Why hire comes with a driver here
In most of the world, renting a car means driving it. In Gilgit-Baltistan, almost every hire includes a driver, and that is not an upsell.
The roads are single-lane in places with unmarked drops, the local convention on blind corners is horn-based and takes a while to learn, and the difference between a road that is fine and a road that has just been undercut by a nullah is something you learn by driving it weekly. Add that mobile coverage disappears for hours at a time and a breakdown on the Skardu road is a genuine problem, and the driver stops looking like a cost.
What each vehicle is for
The most common mistake is hiring a car for a jeep route to save money, then paying twice when it cannot make the climb. The second most common is hiring a Land Cruiser for Hunza, where a car is perfectly adequate and half the price.
- ·Car (Corolla, City): airport transfers, town, Hunza, Skardu on the paved road. PKR 400 per trip in town, from PKR 6,500 for Gilgit–Hunza one way.
- ·VIP car: the same roads with a better vehicle, for guests and business travel. PKR 900 in town.
- ·Land Cruiser (Prado, V8): Deosai, Askoli, Duiker, Rama, Shandur. Anything unpaved. From PKR 15,000 per day.
- ·Van (Hiace, Grand Cabin): families and groups with luggage, paved routes only. From PKR 10,000 per day.
What a fair quote includes
A per-day rate with a driver, and a clear answer on fuel. Our day rates include the driver; fuel is paid by you on multi-day hires, and is included on fixed-route trips like the Deosai day run.
It should also cover where the driver sleeps on a multi-day trip. This is the line that gets left out and turns into an awkward conversation in Skardu. Ask.
The questions worth asking anyone, including us
A hire company that cannot answer the first two is not a hire company, it is a phone number with access to vehicles. In our case every captain is interviewed in the Gilgit office and every vehicle inspected before it can take a booking, and you see the captain's rating and vehicle before you accept.
- ·Who is the driver, and has he done this specific route before this season?
- ·When was the vehicle last inspected, and by whom?
- ·Is the fare fixed, and what changes it: extra days, extra kilometres, a road closure?
- ·What happens if the road shuts and the trip cannot be completed?
- ·Fuel: included or not, and on which legs?
Deposits, cash and paperwork
Cash still runs the region. ATMs exist in Gilgit, Skardu, Aliabad and Chilas and they are not reliable in that order. Draw what you need in Gilgit.
For a multi-day hire expect to leave a CNIC or passport copy and pay part up front. Anyone asking for the full amount in advance for a trip starting next month is asking you to carry all the risk.
Self-drive, if you insist
It is possible and some operators offer it. If you are going to do it, do it on the paved corridors, Gilgit to Hunza, Gilgit to Skardu, in summer, in daylight, with a vehicle you have inspected yourself.
Do not take a self-drive vehicle onto Deosai, Babusar late in the season, or any jeep track. Recovery costs more than the hire, and on the plateau there is no signal to call for it.
Questions
How much is a car rental in Gilgit per day?
From about PKR 10,000 per day for a van and PKR 15,000 for a Land Cruiser, with driver. Town trips in a car are charged per trip from PKR 400.
Can I rent a car in Gilgit without a driver?
Some operators offer it. We do not recommend it outside the paved summer corridors, and most travellers who try it once do not repeat it.
Is fuel included in vehicle hire?
On fixed-route trips like the Deosai day run, yes. On multi-day open hires, fuel is normally paid by the customer. Confirm before you book.