Top Tour Operators in Pakistan for Northern Areas
Each summer, a couple of hundred tour operators set up shop to book visitors' trips to Hunza, Skardu, Fairy Meadows, and Naran. Some are established companies that hold government licenses and run tourism operations. Others are just a Facebook page with a rented Prado, whose bank account stopped communicating in September.
Differentiating between the companies on a search result page is the biggest hurdle in this field, and that is why this list exists. Each company listed is a registered business, and a license for their operation is registered with the Pakistan Association of Tour Operators or the Department of Tourist Services. They have been categorized based on their forte. A company that runs K2 Expeditions will not be able to arrange your family holiday to Hunza, and vice versa.
A disclosure is in order before you continue. The first company listed is ours, and you are on our site. The rest of the companies listed are rated by us, and we are in direct business competition with most of them.
1. Hospitality Tours
Sector H-13, Islamabad. A project of Hospitality Park (Pvt) Ltd.
We do the direct opposite of a booking portal. There are no listing pages and no guesswork with filters. Send us your requirements; we source either options or finished plans, and you approve the former. We do the booking.
Send us your destination, travel dates, group size and budget on WhatsApp, or email us using the contact form on our site. We will provide you with hotels and transport services booked, the names of the allocated guides, and a total cost with the inclusions detailed. We will let you know if a proposed route does not cover the required days to avoid issues post payment.
Our Company, Hospitality Park (Pvt) Ltd, develops resorts, luxury villas and eco-domes in Pakistan, thus enjoying some booking advantages. The remaining bookings are made through hotels, transport providers and licensed guides that we have previously used and trust.
We also arrange travel, corporate group bookings and business delegation tours comprising airport meet and assist, booked conference venues and day-to-day tour activities, destination weddings, events, visa assistance, travel insurance and tour support. You must have stays arranged before, during and after the tour, as it is most important on the day the Karakoram Highway closes and your tour plan must be changed.
Our address is listed at the end of this article. Check out hospitalitytours.com.pk.
2. Travel Walji's
Aabpara Market, Islamabad. Licence number-3.
Walji's has one of the lowest licence numbers in the entire register, which illustrates their length of experience. Rather than specializing in mountain travel, like our tours, they operate under the full-service travel agency model, offering ticketing, hotel bookings, corporate travel, and custom tours to various domestic locations including Gilgit-Hunza, Baltistan, Kaghan and Azad Kashmir.
Best for: travellers looking for a singular service provider to handle their flight, accommodation, and itinerary for the north, as well as for companies in need of invoicing and negotiated payment terms.
3. Nazir Sabir Expeditions
G-11/2, Islamabad. Government licence 711.
Nazir Sabir was the first Pakistani to summit Mount Everest in 2000. He was also the first to summit K2 in 1981 via a new route. Sabir’s company arranges mountaineering expeditions, treks, jeep safaris, and photographic trips via heli-trekking in the Karakoram as well as trips to Nepal, western China, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan.
Best for: customers looking to buy quality guides for trips to K2 Base Camp, Concordia, and Snow Lake.
4. Apricot Tours
F-11 Markaz, Islamabad. Skardu Mountain Operations. DTS licence ID-2131.
The company’s logistics are run from Skardu, the Baltoro’s practical location. For everything on the Baltoro, sales and planning are handled from Islamabad, with logistics arranged from Skardu. The company offers full-service treks and expeditions that are fully catered, including guides, cooks, support staff, and porters. Cultural tours through Islamabad, Peshawar, Taxila, Lahore, and Karachi are also offered. Liaison services in Kabul and Dushanbe cover the region for travelers continuing beyond.
Best for: foreign travelers looking for one service provider for airport pickup and drop-off.
5. Indus Caravan
Islamabad. DTS licence ID-2266.
The agency for travel document needs. Operators of programs for filming, tour, research, and travel with NOC, as well as organizing tours with a focus on Gandhara, Indus rock carvings, high altitude wildlife, and the pastoral valleys. Trips into Afghanistan, even the Wakhan corridor.
Documentary film crews, researchers, and travelers who have a historical interest over a scenic interest are attracted to these trips.
6. Jasmine Tours
Khargrong, Skardu. DTS-GB licence ID-069, PATO registration 016.
One of the older Baltistan operating companies, located in Skardu instead of a typical federal city. Once more, low licensing and registration numbers indicate this company operated prior to Skardu having any tourism whatsoever.
Best for: Baltistan itineraries dependent on local relationships.
