits of glaciers, outside the polar regions. Chilas can experience temperatures as high as 40 degrees Celsius in the month of July, while Deosai, only a 4-hour distance away, is as low as 0 degrees at night. Anyone who wishes to make this journey understands the patterns, for the season defines the best travel route.
A desert with glaciers on top
The walls of the Himalayas capture and weaken the summer monsoonal rains of India. Valleys of the Gilgit-Baltistan region receive between 100 and 250 mm of annual precipitation that falls primarily as snow during the winter and is brought by westerly winds. As some of the monsoon airmass passes over the Himalayas, these regions receive some of the lowest precipitation in the northern part of Pakistan compared to regions of Balochistan.
The valleys of Hunza receive very low precipitation as other regions of Balochistan, and the reason these valleys can be Agricultural is due to a network of artificial terraces that were used to maintain a complex system of water canals that run over hundreds of meters of vertical cliff faces.
The vegetation between the cliff faces is nearly non-existent. South and West of the wall, it is just the opposite. Kaghan, Kohistan, Swat, Dir and Chitral valleys to the North receive a real monsoon and far more Forest cover.
Altitude makes all the difference.
The climate in the valleys changes by about 6 degrees Celsius for every kilometer of elevation. This means that both ends of a long valley would have completely different climates, even if it's only a few hours between driving.
At 1,265 meters, Chilas is an extremely hot spot during the North’s summer, and regularly breaks 40 degrees. Gilgit, higher still, gets warm and dusty. Karimabad at 2,400 meters is very pleasant, whereas it’s unbearable along the Karakoram Highway in Chilas. Skardu @ 2,230 meters has chilly winters and often dips below 0. Deosai Plateau @ 4,100 C is often frozen in the summer and is usually snow-covered from November to July.
Dry Altitude air also means there is a large swing in temperature within a given day. A twenty-degree afternoon in Skardu, with the sun often dropping below freezing by four AM. The sun at a high altitude also burns even more quickly than it does in the plains, and the local people take into account what’s required as safety precautions when they go to Khunjerab, and do not come back with a scalded face.
The four seasons, practically
Winter: November through March
Heavy snows fall above 2,500 meters. Khanjareb, Shandur, Deosai and Babusar passes are closed. The rest of the Karakoram Highway is open to Sost, meaning that you can go to Gilgit and Hunza, and even though it’s very peaceful with snow covering most everything, it’s quite cold, and most of the hotels either close or provide limited services.
Spring: April and May
Throughout April, the blossoms decorate the hills of Hunza. Kaghan and Naran, as well as the Babusar Pass, are open. Evening rivers run low and clear, and passes are open, though still early in the spring. Usually safe to travel in early May.
Fall: September through October, perhaps a bit longer; the valleys are quiet
Autumn: nice cool reprieve; Alpine snows and lower valleys green; late harvest and clear runs.
Summer: July and August
Almost monsoon-like seasons. The plains of Punjab get green from flooding, and later overcast with thunderstorms, and of course, frequent downpours. The highlands, however, are usually hot and dry and burn with fires throughout the summer.
July to August: Valley floors are hot with summers in full swing. Meanwhile, the high country is at its best, and all high passes are open by early July. This is also the monsoon season and the peak of glacier melt, which is another issue I will cover in more depth later. Hotels fill up, and prices are at their most expensive.
September to October: The best months of the year. Monsoon season is over, rain stops, the air becomes clear and sharp, views of the mountains become clear, and the Hunza poplars turn gold in late October. Nights become cold quickly, and as the season goes on, the high passes close.
The July and August problem
In mid-summer, two things happen at the same time. The monsoon season starts and so does the peak of glacier melt. Heavy rains and melted glaciers cause rivers to rise, slopes to become saturated, and a single landslide-prone road in the country to become the most dangerous.
The road closes for hours, days, or for longer periods of time. Bridges are washed away. Flash floods damage sections of the Karakoram Highway and the Jaglot to Skardu road in recent summers and have left travelers stuck on the other side of the damage. It doesn't mean you should avoid the North in the summer, but travelling to the North during this time means you can't have a strict seven-day itinerary with no flexible time to spare.
From the Hindu Kush, Karakoram and Himalayan regions, melting has created more than 3,000 glacial lakes in Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Among the 33 of those dangerous lakes, millions of people live downstream in the path of the lakes' outbursts, where the dam of ice or rock will break and the release will be a glacial lake outburst flood, a wall of rock and water rather than a rising river.
The glaciers that form the Shishper above Hassanabad in Hunza have increased outburst activity in recent years and caused the collapse of a bridge on the Karakoram Highway in 2022. A broad early warning system in partnership with the UN Development Programme has been providing protection for dozens of valleys since 2017 using monitoring equipment and other protective measures.
There is a countercurrent that is worth knowing. Glaciers around the world are in retreat, but some of the glaciers of the Karakoram have been stable or advancing for decades, a phenomenon known as the Karakoram Anomaly. The region is not immune to the changes. It can be seen in rising temperatures, shifting snowlines, and frequent flooding.
Quick guide by place
Chilas and Besham - Hot and dry in the summers, steep drops in temperature at night during winters. Do not stay overnight.
Gilgit - Hot but dry, cold nights, some light snowfall during winters. Accessible the whole year.
Hunza and Karimabad: Summers are comfortable, winters are cold with lots of snow. Blossoms in April; late-fall vegetation holds its colors.
Skardu and Baltistan: cold desert. Large temperature swings. Daytime highs can get above 40°C in July. It gets very cold in the winters.
Deosai, Khunjerab, Shandur and Babusar: cut off from the rest of the world due to snow in winters. Around the end of June, they start to open up and stay open until early September, and Khunjerab stays open a little later.
Naran and Kaghan: closed in winters due to heavy snowfall. Alpine region
Swat, Kalam and Chitral: such an interesting mix of climate zones. From green and warm valleys to cold and snowy alpine peaks. You will experience real monsoon rains in the valleys.
What this means for your bag
Be prepared for cold temperatures along with the potential for rain. A warm jacket is advised for altitudes over 3,000 metres. A sun hat, Sunglasses, sunscreen, and a power bank are also needed. Additional medicine should be carried in your hand luggage, as it may not be brought along on the jeep following your group.
Plan the trip around the season, with our help.
HospitalityTours.com.pk helps travelers plan trips to northern Pakistan based on the climate and largely ignores the calendar in these cases. This means advising travelers on which passes and valleys are accessible based on the travel dates, and also advising on places that are habitable based on the travel dates. We provide honest advice on whether the dates are achievable. Our contact information is provided at the end.
Tell us your dates, and we will tell you what is open.
Travel time and travel spots to be provided by you. We will provide you with an estimate of which passes will be open and which valleys make sense in that time period. We will also give you an estimate of the optimum number of days you should add to that trip. Hotel bookings, transport, guide and trip price confirmation are done before you are asked to pay for the trip.
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