Salam Fellow Members,
You might have remember me asking about the itinerary option towards Gilgit as I was interested to visit the place with my wife.. This thread is specially made for the members who are about to visit these places as I successfully completed my trip ALHAMDULLILAH, but visitors are advised to keep several things in mind before leaving.... I am going to summarize things; in comments I'll emphasize on things which worth being emphasized.
We left Lahore at 4am on 15th February, 2016
Reached Islamabad via M2 and continued my journey as I wanted to reach Abbottabad for night stay... (it was my first mistake as I should have continued driving till Besham) In Abbotabad I visited Ilyasi Mosque etc and checked in for a night stay.
Road Conditions
LHR-ISB: M2- flawless roads except few patches which are under construction
ISB- Abbotabad: just like any GT rd or Multan road without any bad patches but with heavy traffic flow during daytime.
Next morning we got late and left at 9 (second mistake as I should've left at 6am max...) we continued nonstop driving through Batgram, Besham, and reached Dasu. kept on driving to reach Chillas for stay.
Road Conditions
Abbotabat - Mansehra: Same as ISB- Abbotabad
Masehra to Dasu: Properly paved roads along side Indus River. Simply roads were in excellent condition
Dasu to Chillas: WORST ROADS I EVER DROVE ON..... I hardly managed to drive on straight road coz there were so many potholes... I managed to complete that 200+ kms in 7 hours or so... whoever wants to go kindly make sure that you must stay at Besham and complete you journey towards Gilgit, Hunza or wherever you want.. and BE ON TIME as I could have saved a day by staying only at Besham and skipping Abbotabad. I had to drive to that dreadful roads after sunset and that wasnt very late but it should be avoided in any circumstances. You will hardly get any help from Dasu to Raikot as these areas are not developed at all. Having any kind of trouble may bring more frightening consequences. during day time, there won't be any issue INSHALLAH
Next day we left for Giligit.
Road Conditions
Chillas to Raikot: BAD PATCHES but not as bad as Dasu to Chillas...
Raikot Bridge to Gilgit: Welcome to Heaven Scenic views with the best roads paved by China.... Same as roads towards Mansehra to Besham. the roads from raikot to any location towards Gilgit and Hunza are in top notch condition.
We stayed at Gilgit to enjoy places nearby and we really felt that we've achieved something...coz of off-season, we managed to stay at PTDC Gilgit without reservations and really loved the experience. Later, we visited Hunza Altit, Baltit, Attabad Lake, Kargah Nala, and Chinese Graveyard as well Chinese Graveyard is in Gilgit. its not scenic but just a graveyard of Chinese army and labor personals died during the construction of KKH.
Thing I Noticed while returning back:
we did not face rain, KKH faced it during our stay in Gilgit, Hunza. While returning we couldn't believe that we were driving on same roads made by Chinese. Roads were still in awesome condition but mild rain couched land sliding and we had to maneuver to stay away from fallen rocks on KKH. After Shityal (a village between Chillas and Dasu) we faced sever landsliding near Sumar Nala, which have had completely closed the roads for 2 days. However, we only had to stay there a couple of hours as army cleared it when we reached that place.. so keep in mind that land slidings can hold you back for a couple of days AND AVOID VISITING THESE PLACES DURING RAINY SEASON. from Dasu to Besham I had to cross heavy waterfalls on road due to that very same mild rain... It can be really dangerous.
My intentions are not to dishearten anyone; I only want to spread the info for the fellow members. Trust me it was the most adventurous and worth risking trip I ever had. I didn't visit Khunjrab coz of being with my wife and I didn't want to take any risks, but there isn't any security issue. Security issues can only be faced from Mansehra to Raikot; Hoever daytime driving is really really safe....
I will be uploading pics as well
Petrol Expenses were 14k from Lahore to Lahore on Ae100 (5afe). You can ask anything if you want regarding road conditions or whatever For me, I don't think I could've had better trip
PS: ROADS ARE CLOSED NOW A DAYS COZ OF RECENT RAINS AND FLOODS.