Shandur Polo Festival: getting there by road and planning the return

The Shandur Polo Festival is played on a walled ground at about 3,700 metres on the pass between Upper Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan, and the hard part is not the polo. It is the last few hours of mountain road, the cold night at the top and the scramble to leave after the final. Plan it as three separate journeys: a lowland leg to Chitral or Gilgit, a high mountain leg on a 4x4 with a driver who knows the pass, and a return you have planned before you set off. Confirm the year's dates only once the organisers announce them. The festival has traditionally been held in early July, but the 2025 edition ran from 20 to 22 June.

One thing comes before any route choice. On the date we checked, the UK government advised against all travel on the two main road approaches most visitors would pick first. We explain what that means below, before the route detail, because it shapes everything else.

Read this first: the official advice on the road approaches

The UK FCDO travel advice for Pakistan (updated 22 September 2026 when we checked) advises against all travel to:

• "the N45 Highway, from the north of the Mardan ring road, to the edge of Chitral City, including Kalash valley". That is the road through Dir and the Lowari Tunnel that most people use to reach Chitral from Islamabad or Peshawar. Upper Dir and Lower Dir are also on the all-travel list.
• "the Karakoram Highway between Mansehra and Chilas via Battagram, Besham City, Dasu and Sazin up to the junction with the N15". That is the classic KKH drive north towards Gilgit.

Shandur itself, Upper Chitral beyond Chitral City and Gilgit-Baltistan are not named on those lists. The problem is getting to them. The FCDO also warns that your travel insurance could be invalidated if you travel against its advice, and its safety and security page says you must get advance permission from local or federal authorities to travel in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Those authorities will also tell you if you need a No Objection Certificate from the Ministry of Interior.

What this means for you:

1. If you hold a UK passport, or your insurer follows FCDO advice, do not plan to drive through Dir and the Lowari Tunnel, or along the KKH through Besham and Dasu. We will not plan leisure journeys on those sections.
2. The practical alternatives are a flight to Chitral or Gilgit, or the N15 over the Babusar Pass in the months it is open. The advice can change at any time, so check the current wording and map on the day you commit.
3. Visitors from other countries should read their own government's advice, and it can be stricter. The US State Department's Pakistan advisory rates the country "Reconsider Travel" overall and says Do Not Travel to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province as a whole. Chitral and the Chitral side of Shandur are in that province, so US citizens should read that page before planning anything on this side.

Shandur Polo Festival 2026 dates and how the timing is set

People searching for Shandur Polo Festival 2026 dates usually expect one fixed answer. The history suggests treating the dates as an announcement, not a fixture.

• The traditional window. Reference sources list the festival as an annual event held around 7 to 9 July, with the final on the last day.
• Recent variation. In 2025 the festival ran from 20 to 22 June, with Chitral beating Gilgit in the final on Sunday 22 June, as reported by The Express Tribune. That is more than two weeks earlier than the older pattern.
• Who decides. The festival is organised jointly by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan governments, with support from the Frontier Corps; the 2025 edition also had Pakistan Army support. Teams are picked in preliminary matches on both sides beforehand, and in Chitral that means district tournaments every May, as the Herald has described.

For planning, that gives you a simple rule. Pencil in a window from mid-June to mid-July. Then fix non-refundable flights and leave only once the provincial tourism authorities or reputable national news have published the confirmed dates. The festival lasts about three days, and the matches that matter most, including the Chitral against Gilgit-Baltistan final, come at the end.

If you are travelling from the UK or the Gulf around school holidays, check both calendars side by side. A June festival can fall well before British schools break up.

How to reach Shandur: the two sides of the pass

Shandur Pass sits on the boundary between Upper Chitral District and Gilgit-Baltistan, at roughly 3,800 metres. The polo ground lies next to it, a little lower. Two roads climb to it: the Chitral–Shandur road from the Mastuj direction, and the Gilgit–Shandur road through Gupis and Phander. Which side you choose decides your flights, your overnight stops and how you get home.

The Chitral side

Chitral town is the base on this side. From there the road runs up the valley towards Mastuj, which stands at about 2,359 metres in Upper Chitral, before the climb to the pass. The traditional road link to the rest of Pakistan is the N45 through Dir and the Lowari Tunnel, about 10.4 km of tunnel under the Lowari Pass that opened to traffic in 2017 and roughly halved the Chitral–Peshawar drive. As covered above, that N45 corridor is currently on the FCDO all-travel list up to the edge of Chitral City.

