General Information
Chilas Town
Longitude: 74.0862796 · Latitude: 35.4271456
Chilas is the capital of Diamer District of Gilgit-Baltistan and is a small town located on the left bank of the Indus River. The Karakoram Highway (KKH) passes right through it. It is located at a height of 4,150 feet (1,265 m) above sea level at the foot of Nanga Parbat which stands as a wall against the monsoon winds leaving no rain for Chilas. This fact makes Chilas dry and rough very hot in summer and very cold in winter.
When is the best time to visit Chilas
The weather in Chilas is hot and dry in the summer and dry and cold in the winter. Best months to visit Chilas are from October to April as temperature is comparatively pleasant in these months. In these month temperature is at around 25°c and 10°c during day time. But you may visit Chilas any time through the year. The best time to go out for sightseeing is early morning and evening.
How to Reach Chilas
The area of Chilas is accessible by road from Islamabad via KKH which is an all-weather route and alternatively you may reach here via Kaghan Valley and Babusar Pass. Its distance from Islamabad via KKH is 376km and one can reach here after a drive of about 9 hours. If you are traveling via Kaghan Valley and Babusar, it will take almost same time to cover the distance of 328 km but this route is more scenic as compare to the route of KKH. But the road via Babusar Pass is only accessible during summer season when snow is cleared from the route.
One can also reach Chilas traveling to Gilgit from Islamabad by air which takes about 1 hr. From Gilgit it takes about three hours to reach Chilas traveling by road. Distance from Gilgit to Chilas is around 135 km.
Where to Stay in Chilas
Chilas is a District Headquarter town and a number of hotels of different categories are available right on the KKH to provide boarding and lodging facilities to the visitors. The room rent is within the range of Rs.4,000/- to Rs.10,000/- per double bedroom per night. Number of restaurants are also available along the KKH to serve food to the visitors.