Is it safe to travel to Pakistan?

The Pakistan Government has been fighting a war against terrorism for many years now. Terrorist activity peaked in 2009 but has significantly decreased in the decade since. A lot of this was concentrated in the regions bordering Afghanistan, like the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, neither of which Intrepid visit.

The Australian, US and UK governments advise against traveling into the Balochistan region because of the risk of terrorism, but our expeditions are limited to the Punjab region and Northern areas.

Pakistan's relationship with India is notoriously prickly. The eastern border (India's western border) has been the subject of debate and violence since both countries gained their independence in 1947.

The main point of contention is the mountainous Kashmir region to the east of Islamabad, and the Australian and UK governments advise against all travel into this area as well as all sections of the border.

We visit the border at Wahga, just outside of Lahore, but this crossing is further south and is relatively secure, with an entertaining flag-lowering performance every day. 

Pakistan and Afghanistan also have issues with their border. We do not travel anywhere in the west of the country because of the poor security situation.

Our tours go to Lahore, Islamabad and the Hunza Valley region. To mitigate security risks on the southern sections of the Karakoram Highway, we fly to Gilgit and use private vehicles to head north up the Hunza Valley towards the Chinese border. This area is remote, surrounded by mountains and far removed from Afghanistan and Kashmir. Our itineraries and leaders do all they can to minimise risk for you.