How it started?

It started with a traditional home to provide earning opportunity to individuals primarily to the people of rural areas and exploded into a national mission to make the venture of travellers memorable and homely while providing income opportunities to many individuals owning an empty space, spare room and other rental firms. 

It all started around a small village of Hunza in 2019 for Founders, Izzat Bibi & Aamir Ali Khan. While witnessing unemployment all over the region, They noticed how the community was struggling to educate their children. They commenced this venture of Chkar.com to provide income opportunities for many individuals who lacked proper employment. 

What is Chkar Lodging and Experiences (Chkar.com)

Chkar.com is an online marketplace that connects tourists with locals letting them rent out their spare rooms or even entire places. Travelers save money and locals can monetize their spare room.

There is no reliable local platform to book a home or private vacation rental in Pakistan. Chkar.com is the first of its kind in Pakistan that is revolutionising the hospitality industry through technology and help tourists find a home away from home. 

Chkar.com allows you to stay with local families, individuals, or couples to see what it is really like to live in a traditional environment. It creates a platform where a "home-stay" can be arranged easily, efficiently, and with more reviews/experiences from previous guests.

Vision

To help travellers find a home away from home.

Mission

Offer a wide range of options for people to find a home away from home at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to travel and experience a new culture as a local.

The Team

Izzat Bibi

Co-founder and CEO of Chkar Lodging and Experiences. She has rich experience of the hospitality industry and is a skilled business development professional. She is member of the Prime Minister's National Youth Council of Pakistan and contributes with her efforts in promoting the tourism industry of Pakistan. She is an advocate for the startup ecosystem of Pakistan, and has spoken on international forums including the Shanghai Cooperation.

Aamir Ali Khan

Co-founder and CTO of Chkar Lodging and Experiences. Aamir is a self-taught software developer who has specialised skills and rich experience in mobile App development particularly, games and block chain development. Some of his key projects include Bulbapdeia, wiki of Pokemon and trust wallet for android.

Ali Ahmed

Director and investor of Chkar Lodging and Experiences. He is an accomplished IT executive, entrepreneur, and strategist, who is specialised in IT and Digital Banking, Access to finance, Digital Economic Development, Leadership and Corporate Strategy. Co-Founder and CEO of multinational technology company MFSYS Technologies. Co-Founder and Chairman Sarmaya Microfinance Private Limited, a non-banking microfinance company. Director Paypag Inc , a crowded shipping marketplace. He holds an M.Sc. in Software Engineering from the University of Oxford, UK. Master of Leadership in Development Finance from Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, Germany.

Waqar Abbas

A seasoned investor, social entrepreneur and market system development expert. He has previously held the position of Advisor finance for Govt of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. He also worked with USAID, AKDN, and large local corporations and investment houses in Pakistan. Waqar sits on the board of multiple institutions both public and private and is also the co-founder of Sarmaya Microfinance.

Our Community

Chkar Lodging and Experiences accommodations have been a hit since the inception. We attempt to create an interconnected community where guests and hosts can relate to each other. Our main goal is to make the journey of travellers more homely and relaxed. 

Thus, today more than thousand individuals are utilising our platform to generate revenue. We are most thankful to our community that grows extensive everyday. 

Why we started Chkar?

The only thing that led us to initiate this novel initiative was the lack of accommodations for travellers in Hunza. We witnessed travellers who were seeking local accommodations, primarily a traditional home. During summers it gets difficult for the hotel and guest house owners to accommodate such a huge mass. Thus, this thing led us to initiate this novel initiative of Chkar lodging and Experiences. 

We witnessed travellers weren’t connecting themselves with the local community. We believe that for a successful and memorable trip it’s important to build the connection between the travellers and the local community. We instigated our initiative to connect the travellers with the local community to make them experience the local culture, food and variant rituals. 

Homestays

Luxury and Private Tours

Luxury Group Tours

Expeditions