7. Great Karakoram Expeditions
Hassan Colony, Skardu. DTS licence ID-2113, PATO registration 120.
A Skardu-based expedition outfitter focusing on the Karakoram with the local hiring network necessary for base camp operations.
Best for: treks and climbing expeditions with full base camp support from Skardu.
8. Karakorum Guides Pakistan
Skardu headquarters and an Islamabad office. Licence DTS-GB-104.
With over 250 employees, one of the largest adventure tour operators in the country offering services for mountaineering, treks, tourism, and jeep safaris, it offers fixed itinerary tours as well as tours designed for individual customers. The merger of their main office in Islamabad and the Skardu operations provides their customers with staff available at both the main office and Skardu.
Best for: mixed adventure and sightseeing tours for different groups. Also, the availability of fixed itinerary tours is great for solo travelers.
9. Karakorum Adventure
Zero Point, Karimabad, Hunza. DTS licence ID-386, PATO registration 066.
Their base of operations is located in Hunza, and they offer their services for treks and tours in the Karakoram and beyond.
Best for: shorter treks to Rakaposhi Base Camp.
10. Rozefs Tourism
Has offices in Islamabad, Gilgit and Skardu.
Rozefs is a domestic market-oriented tour operator that publishes fixed package tours to the north with prices and keeps 4-wheel-drive jeeps and coaster buses in the three cities, and rents cars along with drivers to travelers who wish to make their own itinerary.
Best for: travelers from Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad who wish to confirm the price before they book.
Islamabad Based Or Operating Locally?
Both methods are applicable, and there are considerable pros and cons for both methods.
A capital-based operator is easier to use, easier to drop if something goes wrong, and is better at all those things outside the trip (flights, corporate invoicing, visa applications, hotel blocks, delegations). The top ones run their mountain operations from Skardu or Gilgit.
Gilgit- or Skardu-based companies have the local network on the ground and know which drivers are good in the snow, which guesthouses have heating in October, and which porter teams to avoid. They're usually cheaper because there's no capital office and therefore lower overhead.
The deal breaker is who answers the call at 11 pm from Passu in case a road has closed. See who gets that call first and ask them both.
How to verify an operator in ten minutes
Prior to any money changing hands, here's what you need to do
Ask for the tour operator's DTS license. Every legal tour operator has one. A company that is unable to provide it in a WhatsApp message is telling you something.
Check the PATO members directory. They publish the license number, office address, chief executive's name and contact numbers for member companies. If the information doesn't match what you have been provided, stop.
Make sure that the office address is an office and not a residential address with no signs. It's important for foreign visitors because visa sponsorship letters and restricted area permits can only be applied for by a registered operator.
Do they own or rent the vehicles? Are guides properly licensed? Gilgit-Baltistan has its own tourism regulations in place, which require licensed guide operators for trekking and mountaineering.
Inquire about insurance for staff and porter coverage. The Porter Stage Rates in Gilgit-Baltistan have been set by the government, and many times the low quoted price for carrying the loads is borne by the porters.
What a legitimate quote should have
A credible operator will provide this quote without my chasing them:
Listed accommodation for each night, not a general statement such as “category 3 star hotel.”
Whether the vehicle is a 4x4 and whether the charge includes fuel/tolls and driver’s meals/lodging.
What is not included: park fees, hires for jeeps to Fairy Meadows and Deosai, porters, personal expenses and surprises.
The guide’s name, language and whether they are licensed.
How the advance is to be paid and the cancellation policy.
How the operator will make alternate arrangements for transport and who will cover the costs if transport is not available.
Get all of the above in writing prior to releasing the advance. The major disputes in the industry occur when one of the points above is left vague.
Signs to Avoid
Promised visas. No one can provide this.
Rates which are significantly less than what is charged in the market. The porters, underinsurance, or unbooked accommodation are areas from which savings will be made.
Payment to a personal rather than a company account
No physical office and no license number.
Discount expires tonight, so must be paid today
Refuses to name hotels until paid
Book North with us
Tell us the destination, the number of people and preferred dates. We will confirm tour congruence with dates and return with name of hotels, transport, licensed guides, tour price, and inclusions. Until confirmation, nothing is booked, and someone stays reachable for the whole trip.
WhatsApp: +92 341 111 3777
Email: info@hospitalitytours.com
Head office: Office No. 2 & 3, Ground Floor, Parish Rose Plaza, Opposite NUST Gate 4, Sector H-13, Islamabad