So for most overseas visitors the realistic way in is by air. Chitral Airport is run by the Pakistan Airports Authority. In March 2025 PIA announced it would resume Islamabad–Chitral flights from 5 April after a gap of about three years, initially once a week. With so few seats, a flight like that can shape your whole trip, so check the current schedule on PIA's own site before building anything around it.

The Gilgit side

Gilgit is the base on the other side, and the Gilgit to Shandur road is a slow mountain drive. The pass is about 212 km from Gilgit, and Phander, a valley with four lakes and a natural place to break the climb, is about 184 km along the road towards Shandur. The route runs up the Ghizer valley through the Gupis area, part of Gupis-Yasin District.

Getting to Gilgit in the first place is the catch:

• By air. PIA flies Islamabad–Gilgit on ATR 42 turboprops. The approach needs good visibility, and flights that cannot land usually turn back to Islamabad. Leave spare days on both sides of your trip.
• By road via Babusar. The N15 goes from the Kaghan valley over the Babusar Pass to Chilas, where it joins the KKH north of the section the FCDO advises against. Babusar is open only in summer. One reference gives the road north of Naran as accessible from mid-July until the end of September, and the FCDO notes that the Chilas–Babusar stretch is inaccessible at some times of year. A June festival may simply come before the pass opens.
• By the KKH through Besham and Dasu. Currently advised against by the FCDO, as above.

Comparing the approaches

Neither side is "best". Pick the one whose weak point you can live with, and keep one spare day for that weak point.

Where the car stops and the jeep takes over

This is the part that tour-package pages rush past. A saloon car or family van can do a lot of the lowland work, such as the airport runs and the city legs, but it is the wrong vehicle for the high road to the polo ground. The FCDO says plainly that many roads in Pakistan's remote mountain areas are "of very poor quality with uneven surfaces", that landslides often block or destroy them, and that you should use experienced local drivers and travel only in clear weather.

In practice, plan the trip as a hand-over:

1. Lowland leg. Airport to hotel, hotel to family, city to city. Ordinary cars and vans are fine here.
2. Mountain leg. From Chitral or Mastuj on one side, or from Gilgit or Phander on the other, you want a 4x4 with a driver who drives that valley regularly. The point where tarmac gives way to rough track moves from year to year with road works and landslides, so ask your local jeep operator where the change happens that season, not a blog written three summers ago.
3. Top of the pass. Around the festival the area fills with vehicles. Expect to be dropped at a set point and to walk the last stretch to the stands or your tent.

For a Chitral to Shandur jeep, the questions worth asking before you agree anything are:

• Is the driver from the valley, and has he driven to Shandur during a festival before?
• Is the vehicle a genuine 4x4, with a spare tyre and room for your luggage inside rather than on the roof in rain?
• Will the same driver and vehicle stay for the return, or is it a one-way drop?
• What happens if a landslide closes the road: waiting time, a different route, or a refund of part of the price?
• How many people will he actually carry? Overloading on a mountain road is how a minor problem turns into a serious one.

Get the answers in writing, even if it is just a WhatsApp message. It helps your family remember what was agreed.

A Gupis-area reference describes the full Gilgit-to-Chitral crossing via Shandur as about 250 km and roughly 15 hours by jeep. You will not drive all of that in one go for the festival, but it shows the pace to expect. This is not motorway mileage.

Altitude, cold nights and Shandur camping

At about 3,700 metres the polo ground is higher than any town most visitors will have slept in. The FCDO's health page says altitude sickness is a risk in parts of Pakistan, including Gilgit-Baltistan. It also notes that medical facilities are more limited in remote areas and that an emergency response in mountain regions can take more than an hour. Take that seriously, especially with children, older parents or anyone with heart or lung problems. The NHS guidance on altitude sickness says it usually starts above about 2,500 metres and advises against going from below 1,200 metres to above 3,500 metres in a single day. Flying from Islamabad to Gilgit and then driving straight up to the polo ground would do exactly that. If anyone in your group has had altitude sickness before, the NHS suggests talking to a GP before you go.

The simplest protection is the way you plan the climb:

• Sleep lower on the way up. Spend at least one night at a mid-level stop such as Mastuj on the Chitral side or Phander on the Gilgit side before going to the top.
• Day trips are an option. Some families watch the matches and drop back down the valley to sleep. It costs time on the road but makes for an easier night.
• Know the warning signs. Early signs include headache, nausea, dizziness and poor sleep. Confusion, loss of balance or breathlessness at rest needs medical help straight away. If symptoms get worse, go down; the NHS suggests descending 300 to 1,000 metres.

