A lot of travelers reach Hunza first, then realize Skardu is closer than they expected — here’s what that connecting leg actually involves.
The route
From Karimabad (Hunza), the drive south to Gilgit city takes around 2–2.5 hours, then continues on to Skardu via the KKH and the Indus gorge — a further 5–6 hours, for a total of roughly 7–8 hours of driving.
Can you fly instead?
There’s no direct flight between Hunza/Gilgit and Skardu — Gilgit Airport connects to Islamabad, not directly to Skardu. Overland is the only practical way to connect the two regions directly without backtracking through Islamabad.
Is it worth doing both in one trip?
Yes, if you have 10+ days total. Hunza and Skardu have genuinely different characters (see our Hunza vs Skardu comparison guide), and doing both back-to-back gives you a much fuller picture of Gilgit-Baltistan than either alone.
Breaking up the drive
Rather than pushing straight through, most of our itineraries build in a stop in Gilgit city itself, which also lets you see the Gilgit-Hunza river confluence point along the way.
Our Skardu Gilgit Hunza Tour is built specifically around this combined circuit, with the Hunza–Skardu drive broken into a comfortable two-day transition rather than one long push.