Pakistan is one of the world's most geographically extraordinary countries — a land where the Arabian Sea coast gives way to Balochistan's lunar desert, which gives way to Punjab's riverine plains, which give way to KP's hill stations, which give way to the greatest concentration of high peaks on Earth. Within this landscape, Pakistan's national parks protect some of the planet's most remarkable ecosystems. Most tourists have never heard of them. This guide covers the five that deserve to be on every serious traveller's list.
1. Khunjerab National Park — Top of the World
At the northern tip of Gilgit-Baltistan, where Pakistan meets China at 4,693 metres above sea level, Khunjerab National Park protects a high-altitude plateau of surreal beauty. The Karakoram Highway — the world's highest paved international road — cuts through its heart, making this the only major national park in Pakistan easily accessible without a 4x4 or trekking permit.
The park was established in 1975 primarily to protect the Marco Polo sheep (Ovis ammon polii) — a giant, spiral-horned wild sheep found nowhere else in the world at accessible altitudes. Snow leopards are present but rarely seen. Himalayan ibex are common along the rocky hillsides flanking the highway, often visible with binoculars from the road.
- Best season: May 1 to November 30 — the border with China is open and the highway is clear of snow. The park is closed to tourists in winter.
- Getting there: Drive or take a van from Sust or Passu on the KKH. The Pakistan–China border post at Khunjerab Pass is the park's most famous viewpoint — you can drive a vehicle to it (subject to current border regulations).
- Entry fee: Nominal national park entry fee collected at the Sust checkpoint.
- What to bring: Warm layers regardless of season — temperatures drop rapidly. Sun protection is critical at altitude; UV intensity at 4,600m is extreme.
2. Deosai National Park — The Land of Giants
Deosai is the second-highest plateau in the world and one of Pakistan's most breathtaking landscapes: a vast, treeless highland of about 3,000 square kilometres sitting at an average elevation of 4,114 metres, entirely above the tree line. In summer, it transforms into an almost impossibly green meadow punctuated by wildflowers — cosmos, gentian, and alpine aster — with snow-capped ridges on every horizon and a sky of impossible depth and blue.
Deosai was gazetted as a national park in 1993 primarily to protect the Himalayan brown bear, Pakistan's last significant brown bear population. In the early 1990s, fewer than 15 bears were estimated to remain. Conservation efforts — including a livestock compensation scheme for local herders — have brought the population back to approximately 50–70 animals. Bear sightings in late summer (July–August) when bears are foraging for rodents before hibernation are almost guaranteed with a few hours of patient observation.
- Access: Via Skardu (the main entry point) by 4x4 jeep through the Satpara Lake road. The plateau is also accessible from Astore on the western side. A 4x4 is mandatory — the road across the plateau is unpaved and can become muddy or flooded after rain.
- Season: June to September. The plateau is completely snow-covered and inaccessible October to May.
- Camping: Permitted. Sheosar Lake, near the centre of the plateau, is the most popular camping spot — crystal-clear water with mountain reflections. PTDC operates a basic rest house nearby.
- Combine with: Skardu town, Satpara Lake, Shangrila Resort, and K2 base camp trekking starting points. Deosai makes an outstanding day trip or overnight from Skardu.
3. Hingol National Park — Desert, Coast, and Hot Springs
Pakistan's largest national park at 6,200 square kilometres, Hingol National Park in Balochistan is also its most otherworldly. This is not green mountain scenery — it is a landscape of eroded mud volcanoes, golden coastal cliffs dropping to the Arabian Sea, juniper forests in sheltered valleys, and the bizarre Princess of Hope and Sphinx rock formations carved by wind erosion over millennia. The park sits along the Makran Coastal Highway, one of Pakistan's great road trip routes.
The wildlife is extraordinary for a desert ecosystem: Indian pangolin, Balochistan bear, urial (wild sheep), Sindh ibex, marsh crocodiles in the Hingol River, and hundreds of migratory bird species. The coastal section protects nesting beaches for green sea turtles and loggerhead turtles.
- Getting there: The park straddles the N-10 Makran Coastal Highway between Hub and Ormara. Most visitors enter near the Kund Malir beach section, approximately 130km from Hub city.
- Best section: Kund Malir beach — often called Pakistan's most beautiful beach. White sand, clear turquoise water, dramatic cliffs. Entirely undeveloped; camping permitted on the beach.
- Mud volcanoes: Active mud volcanoes in the park's interior are a surreal geological feature — small conical mounds releasing cool mud and methane. One is home to the Chandragup mud volcano, a Hindu pilgrimage site visited during the Sivaratri festival by tens of thousands of pilgrims from Sindh and India.
- Season: October to March. Summer is genuinely brutal on the Makran coast — 45°C+ with high humidity. The highway and park are theoretically open year-round but summer visits require serious preparation.
4. Ayubia National Park — KP's Weekend Escape
In the Galyat hills of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 70km north of Islamabad, Ayubia National Park is Pakistan's most accessible national park for residents of the twin cities. The 3,312-hectare park protects a remnant of the sub-tropical pine-oak-rhododendron forest that once covered much of Pakistan's northern foothills — now reduced to this and a few other protected pockets.
The park connects the hill towns of Nathiagali, Khanspur, Changlagali, and Dungagali, all of which were British-era hill stations. A popular pipeline track — a gentle 8km walk along an old water pipe route through forest — connects Nathiagali to Dungagali and is the park's most famous hike. Leopard, barking deer, yellow-throated marten, and numerous pheasant species are present; the leopards are rarely seen but their pugmarks are common on forest trails.
- Season: Year-round. Snow in December–January makes the trails icy but beautiful. Best for wildlife: early morning October–November.
- The pipeline track: 8km one-way, roughly 3 hours. Gentle gradient. The forest is dense deodar cedar and horse chestnut. PTDC operates chairlifts in Ayubia town that can be used to skip the uphill section.
- Accommodation: Nathiagali has the most options, ranging from PTDC Motel to private guesthouses. Book weekends well in advance May–September.
5. Lal Suhanra National Park — Punjab's Desert Oasis
Few people associate Punjab with wildlife, yet Lal Suhanra National Park near Bahawalpur is one of Pakistan's most important conservation areas. Sitting at the edge of the Cholistan Desert — the Thar Desert's Pakistani extension — the park protects a mosaic of irrigated woodland, desert dune fields, wetland lakes, and dry scrub. It is also the site of a remarkable reintroduction programme: blackbuck antelope, locally extinct for decades, were reintroduced here and have established a breeding population. The park also holds chinkara gazelle, wild boar, striped hyena, and enormous flocks of migratory waterfowl in winter.
- Getting there: 35km east of Bahawalpur city, off the main road to Fort Derawar. Bahawalpur is a 6-hour drive or 1-hour flight from Lahore.
- Best season: October to March — avoiding the Cholistan summer heat.
- Combine with: Fort Derawar (a stunning 18th-century desert fortress), the Cholistan Desert jeep safari (held annually in February), and Bahawalpur city's beautiful Mughal-era palaces and bazaars.
