Autumn trip to Ghizer Yasin Chitral Kalash via Kaghan Babusar Shandur and Lowari

Road Trips / Vacations / Hiking / Trekking

greyhound (greyhound) 2016-10-29 06:00:09 +0500 #161

umarxe;5218695:

Short answer is Yes you can.
However let me explain a bit.
Cars can cross Shandur and they do cross Shandur but with chances of failure, We too saw two cars crossing Shandur. One was an old corolla carrying locals and you will be surprised to know that other one was some small japani car. I guess it was may be Dihatsue Mira or Suzuki Alto. Actually they already have crossed Shandur and now descending to Ghizer when we crossed. We stopped and exchanged some hello hi. They were 4 guys on board and were from Lahore. Later when I was passing through Shandur, Laspur, Herchin, Mastuj Booni etc then all the time I was wondering how did those car guys manage to pass such a rough and tough route without any failure. Seems miracle to me.
So cars can somehow manage to cross Shandur but with great patience and attention. There are uncountable spots where you can easily break something under your car if you lose patience. High ground clearance is a must. Among cars, I have seen Corollas and Mehran the most successful on such rough routes. Once I saw a picture of Suzuki Mehran in Taobut Bala (last village of upper Neelum valley) and I couldn't believe my eyes though I myself have done some adventures on my Suzuki Khyber.

Acha khair, most important thing, if you just want to attend the festival and whole round trip is not the intention then its really easy from Ghizer side. You will find paved road till Phander, even till 10, 12 more kilometers ahead of Phander so offroading would be very less as compared to reaching Shandur from Chitral side. Also ascend would be quite easier, no sharp turns and no steep climbing. You would not be facing some real challenge from Ghizer side.

On the other hand if you want to cross it on car from Chitral side, rehne hi dain mere bhai.
Shandur ki bari bad mai aay gi, first you will regret crossing lowari top if lowari tunnel would not be open that time. Secondly, paved road ends at Booni, and from Booni to Shandur top its more than 80 kilometers which can be a serious test of nerves and patience for driver and reliability for car. And also it will take a whole day from dawn to dusk for a car. Also from Chitral side ascend is quite sudden and steep though it can be done somehow without 4x4.

After this whole story, if you are adventurous kind of person and love to take pangas, says welcome to hurdles and stick with your plans without regret, then go from any side, you will enjoy even if you will break your car halfway. People regret after taking their cars to Kaghan jesi fine road when they have to cross a couple of streams and on the other hand there are such kind of people who cross Shandur and deosai on cars, break bumpers or silencer or some other failure but still enjoy every bit of it.

Bro real detailed reply....i would prefer not going from chitral side....and care for my car.....besides my family would also be joining me on this trip so i guess my best bet is through Ghizer....thanx bhai

umarxe (umarxe) 2016-10-29 06:16:53 +0500 #162

Yes indeed, I would strongly discourage anybody going from chitral side who is traveling on car with family. So Ghizer side is quite safe and manageable. You will come from Quetta? If yes then from Quetta to Shandur would be the longest travel which can be possible within Pakistan.
And by the way Ghizer is not just route, you will enjoy a lot the natural beauty of Ghizer.
And on your car you will also be able to go to more than 70% of the Yasin valley till Lalak Jan Shaheed Mizar if you want.

asifraja1 (Asif Raja) 2016-10-29 07:28:34 +0500 #163

Mashallah, so cute babise....and you lucky one have great opportunity for fun with family

homayoon (homayoon) 2016-10-29 11:24:40 +0500 #164

Buck up man, thats a daring adventure. Most of us cant even think that way.
You from 93rd?

ali_77 (ali_77) 2016-10-30 20:01:04 +0500 #165

Excellent trip and matchless pics.

4friends (4friends) 2016-10-31 02:48:23 +0500 #166

very nice brother ................

nagar1 (nagar1) 2016-10-31 03:00:46 +0500 #167

@umarxe i dont know whether you are fond of fishing or not but the whole ghizer district is heaven for people who love fishing. and going there without fishing equipment is a SIN..

dr_baloch (dr_baloch) 2016-10-31 04:56:13 +0500 #168

Well done Umar Bhai. 105 out of 100. 5 marks for the neat reply. I read your post word by word to embarrass my laziness for summing up my data and posting it for Pak Wheelers. My previous journeys to Northern and Southern Pakistan are things of the past. Mustering my strength to share at least this trip to Shandur Top.

