When we were planning our honeymoon, everyone said Murree or Naran. We took a chance on Hunza in early April for the cherry blossoms, and it turned out to be the best decision of our wedding season.

Timing the blossoms

Blossom timing is a gamble — it shifts every year with the weather. We aimed for the first week of April and got lucky: the orchards around Karimabad were full pink and white, and the whole valley smelled faintly of flowers. My advice is to keep your dates flexible by a few days if you can, and follow local pages for live updates before locking everything in.

Getting there

We flew Islamabad to Gilgit to save a day, but our first flight was cancelled due to weather and we lost a morning. Lesson learned: build a buffer. We had kept one spare day, which saved the trip. From Gilgit it was a scenic three-hour drive to Karimabad.

Where we stayed

We booked a room with a private terrace facing Rakaposhi about two months in advance, which I cannot recommend strongly enough — the good view rooms sell out for blossom week. It cost us around PKR 22,000 a night, our one splurge, and we did not regret a single rupee. Morning chai on that terrace with the mountain glowing pink is a memory I will keep forever.

Our favourite moments

• Sunrise at Duikar (Eagle's Nest) with no one else around.
• A slow walk through the blossom orchards below Baltit Fort.
• Sharing a plate of walnut cake at a tiny café with the whole valley below us.

One honest note

Hunza is not a luxury resort destination, and that is the point. Service is warm but simple, nights are cold, and some roads are rough. If you go expecting a five-star bubble you will be disappointed; if you go for raw natural beauty and genuine hospitality, you will fall in love. We did.

For couples planning a quieter, more meaningful honeymoon within Pakistan, Hunza in blossom season is hard to beat. Just book early, keep a buffer day, and let yourselves slow down.