Wow, oh wow, were we excited to travel to Skardu Pakistan. Before we get into the crux of this chapter, let me start by giving you the background.

Skardu Pakistan, a place we had never heard of until 2020. Strange, you may think, but when did you first hear of Skardu, Pakistan? Let’s roll it back even further, and when was the first time you, personally, yes, you, the reader, when did you first think of venturing to Pakistan?

Genuinely, I’m interested. Please comment or DM us on Instagram to let us know. I always get so fascinated by the reason as to why people wish to travel to specific locations over others. I’m honestly the same, and the amount I argue with myself and fixate on whether to visit Colombia, Ecuador, Rwanda, Malaysia, Mongolia and even Nepal. Wow, did I dream of that place for years, and we were fortunate enough to spend 16 days there. Nepal will not let you down.

Back on topic, we knew very little about Skardu, but we were sure we wanted to travel there as we enjoy travelling off the beaten path, and wow, was this off the beaten path; In 2020! In 2021, not so much; it probably will be a lot more trodden by the time you get there and let’s be honest, why wait? Life is an opportunity, so take it whilst you can; if that’s one thing Covid has affirmed for me, then that’s it! Take those opportunities, especially those that allow you to travel. We’ve been fortunate to be able to travel to so many places.

Part of our reason, well, it was twofold. One: Me, Umair, being of Pakistani heritage, I wanted to explore the country I was continuously told negative things about. Two: We thought that by going to unventured places, we could grow our YouTube channel and kick off our travel adventures. That is what I kept telling myself when the doubt was creeping in. It turns out we were late by about a year on that. Oh well! Glad we still had reason number one.

I remember our trip being cancelled three times, but no worries, we ventured off to Mozambique and were fortunate to enjoy some of the best diving in the world, and then we spent two weeks in Portugal. Both are fabulous experiences and entirely different to Pakistan. 

We rebooked our flights about eight days before flying to Pakistan and had to be creative with our route, returning to Morocco as opposed to England due to travel restrictions at that time. That opened up new opportunities, and with our eagerness to see as much of the world as possible, we managed to put a two-month trip together that looked like this: 

      Pakistan > Morocco > Italy > Athens

You see, I was fixated that we visit Athens, aaaand we did! But that’s for future blogs, back to Skardu, Pakistan.

Once these flights were confirmed, we needed to rebook our Islamabad to Skardu flights with PIA. I thought that was relatively simple, too simple, but we didn’t have any problems. There was no extra charge, and the chap gave us new tickets using the open tickets we had purchased several months ago, which again, due to travel restrictions, could not be used. We had to look forward to this domestic flight within Pakistan. Should I also add that PIA was banned from operating in Europe at this time for hiring Pilots without the correct qualifications?

First, we Landed in Islamabad, which would be our home for the next 20 hours. After having a brief look around the city, grabbing a Simcard from the mall and a couple of Kurtas for our upcoming adventures, we headed back to our hostel. A brief sleep later, we thought we were ready.

We hurried out of our Islamabad accommodation as quickly as we could in search of a taxi. Why not use Uber, I hear you ask; well, Uber in Pakistan is an adventure (in all the wrong ways) and not one I’ll shed light on at this juncture. Rest assured, we struggled with Uber later, where I’ll explain everything. It still irritates me; Uber in Pakistan is terrible! DO NOT USE UBER IN PAKISTAN.

Well… I need to calm down.

Exiting our Islamabad accommodation, we walked to the main road and found three taxis on standby. The drivers were all chatting away, washing their Russian-made cars; as the sun rose, all you could hear were birds chirping instead of the chaotic Islamabad traffic. We approached a driver, said Salam and offered him 1,000 Pakistani rupees (PKR) to the airport. He stated that was too much, and the price would be 500 PKR. We appreciated his honesty and still paid him 1,000 PKR. We were eager to get out of Islamabad; despite not even spending 20 hours there, we would return.

Upon arrival at Islamabad Airport, we had our documents ready for checking, but of course, my phone signal gave out. It was a nervous ten minutes while I restarted and restarted; hoards of other passengers went by, but we were stuck waiting. 

We’re going to miss this flight.

Finally, everything was working, so we rushed in! Only to be put in a queue for our bags to go through security at the entrance of Islamabad airport. This is not my favourite place.

