Hotel near Sost

Villa Darya is in Shishkat, on the Karakoram Highway in Gojal, Upper Hunza — on the same road as Sost and south of it. Sost is the last town before the Pakistan–China border, and the place where the customs and immigration formalities for the Khunjerab crossing are handled.

What Sost is for

Sost is a border and transport town rather than a destination. It is where the NATCO buses to and from China run from, where the dry port sits, and where travellers crossing the border complete the paperwork. If you are crossing, or meeting someone who is, you will pass through it.

What it is not is a place with much to do in the evening. The scenery that draws people to Upper Hunza — the lake, the glacier, the cones — is south of it, which is where this hotel is.

Staying here instead

From Shishkat you are on the Sost road with the valley's landmarks on your doorstep: Attabad Lake 5 km away, Hussaini Suspension Bridge at 8 km, Passu Glacier at 13 km and the Passu Cones at 21 km. The Khunjerab Pass, beyond Sost, is 140 km.

For anyone whose plan involves the border but whose days are otherwise free, that is the better arrangement: the formalities are up the road, and the rest of your time is spent somewhere worth being.

Practicalities

• The border runs twelve months a year. The Pakistan–China crossing at Khunjerab has operated year-round for the last few years. Weather can still close the road temporarily, so confirm conditions before you travel.
• Carry your passport. There are checkposts on this stretch of the highway.
• Transport. Coaches on the Gilgit–Sost route pass through Shishkat.

Contact the hotel if you need help planning arrival times around a border crossing — the schedules move, and it is easier to ask than to guess.