Skardu - Transport

Transport

Skardu is accessible by two methods, road or air. The normal road route into Skardu is via the Karakorum Highway and a linkroad into the Skardu Valley from it. There are also four or five other road links to Kashmir and Ladakh. Alternatively, there are normally one or two flights daily between Skardu Airport and Islamabad. The high cost of air travel means that road travel via the Karakorum Highway and the link road onward to the Skardu Valley is often the preferred option of locals and tourists alike.

A famous all-weather road, the Kargil-Skardu road linked Skardu with Kargil, a city in Ladakh. Since the annexation of Gilgit Baltistan by Pakistan, the road has been closed. Whilst the Indian Government has been interested in opening the road as a humanitarian gesture, this initiative has been refused by the Pakistani Government.

The climate can have adverse effects on transport in and out of the Skardu Valley, as Skardu becomes snowbound during the winter months. Often the roads in and out of Skardu (and other Northern Areas locations) can be blocked for weeks at a time depending on conditions (though two to five days is more normal), sometimes leaving air travel as the only feasible alternative. However, air travel in winter is also subject to disruption due to the unreliable Skardu weather and flights can occasionally be delayed by several days.