بسم اللہ الرحمٰن الرحیم
By the grace of Allah, recently completed a hasty trip of Northern Areas with family on own car. Due to scarcity of time, it wasn't a leisure trip but more of a long drive. Itinerary is as following
9 Aug 2015: Left Rawalpindi at 6:15 am. Lunch break at Hotel FairylandReached Naran by 3pm with many stops in between. Night Stay in Hotel Blue Mountain (located on Lake Road)
10 Aug 2015: Left Naran at around 9am. Stopped many times on way to Babusar and reached there by 12:30pm. Then drive all the way to Karimabad, Hunza with lunch break near Chilas and few brief halts on way. Reached Karimabad by 7:45pm. Night Stay in Hotel Hill Top
11 Aug 2015: Visited Baltit fort in the morning. Drive till Attabad Lake. On way back to Gilgit, lunch break at Rakaposhi View Point. Night Stay at Gilgit (in Army mess courtesy a relative).
12 Aug 2015: Left Gilgit at 6:15am. Reached Babusar by around 11am. Continued to Naran and reached there by 1:30pm. Rest and lunch break at Naran. Left Naran at around 3pm and reached Rawalpindi by 10pm.
Total Passengrs: 04 (me and wife plus 2 children (9 & 7 year old)
Total Km travelled: Almost 1500 km
Fuel Expenditure: Around 10-11k
Hotel Charges:
Hotel Blue Mountain, Naran: Rs. 4k
Hotel Hill Top, Karimabad: Rs. 4k
(Both hotels are excellent and recommended for ppl travelling with families)
Food exp: Almost negligible as we carried tinned food + breakfast & Tea making arrangement (costing around Rs. 2k)
Important Tips for Guidance Regarding Road Condition etc
--> There is a lot of rush on road between Pindi and Mansehra. So, try to leave early (around 5-6 am) to avoid traffic.
--> Road from Abbotabad to end of Mansehra bypass is not bad, but is wearing out. Requires careful drive (esp on faster speed).
--> Road from Mansehra to Kaghan is sufficiently good. From Kaghan to Naran, road is excellent and is freshly recarpeted.
--> There is absolutely no problem of road for almost any vehicle throughout the route even ahead of Naran. Ppl have been asking guidance for the stretch between Naran and Babusar. I would say that i saw almost all type of cars on way to babusar like Honda City, Suzuki Cultus, Suzuki Swift, Mira, Vitz, Mehran, Suzuki Bolan (carry dabba) etc
--> There is only 5 Km stretch which is non-metalled. But that too is manageable and requires patience only. Other than that, a small stretch of 200-300m lies near Battakundi where new bridge is still under construction. Other than these, the whole Naran-Babusar-Chilas Road is fully metalled.
--> From Babusar till KKH (Chilas 0 point), the road is a continuous slope descending more than 3000m in those 44 km. Requires careful usage of brakes.
--> From Chilas to Raikot Bridge, road is mix of good and bad. The bad patches just require re-carpeting. Chinese are working with insane speed to lay asphalt on this stretch. We observed them carpeting almost 3km portion within a day. Anyhow, at present, this stretch can be negotiated in almost 1 hour.
--> Road after Raikot Bridge is outclass all the way till Hunza and Attabad Lake. I dont think, it need more elaboration regarding its condition, as already many members have described about its excellent condition.
Recommended Food Points
Naran: Punjab Tikka House has excellent food with good reputation.. aap ankhen band kar ke un ke paas khana khanay ja saktay hain.
Hotel Fairyland: Its a nice stopover for lunch or refreshment break. Their rear terrace is almost on top of Kunhar River. Food may not be outclass, but environment is great.
Pictorial Coverage:
Unfortunately, i could not manage enough time to buy a new camera. So took snaps from an old (aka pathetic type) digital camera and cell phone. Anyhow, mainly i will share pics describing road condition for guidance of our members.