The cherry blossom season is a much celebrated season all around the world. Thanks to over tourism, this once a magical time to mark the end of notorious winter and arrival of spring has now turned into Instagrammers haven with tourists flocking to all the popular cherry blossom sites across the world. But as you have stumbled upon this article, you’re in for a surprise!
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The Hunza Valley in northern Pakistan is one of the many places in Pakistan to spot cherry blossom – that too, crowd free! The cherry blossom in Hunza valley of Pakistan can be best spotted by the end of March each year. And that was exactly when I happened to visit the magical valley only to get awe-struck by the untouched beauty it has to offer.
So here is my visually appealing experience of spotting cherry blossom in Hunza this March.
The main city connecting any journey to the north of Pakistan is Islamabad. That’s where I hopped on a private bus with a bunch of strangers at 1 AM in the night. The night journey crossing Punjab to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was pretty crazy as it rained cats and dogs! And mind you – the roads of KPK (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) aren’t going to be your favorite…
But is a road trip even complete without bumpy roads? Definitely NAH!
Also, did I tell you, the beauty of KPK will make up for the extremely long 19 hours’ drive to Gilgit Baltistan?
After a long long drive, you need to spend a night somewhere in Gilgit. The night stay can be preferably made in Chillas, a small tourist-friendly town just at the start of Gilgit.
The cherry blossom in Hunza valley is still way too far to be spotted!
The ride next day is again going to be long – nearly 7 hours from Chillas to Hunza. But today there will be quite a few pit spots. I can assure that this leg of the journey is going to be quite interesting.
Pit spot one for the day – the majestic Mt. Nanga Parbat!
Sadly, it was an overcast day and the peak of the Killer Mountain was engulfed in the clouds. Nonetheless, it was quite a view.
Getting closer to our final destination of seeing cherry blossom in Hunza, the next pit stop in the town of Nagar, right before Hunza was Mt. Rakaposhi. If you fancy, you can also hike to the Rakaposhi base camp. Well, due to unpreparedness and time constraints, I couldn’t do that.
We moved passed Mt. Rakaposhi and finally, some cherry blossoms started appearing! YAY
There were some fully bloomed
And some were yet to show their real beauty…
A very short drive away from the last pit stop, moving further on the Karakoram Highway, we finally entered the gorgeous Hunza valley! And views just kept on getting better and better
Whenever you’re in Hunza irrespective of the cherry blossom season, do visit the Altit fort for some extraordinary views of the valley
You might as well find the best spot for the gram – with cherry blossom in Hunza!
And if you have made up to the Altit Fort, then viewing the sunset for the Eagle’s Nest should be a must!
But first, you’ll pass through a small residential area with locals doing their everyday chores. Here’s a picture of Hunzai lads playing volleyball without a net! How cool is that?
Next up – Eagles Nest, which is a mountain top viewpoint giving a panoramic view of the magnificent Karakoram mountain range surrounding the Hunza valley. The place is called Duikar in the local language but got its English name of Eagle’s Nest due to the eagle shaped rock formation on the mountain.
There are two ways to reach Eagle Nest – either hike all the way to the viewpoint, which will take 2ish hours. The second and the preferred one is to drive all the way to the top and then hike for 7 to 10 mins to reach the main viewpoint.
As promised, the sunset views from Eagle’s Nest will blow you away!
There is beauty everywhere to be seen…
And some people (a.k.a me) found out that they just belong there!
Quite a long day, eh? Let’s call it a day!
There are many options for staying in Hunza. For a bit of luxury, there is the famous Serene hotel in Karimabad, Hunza. If you want some spectacular sunrise views, then I’d definitely recommend spending the night at one of the many hotels atEagle’s Nest. Or if you want to stay somewhere between the town, Gulmit in Hunza is the best place to look for budget/boutique accommodations.
I stayed at the Silk Route lodge in Gulmit, where we reached at the night. Not in my wildest dreams I imagined the view I woke up to!
I was completely blown away in the morning seeing Passu Cones right outside my room’s window. Nothing could stop me from going all the way to have a closer look at the Passu Cones.
Since you’re in Hunza already, mind a short trip to the Khunjerab Pass (Pakistan China border) – the highest land border crossing in the world? Of course, don’t expect to see the cherry blossom in Hunza at the Khunjerab Pass as it is covered with ice all year around.
The next picture will explain everything I just said…
And then some touristy pictures once you’re at the Khunjerab Pass
That’s the maximum amount of cold my body can bear, so let’s go back to the town and spot some cherry blossom in Hunza.
The famous and busy Karimabad market in Hunza is a great place to see the cherry blossom
If only all the markets around the world have such views…
For those interested in sight-seeing with a walk around a 1000 years old settlement, do not forget to make a quick tour around the Ganish settlement. It can be reached just by driving down towards the mainland from Karimabad market.
You came for cherry blossom in Hunza, right? Well, in Ganish, that’s to see everywhere, all around you…
And that’s all where I spotted cherry blossom in Hunza
The cherry blossom season in the Hunza valley can be quite unpredictable at times. This year, by the time I visited (end of March), the cherry blossom was not started in its full swing. However, the locals still claim the end of March to be the most likely best time of spotting cherry blossom in Hunza.
Nonetheless, I am very satisfied with quite a lot of great cherry blossom spots I came across in the valley – and obviously, I got enough content for the gram too!
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I would never have guessed that cherry blossoms exist out there! Thank you for adding it to my radar!
So happy to know I was able to virtually show you a new part of Pakistan 🙂
I applaud you hopping on a bus at 1:00am to do this! The pictures are so worth it.
Haha! Thank you, Kathryn 🙂