What's on in Hunza (Karimabad), Pakistan through the year

Quiet — school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Winter quiet (1 Dec – 28 Feb)

Quiet — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Winter quiet (1 Dec – 28 Feb)

Busy — Apricot and cherry blossom, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Navroz

  21–22 MarNational holiday

  The Ismaili valleys mark the spring new year as the turn of the farming year: the jamatkhanas fill, the irrigation channels are opened, and the first work goes into the terraces. Source ↗

• Nature

  Apricot and cherry blossom

  25 Mar – 20 Apr · usuallyCrowded

  The terraces below Karimabad come out white and pink for two or three weeks and the valley fills with domestic visitors for it. The date moves with the winter and is guessed at locally rather than announced.

Busy — Apricot and cherry blossom, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Khunjerab Pass season

  1 Apr – 30 Nov · usuallyTrail season

  The border above the valley keeps to the warm half of the year: heavy traffic is stopped from about the end of November and the pass is generally shut to everything by the turn of the year. A dump can close it any week. Source ↗

Still on: Apricot and cherry blossom (25 Mar – 20 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Khunjerab Pass season (1 Apr – 30 Nov (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: Khunjerab Pass season (1 Apr – 30 Nov (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

• Nature

  Apricot harvest

  1 Jul – 15 Aug · usually

  Every flat roof in Karimabad and Ganish is covered in halved apricots drying in the sun for a few weeks. What is not dried for the winter gets pressed, kernels included, and sold by the roadside.

Still on: Khunjerab Pass season (1 Apr – 30 Nov (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Khunjerab Pass season (1 Apr – 30 Nov (usually)), Apricot harvest (1 Jul – 15 Aug (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Khunjerab Pass season (1 Apr – 30 Nov (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Nature

  Autumn colour on the terraces

  15 Oct – 15 Nov · usuallyBook early

  The poplars along the irrigation channels turn and the terraces go gold under the Rakaposhi wall for a fortnight. Karimabad knows exactly what it has and the guesthouses price the weeks accordingly.

Still on: Khunjerab Pass season (1 Apr – 30 Nov (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Khunjerab Pass season (1 Apr – 30 Nov (usually)), Autumn colour on the terraces (15 Oct – 15 Nov (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Season

  Winter quiet

  1 Dec – 28 FebOff-season shutdownClosures

  Most of Karimabad closes and the road over the pass is shut, leaving the Attabad tunnels as the only certain link north. What stays open runs on one wood stove and no heating in the rooms.