Shangrila Resort Hotel Skardu hosts corporate meetings, social events, receptions, galas and reunions for up to 100 people at a time, with accommodation, dining and excursions on the same site. The resort lies at Kachura, near Skardu in Gilgit-Baltistan, in northern Pakistan, and has been receiving guests since 1983.
Seminars and company events
The resort offers its grounds and facilities to companies for meetings, retreats and incentive trips, as well as to families and associations for galas and reunions. With up to 100 participants, a group can combine working sessions with boating on the lake, walks along the hiking trails, visits to viewpoints and day trips by jeep. The resort organizes jeep safaris with local drivers to places such as Upper Kachura and the forts of Khaplu, which can be built into a program of several days. Airport pick-up and drop-off, laundry, wifi and a gift shop are part of the services.
Rooms and capacities
The resort states a capacity of 100 people for events. It does not name or size individual halls online, so the layout of a meeting or dinner should be agreed directly with the resort.
Accommodation
Guests stay in a mix of chalets, villas, cottages, suites and rooms spread around the grounds. The list includes two Shangrila Chalets for up to six adults each, a three-bedroom and a two-bedroom Executive Suite, four Swiss Villas, four Executive Suites, Swiss Cottages, Lakeside Family Deluxe Rooms, nine Lakeside Deluxe Rooms, eight Lakeside Rooms, and Shangrila View and Mountain View rooms. The family rooms, villas and chalets suit teams who want to share, while the lakeside rooms suit individual delegates.
Catering
Meals are served by the resort. Its main restaurant is the Pagoda, and a café and snack bar complete the offer.
History and setting
Shangrila opened in 1983 as the first resort hotel in Skardu and in Baltistan, and the first resort set up for tourism in the northern areas of Pakistan. It was founded by Brigadier Muhammad Aslam Khan, the first commander of the Northern Scouts. Its name comes from James Hilton's novel Lost Horizon, in which Shangri-La is a hidden valley of peace. The resort sits by a lake among mountains, with a bird zoo and a duck pond in the grounds, and is still run as a family resort as well as a base for groups heading into the Karakoram.
Getting there
Skardu is reached by air from Islamabad or by road along the Karakoram and Skardu highways. The resort arranges transfers from Skardu Airport, and its reservations office is in Islamabad. Groups traveling in winter or shoulder season should confirm road and flight conditions with the resort when planning dates.