Hotel on the Karakoram Highway

Name: Villa Darya
Address: Village Shishkat, Gojal Valley, Hunza, GB Pakistan
Telephone: +92 3 111 000 658
Price range: PKR 18,000–30,000
Rating: 4.7

Villa Darya is on the Karakoram Highway itself, at Shishkat in Gojal, Upper Hunza. Not signposted off it, not a detour up a side valley — on it. For anyone driving the KKH, that is the difference between a stop and a diversion.

Where this sits on the road

Shishkat is in Upper Hunza, north of the Attabad tunnels and south of Passu. It is a natural break in the drive: far enough north of Gilgit to be a real day's progress, and close enough to the border road that the Khunjerab Pass is a day trip rather than another relocation.

Distances from the hotel, by road:

Attabad Lake — 5 km
Hussaini Suspension Bridge — 8 km
Borith Lake — 10 km
Passu Glacier — 13 km
Passu Cones — 21 km
Baltit Fort, Karimabad — 35 km
Khunjerab Pass — 140 km

Driving the KKH

The Karakoram Highway runs from Hasan Abdal in Punjab to the Chinese border at Khunjerab, and the stretch through Hunza is the one people come for. It is sealed and in good condition through this section, but it is a mountain road: landslides, weather and roadworks all rearrange the schedule, and the time a map gives you is optimistic more often than not.

Plan to arrive in daylight if you can. Driving this road after dark gives up the entire reason for being on it, and the hazards are the ones you cannot see.

Stopping here for one night, or several

Plenty of guests book one night as a waypoint and stay longer, because the things worth seeing in Upper Hunza are all within an hour of the door. If you are travelling with your own vehicle there is parking; if you are on public transport, the NATCO and private coaches on the Gilgit–Sost route pass through.

See the rooms and check availability, or contact the hotel if your arrival time is uncertain.