Shortly after, we queue up for the check-in counter and get to the front of the line. All the window seats have been sold out, yet they have two window seats left. We’re told they have emergency exit seats available, one on the right and one on the left. We’re thinking the worst, Oh My God, it’s going to be so expensive and then the lady says, 400 rupees per ticket. We agree we can’t believe our luck, and boom, we have our window seats on the right-hand side! What was surprising is that online you can buy the same seats for 1000 rupees each, so getting them cheaper at the airport?? well, that was a pleasant surprise. Perhaps it was a good omen that we were faffing around at the airport entrance for ten minutes.

You’re always where you’re meant to be. 

After the ticket win, we head to security, So for those wondering, yes. There are different queues for males and females in Pakistan, but it’s not what you think. In Pakistan, the queues are different because, in the female line, only females are stationed there. All the security officers are females; the ones who look inside your luggage are female, the ones who scan you are female, and the ones who assist you are female. They even have a little tent where you can step inside if you are being searched. I inquired as to why this was, and the response I got was this, ‘It’s to protect the lady’s dignity. It sounds like a line, but we saw it in action; the world can learn much from Pakistan.

We rejoice as there’s no unnecessary security issue (Unlike Rome, Istanbul, Iceland, Bogota, Milan, Dubai, and Ethiopia). We have our window seats, and we’re about to embark on the best flight in the world. Now we have time to look around the airport and see what’s there! 

Nothing. Nothing is there. Do not expect to see some relics and pick up some trinkets from the domestic terminal hall in Islamabad when flying to Skardu; there’s nothing there. Nothing. Nada. Literally, nothing.

 I’ll tell you now; there are minimal queue systems in Pakistan, so consider that a warning when you embark on a flight in or even to Pakistan. We get on the plane and find a water bottle on every seat and an organ donor Pamphlet*. This is odd. It turns out that if you crash in Pakistan, they have the right to use your organs unless you’ve stated ‘no’. But then, on your first flight, you can hardly say ‘no’, can you? Loophooooole.

That aside, it was an incredible flight. Our jaws were open the entire time; you could see Pakistan from above, the glorious mountain ranges, including K2 and Nanga Prabat from above! You get the picture. It. Was. INCREDIBLE. Probably the best flight of our lives and tickets were under $50 USD per person. I’m telling you, if you ever get the opportunity to do this, then you must check out the flight from Islamabad to Skardu. 

Everyone on the entire plane was grinning from ear to ear; it was spectacular, so good that the flight itself could probably even get a smile from my grandad. As everyone disembarked the aircraft, the flight attendants tried to gather the passengers as quickly as possible to drive them to the terminal building. We opted to stick around, and the views were as great as they were in the sky; we could see for miles and miles. Why did no one ever tell me about Skardu? Why did no one ever urge me to visit Skardu? In those moments, I completely forgot the tragic events of the past twenty years in Pakistan and was overcome by one thought; more people need to visit this great country. More people need to experience the beauty of Pakistan.

Toodles

*and FYI, the organ pamphlet on the flight isn’t saying they can use your organs if they crash. We think that particular hospital sponsors the airline… or something like that?

USEFUL TIPS FOR BACKPACKING PAKISTAN:

How to Visit Skardu, Pakistan from Islamabad

 This sounds like it would be a complicated journey, but in truth, it’s pretty simple. Book your flight on PIA ahead of time; I’d recommend a flight time between 9 AM and Midday. That way, if a delay does occur, you’re not stranded and could possibly get a second flight scheduled. You also get to enjoy the views with, typically, the clearest weather of the day. PIA usually run about ten services a week during Peak time (June – August) between Islamabad to Skardu and then once a day from Lahore to Skardu during peak time (June – August). Still, these timetables change with the seasons and, of course, on-demand. Also, please note that both routes are weather dependent; it is not uncommon for flights to be cancelled entirely for a day or even a week! We had flights postponed for five days, but that was from Gilgit to Islamabad.

Get a seat on the right-hand side of the plane and enjoy the spectacular views. Bring a camera!

Upon arrival at Skardu International Airport, your hotel will likely pick you up. We recommend you visit Shangri-La Lake, Soq Valley and Upper Kachura lake as we did on our first day in Skardu Pakistan. The driving distances are long; PLEASE do not be over-ambitious.

Day trips around Skardu will start at around 5,000 PKR for a car or 7,000 PKR for a Prado, and both prices include the driver, vehicle and fuel cost. The best tip for Skardu Pakistan is to take your time. It may be tempting to cross everything off in a day or two, but please allow yourself five days to immerse yourself in everything. There really is a lot to see.

Enjoy! and don’t forget to tag Calamity Travels on Instagram. We’d love to see if you enjoyed backpacking Pakistan as much as we did!