G-B's tourism potential

Gilgit-Baltistan ranks among CNN Travel's top 25 destinations for 2025, offering stunning mountain views and climbing.

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People involved in Gilgit-Baltistan's tourism industry would certainly have been buoyed by the news that the region was ranked among CNN Travel's list of 25 places worth going to in 2025, alongside other scenic destinations in all sorts of landscapes. The list is heavily focused on natural beauty - only five of the destinations listed are urban areas, and even a few of these are very close to areas of natural beauty. However, G-B stands out for the mountain views and hiking it offers to most tourists, and advanced climbing opportunities for mountaineering enthusiasts, as home to five of the world's 13 tallest mountains, including K-2, which is the second-highest and is widely considered the most difficult to climb.

G-B was once a very popular area for foreign tourists, especially people taking the overland 'Hippie Trail' from Europe to India, but due to wars, political instability and other security issues along the route, most foreign tourists today are only professional mountaineers. Lack of world-class facilities also cost G-B, as people generally opt for places where the scenery may only be half as good, but the facilities and security are ten times better.

However, a bit of investment and some easily-instituted policy reforms could reopen the region to tourists from all over the world. At the bare minimum, the government needs to ensure that air and road connections with G-B are safe and reliable - road connections have been attacked by terrorists and other criminals in the past, while flights to G-B are regularly cancelled due to inclement weather. But beyond getting there safely, other infrastructure improvements need to be balanced with over-commercialisation concerns, lest the work turns into an environmental disaster that actually scares away tourists. After all, it is the rugged allure of the area and the rich heritage and diverse traditions of local communities that should be the top draws.