Murree is the shortest proper hill journey from Islamabad, and the one most likely to go wrong — not because the road is difficult, but because everybody goes on the same two days and the weather does not care. The driving is straightforward. The timing is the skill.
Distance and drive time
Murree is about 45 km from Islamabad in a straight line and roughly 64 km by road, because the terrain nearly doubles it. A normal run takes an hour and a half to two hours depending on traffic and where in the capital you start (route guide).
Those two hours are an average, not a promise. On a clear Tuesday morning it can be comfortably under. On a Sunday afternoon in January it can be three or four, or it can be a turned-back journey — more on that below.
The Expressway versus the old road
Two routes go up, and they are genuinely different in character.
The Murree Expressway (E-75) is the modern one: a four-lane, controlled-access expressway running 90 km from Islamabad to Kohala via Murree, opened in August 2011 (E-75)). Controlled access is the important phrase. There are no villages spilling onto it, no roadside stalls, no tractors. It climbs steadily and it is the fast option in almost all conditions.
The old Murree Road follows the N-75, the 90 km national highway from Islamabad to Kohala through Murree maintained by the National Highway Authority (N-75). It runs through Barakahu and the settlements above it, which is exactly its appeal and exactly its drawback. Shops, tea stops and the roadside eateries around Barakahu are on this road, not on the Expressway (route guide). It is slower, busier at the bottom, and more interesting.
Our default is the Expressway up and, if you want to stop for food, the old road down. If the Expressway is closed in snow season, the old road is not automatically a way round — the closures tend to be about conditions at the top, not about which carriageway you used to get there.
Snow season, and what the authorities actually do
This is the part that deserves your attention, because the closures are real, they are imposed at short notice, and they are imposed for good reason.
Closures happen mid-journey. On 1 January 2026, Motorway Police closed the Murree Expressway from Phulgran Toll Plaza up to Murree after heavy snowfall, with only local residents and emergency vehicles allowed through (Daily Pakistan). Phulgran is near the bottom. If you are behind that point when the decision is taken, you are not going up that day.
Entry to the town itself gets managed. Ahead of forecast snowfall, traffic police have banned vehicles from Mall Road, allowed in only mechanically sound vehicles with licensed drivers, made five roads one-way, run checking points at every entry, and operated a control room at Sunny Bank Chowk with 270 officials deployed. The same reporting puts Murree’s parking capacity at around 4,000 vehicles (Dunya News).
Hold that figure of 4,000 in mind for the next section.
Why the rules exist. In January 2022, Murree took 32 inches of snow in two days against a seasonal average of about 64 inches for the whole winter, and the town filled with vehicles far beyond what it could hold. Reported vehicle counts vary between sources — Dawn recorded 33,743 vehicles entering on the Friday the snowfall began, while other accounts put the figure across the night of 7–8 January far higher (Dawn; 2022 Murree snowstorm). What is not in dispute is the outcome. More than twenty people died, stranded in stationary cars, from hypothermia and from carbon monoxide poisoning when snow blocked exhaust pipes and heaters were run with the windows closed (2022 Murree snowstorm; Dawn). The district administration banned entry to the city and declared an emergency, keeping roads open for exit only, and the Punjab government declared the area calamity-hit (The News; Dawn).
That is why a checkpoint turns cars back on a snowy Saturday. It is not officiousness. It is a town with parking for roughly 4,000 vehicles refusing to admit thirty thousand.
Practical rules for a winter trip
Check the forecast, and check it again on the morning. Murree closures follow snowfall forecasts, sometimes pre-emptively.
Go up early and come down early. Being at the top by late morning and starting down by mid-afternoon keeps you out of both the queue and the dark.
Never sit in a stationary car with the engine running and the windows shut. If you are stopped in snow for any length of time, get out and check that the exhaust is clear before you run the heater again, and keep a window slightly open. This is the specific mechanism that killed people in 2022.
Carry the boring things. Warm layers, water, some food, a charged phone and a full tank. A two-hour drive that becomes a six-hour one is uncomfortable with them and genuinely dangerous without.
Accept the turn-back. If the police close the road, the trip is off for that day. Galiyat, Patriata or simply a different weekend are better outcomes than arguing at a barrier.
Weekend congestion, honestly
Murree’s problem is not distance. It is that a city of millions is 64 km away and everyone in it is free on the same afternoon.
Friday and Sunday evenings are the worst of it, and the standard advice to travel early — leaving between roughly seven and nine in the morning — exists because it works (route guide). A weekday trip is a different journey from a weekend trip in every respect that matters: the drive, the parking, the queue for food, the price of a room.
If you have any flexibility at all, use it on the day of the week rather than the time of year. A midweek visit in season beats a Saturday out of it.
For anyone who would rather not deal with the parking or the descent in poor light, our Islamabad to Murree taxi service covers the run with a driver who knows where the checkpoints go up. Prices are not published live on this site; we quote in writing for your date and party size, and the price is fixed once quoted. Drivers are vetted and carry photo ID and vehicle registration.
What a chauffeur fare covers
Fuel, tolls, parking, and the driver and his pay are all inside the quoted fare. Charged separately: waiting beyond the agreed allowance, a night surcharge for travel between 22:00 and 06:00, and any change to the route, stops or timing after we have quoted. A hire day runs 24 hours from pick-up. On self-drive, mileage is unlimited, the car comes back at the fuel level it left with, and tolls, parking and fines are the hirer’s.
Common questions
How far is Murree from Islamabad?
Roughly 64 km by road, though only about 45 km in a straight line. The difference is the terrain.
How long is the drive?
An hour and a half to two hours in normal conditions. In snow season, or on a Friday or Sunday evening, plan for considerably more and be prepared for the road to be closed altogether.
Is the Murree Expressway better than the old road?
For speed, yes. The E-75 is a four-lane controlled-access expressway, so there is no local traffic joining it. The old N-75 road through Barakahu is slower but passes the roadside food stops. Neither route helps if the authorities have closed access to the town itself.
Does the road to Murree close in winter?
Yes, at short notice after heavy snowfall. In one recent instance the Expressway was shut from Phulgran Toll Plaza upwards, with only residents and emergency vehicles allowed through. Entry to the town is also restricted when it fills, and Mall Road is closed to vehicles ahead of forecast snow.
Why do the police turn cars back at Murree?
Because the town has parking for only around 4,000 vehicles. In January 2022 far more than that arrived during heavy snowfall, traffic stopped moving, and more than twenty people died in stationary cars from hypothermia and carbon monoxide poisoning. The restrictions since then are a direct response to that.
When is the best time to go to avoid crowds?
Midweek, and early in the day. Friday and Sunday evenings are the busiest, and a weekday trip in peak season is usually easier than a weekend one out of season.
