The Expedition — Junoon Journeys

Junoon: The Karakoram Ignition Sep 19 – Oct 3, 2026

The Road

1,300km route

4,693m at Khunjerab Pass

15days Islamabad to Skardu

7,000+glaciers in Pakistan

Islamabad to Skardu. Fifteen days.

The road took twenty years to build. It runs 1,300 kilometers from Islamabad through the valleys of Kashmir, over Babusar Top at 4,173 meters, north through Hunza to Khunjerab Pass at the Chinese border — the highest paved international crossing on earth — then east to Skardu at the base of K2. More than 7,000 glaciers. More than any country outside the polar regions.

Karakoram Highway route map — Islamabad to Skardu

Husseini suspension bridge — Passu Cones behind — The bridge moves when you cross. That's normal.

Attabad Lake — turquoise water, Hunza — Attabad Lake. A landslide made it. The Karakoram does what it wants.

Village chai stop on the KKH — Every village has one. Most rides end here first.

Hunza Valley in autumn — trees turning — September in Hunza. The trees know the season before you do.

Karakoram Highway — the road ahead — The road ahead. Fifteen days of it.

Islamabad
Departure point
Muzaffarabad, Kashmir
Neelum Valley
Foreign access recently opened
Kaghan & Naran
Babusar Top 4,173 m
Karimabad & Hunza
Heart of the expedition
Khunjerab Pass
4,693 m · China border
Skardu
Base of K2

A Day on the Road

A day on the road

Morning

Breakfast & Briefing

Chai. Food. A route briefing covering conditions, distances, what to watch for. Riders depart when ready. Nobody waits and nobody is left behind.

On the Road

Riding & Tea Stops

~150km average on 150cc bikes. Your main bag travels in the support vehicle. Chai stops at villages you won't find in any guide. The road dictates pace.

Supported

The Support Vehicle

A 4x4 with an experienced mechanic follows the full route. Tools, spares, and your luggage. The mechanic has ridden and fixed these roads for over a decade.

Destination

Activities & Hikes

Fort visits, glacier approaches, optional hikes from moderate to tough. The views that stop you completely are only accessible on foot. None are mandatory.

Evening

Dinner & Campfire

Three to four campfire nights built into the expedition. Stories, conversation, no agenda. What emerges when people are too tired to perform is usually the most interesting thing.

Always

Free Time

Built into every day. The Karakoram is not a place to be rushed through. The unscheduled hours are often where the most important things happen.

What You Get

What's included

✦Motorcycle rental for 15 days — 150cc bikes, matched to your experience level

✦Fuel for the entire route

✦4x4 support vehicle throughout — carries your main bag, one per person

✦Experienced mechanic on the support vehicle for the full 15 days

✦English-speaking local guide on the ground

✦Breakfast and dinner daily

✦All accommodation — guesthouses chosen for character and location, not stars

✦All permits, national park entry fees, and road tolls

✦Daily route briefings and nightly group sessions

What's Not

Not included

—International flights to and from Islamabad

—Pakistan visa fees — processing assistance available, ask on your application

—Travel and medical insurance — required, proof must be provided before departure

—Personal riding gear — helmet and jacket mandatory, boots and riding pants strongly recommended

—Lunches and personal expenses on the road

Pillion Passengers

✦Available on request at additional cost. Note your interest on the application.

On Safety

Pakistan. Let's address it directly.

Riders ask about safety. The honest answer is: it depends where you're going and what you're prepared for.

The Karakoram is a route traveled by hundreds of motorcyclists every season. The region is politically stable and openly welcoming of foreign travelers. The communities along this road have hosted visitors for decades — long before it became a route people talk about.

The real risks here are the ones you'd find on any remote mountain road: terrain, altitude, weather, mechanical failure. Those are the risks we prepare for.

What's in place

Licensed mechanic on the support vehicle for all 15 days — the same roads, the same bikes, for over a decade

English-speaking local guide with ground knowledge no GPS provides

All permits and logistics handled before departure

Travel and medical insurance required from all riders — details provided on acceptance

No one can tell you there's no risk. We can tell you what the risk actually is — and what we've done about it.

First Expedition Only

The Leather Jacket

A custom Junoon Journeys leather jacket, made for this road. Every rider on the inaugural expedition receives one. Not a souvenir — something you earned on the way there.

↻ Flip

Photo Coming

◻ Jacket · Campaign Photo

Skardu → Islamabad Flight

The return flight, included. For fifteen days you rode through these mountains at road level. The flight home goes above them — Nanga Parbat in one window, K2 in the other. The same peaks. A completely different relationship to them. That's how this expedition ends.

↻ Flip

Photo Coming

◻ Mountain Flight · Window View

The Junoon Extension

Go Further.
Stay Longer.

For those who aren't ready to stop. An optional extension beyond Skardu into two of the most extraordinary places in the subcontinent.

Available based on confirmed interest. Note it on your application.

Extension · Part One

Deosai

The second highest plateau on earth. Brown bears roaming open grassland. Camping under skies with no light pollution for hundreds of kilometers. A place so vast and so still it resets something in you.

Extension · Part Two

Fairy Meadows

At the foot of Nanga Parbat — the Killer Mountain. Accessed by what many call the most dangerous road in the world. A jeep track so narrow and exposed it makes the KKH feel tame. Worth every meter of it.

Note interest on your application — final itinerary shared with confirmed participants.

            Something went wrong. Try again or email saad@junoonjourneys.com
          

            The fire's lit. We'll see you on the road.
          

Feed Your Fire

Route updates and stories from the road — before departure.

The KarakoramIgnition