Assalam-o-alekum everyone,
we are leaving for this road trip on 10th of july INSHA ALLAH. we will go upto Mansehra in our car, which we will leave there. and start our journy in a mix of public transport, rented 4x4 and natco. this year we just want to go upto Khunjerab Pass, and no adventure and trekking is planned for.
we will be going up from kaghan-jalkhad-chillas road, and on our way back we will take KKH all the way upto mansehra.
following are our stops (night stays) after mansehra
on our way up... Besal --> Hunza/ Sust (if we could reach direct) --> Khunjerab pass and back
on our way down... Naltar --> Chillas (or besham if we could speed up)
now here are the questions:
1) are there any suitable camping sites in Sust and Naltar? which are peaceful, scenic and close to any chappar hotel etc
2) how long it takes to go upto naltar lake from KKH (or where we will camp) and come back? can we do this in couple of hours?
3) what is distance between each of these stops, and how much time approx it takes
4) i know we dont need to get any visa just to go upto khunjerab, but how deep we can go on the other side of border?
5) do we need to get any kind of permission etc to reach there?
6) what are the means of crossing hunza/atabad lake? what is timing of the public ferry crossing service, if any?
7) can we easily get ride from the other side of the lake to the pass?
8) we intend to hire a 4x4 (open or close) from mansehra or naran for all the way up to hunza lake, can you please share numbers of jeep drivers you have had experience with and suggest expected fare/ rent?
9) last but no the least, on our way back we want to camp somewhere near abbottabad/ maangal, please suggest suitable spot.
your valuable comments, suggestions, tips, experiences are very much needed and will be appreciated. please give your input...