What Shandur camping is really like

A camping village is set up for the festival, and for many visitors the tents are the only way to stay near the ground. Expect:

• Cold after sunset, even when the afternoon feels like summer. Bring a proper warm layer, a hat and gloves for every person, not just a fleece for the adults.
• Basic facilities. Bring a torch and power bank each, wet wipes, any medicines in their original packs and a small first-aid kit.
• Wind and dust on an open plateau. Sunglasses and sunscreen matter at altitude, and a scarf helps in the stands.
• Shared space. Festival days bring big crowds onto a small plateau. Agree a meeting point with your group on the first morning, in case phones fail.

Families with young children should ask a straight question before booking a tent: would a day trip from lower down suit us better? There is no prize for sleeping at 3,700 metres.

The final day and planning the return

The Chitral against Gilgit-Baltistan final is the match everyone wants to see, and it is also the moment every vehicle on the plateau wants to leave. The roads down either side are narrow mountain tracks. A queue of jeeps moving at walking pace, plus one breakdown, can add hours.

Plan the return before you leave home:

1. Decide your exit window. Either leave straight after the final, or plan to stay an extra night and drive down the next morning when the road is quieter. Both work. Leaving at dusk in the middle of the crowd is the worst option.
2. Keep the same jeep. Agree in advance that your driver stays for the return and will meet you at a named point at a named time. Put it in writing.
3. Do not book a tight onward flight. Gilgit and Chitral flights can be cancelled for weather. Leave at least one clear day between coming off the pass and any international departure from Islamabad or Lahore.
4. Share the plan. Send your route, driver's number and expected times to someone at home and to family in Pakistan.
5. Have a plan B for a closed road. Know where you would stay if a landslide holds you in the valley overnight.

If your group splits, with some leaving after the final and others staying on, treat it as two separate journeys. Our guide to event return transport when guests leave at different times explains how to organise that without anyone being stranded.

Fuel, phone signal and cash above the valleys

Up on the pass you are a long way from a bank branch, a big fuel station or reliable mobile data. You don't need exact figures to plan for that. Assume less of everything and set yourself up before the climb.

• Fuel. Ask your jeep driver to fill up in Chitral, Mastuj, Gilgit or Gupis, and to confirm he has enough for the return as well as the climb, including waiting time with the engine running on a cold evening.
• Signal. Coverage in high valleys is patchy and a festival crowd strains whatever network there is. Download offline maps, save your driver's and hotel's numbers on paper as well as in your phone, and agree call times with family in advance, not "I'll message when I get there".
• Cash. Take enough Pakistani rupees in small notes for food stalls, tent charges, tips and any emergency before you leave the last town with a working ATM. Do not rely on cards or mobile wallets at the ground.
• Power. Bring one charged power bank per person. Cold drains batteries quickly.
• Documents. Keep your passport or CNIC/NICOP with you, not in a bag on the jeep roof. Expect to be asked for ID on the way, and remember the FCDO says local authorities will tell you if you need a No Objection Certificate.

Where Pakistan Taxi fits into a Shandur trip

We are honest about what we can and cannot help with here. Pakistan Taxi is a planning and enquiry service. We don't run jeeps over the pass, and we cannot promise vehicles, fixed fares or availability for the mountain leg. Where we can help is the lowland part of the trip, which is where many festival plans actually fall apart:

• Airport pickups in Islamabad or Lahore for relatives flying in from the UK or the Gulf, timed around the domestic flight north. Our note on planning an onward road journey after landing in Islamabad covers the handover between the two.
• City-to-city journeys for the parts of your route that stay on main roads and outside the areas the FCDO advises against.
• A car and driver for the day in Islamabad before or after the trip, for the errands and visits that always pile up around a big journey.
• Group travel when a whole family or a group of friends is travelling together and needs one plan, not five separate ones.

For the Chitral side and the wider north-west, our sister platform iDrive, the network behind Pakistan Taxi, has a detailed route explainer on the Lowari route and seasons for Swat and Chitral. Read it together with the FCDO wording above.

When you know your dates and your side of the pass, tell us about your journey (planned link) and we will reply with what we can arrange for the lowland legs, what we can't, and the questions still to settle.