farooq05 (farooq05) 2016-10-31 05:52:53 +0500 #169

simply an amazing trip with family.. and you have even done great to share your lovely moments with us.. thnx.

what's the power of your jeep and how much you bought it? pls also share the fuel consumption.

usman.baig1 (usman.baig1) 2016-10-31 06:52:34 +0500 #170

bohat aala pic bhai

rizwan.a (Rizwan Ali) 2016-10-31 07:06:27 +0500 #171

Salam Bhai,
Hats off for you and 5 times Hats off for bhabhi jee...
You have an amazing ride but at the end of day its a Suzuki jeep, having very rough ride. Afreen meri behan ko, 2 bachun k sath itna safari... aap tu off-roading k mazay lay rahay thay =) (no offence bahi, just a joke).

In this whole trip, how many times you engaged the 4x4. I know that Suzuki is amazing and a lot of time, it does not require 4x4 at the areas where all other regular ones are using 4x4 (due to weight / power ratio).

what was the fuel average, as it is 660... did you felt change.. for example, if you were in a 1000cc potohar !!

umarxe (umarxe) 2016-10-31 11:36:30 +0500 #172

Thanks for such a generous marking
Actually I too don't share the details of my trips on Pakwheels but I got really useful information on PakWheels threads before this trip so decided to kept logging all the details in a notebook during the trip to give some love back to PakWheelers.

umarxe (umarxe) 2016-10-31 11:56:50 +0500 #173

Thanks for your nice words,
Yes it was not easy ride for the wife but since she share the hobby of travelling, she manages happily. "Shoq da koi mull nai."

Just once I engaged 4x4 on a steep wet slope full of mud while going to Bamburet Kalash. After engaging 4x4, vehicle climbs it like a charm. I was willing to descend back and climb again to take maza of 4x4 but evening was approaching so let the idea go

So happy with the fuel average, for example I got the tank filled in Chitral, then go to Bamburet (rough track, 1st, 2nd gear), Back from Bamburet -> Drosh, Lowari Top (whole rough track, 1st, 2nd gear) -> Timergara -> Mardan Rashkai Interchange and then got fuel tank full again on Motorway and it was 29 liters from Chitral to M1 including Kalash.

Total distance covered during whole trip was 2179 km, fuel average I got is 10.3 km/liter and please keep in mind it include several long rough tracks where you are limited to travel in just 1st or 2nd gear like upper Yasin Valley, whole day route of Phander to Booni, track to Kalash, and also Lowari Top.

umarxe (umarxe) 2016-10-31 11:59:16 +0500 #174

Thanks janab

asifcae (asifcae) 2016-10-31 13:27:44 +0500 #175

@umarxe

what r ur thoughts on qaqlasht in winter (i mean trekking there) will there b snow???

umarxe (umarxe) 2016-11-01 04:05:25 +0500 #176

Booni is situated at the altitude of 6600 ft so I think Booni receives quite a less snow fall in winter if it receives. Qaqlasht is just less than 30 minutes drive from Booni and its paved road. Altitude of Qaqlasht varies from 7200 to 7900 ft so may be there is quite a more snow fall than Booni but I think its still accessible in winter.
Because Qaqlasht is actually the part of route to Torkhow valley and there is quite a many population in Torkhow valley, if Qaqlasht blocks, whole Torkhow valley would block because there is no alternative route to Torkhow Valley. Actually its quite remote valley and last point of Torkhow Valley almost touches the Wakhan Corridor.

So I think there would not be any problem regarding accessibility of Qaqlasht in winter. But beauty of Qaqlasht shines in spring when whole area looks like thick green carpeted plateau and this is the time when they have annual event Jashn-e-Qaqlast in Qaqlasht. Its in April.

By the way amount of snow-fall in Booni and Qaqlasht is just based upon my personal assessment keeping in mind the altitude, it might be totally wrong in that. However I am sure intzaamia road clear krti ho gi in case of blockage, because road is really good and clearing it should not be a big problem specially when its a route to a whole valley.

suhaibshaikh (Suhaib Shaikh) 2016-11-01 04:21:23 +0500 #177

and in my opinion Autumn is the best season to visit all those Hilly Areas which have Greenery coz in autumn they are just full of colors

umarxe (umarxe) 2016-11-01 08:48:12 +0500 #178

Thank you so much for nice words.

umarxe (umarxe) 2016-11-01 08:49:41 +0500 #179

True that.

suhaibshaikh (Suhaib Shaikh) 2016-11-01 09:13:23 +0500 #180

Humbled