BALAKOT\NARAN\KAGHAN first time family trip advise required JUNE 2014

[janleva]

1 am a total noob :S when it comes to visiting this part of the country. Therefore I have several queries in my mind that I want to ask before finalizing the road trip. I will have 3 days Friday, Saturday, Sunday Will be starting from LAHORE,With A Honda Civic and 5 people. I have been studying the route on google maps and user threads but wanted to know about the prevailing conditions this year.

1.Road condition till Naran any offroad patch or its all carpeted(

Can a civic make it there in early-mid June)

2.Which places can I visit on the way? a total noob here
3.

Where should I stop over at night how are the hotels can any body guide me about decent family hotels or rest houses and room rent they usually charge.
4.From where can hire Jeeps What do they usually charge
5.How will be the weather in June

[ifoo_786]

[QUOTE=janleva;4368372]
1.Road condition till Naran any offroad patch or its all carpeted( Can a civic make it there in early-mid June)
Any vehicle which is machinacly fit can go to naran Easily.. last year i saw Markx.. 2 Mercedes benz.. And mehrans.. etc.. There are few bad patches but any car can go till naran easily :)
2.Which places can I visit on the way? a total noob her
saif-ul-malook... Lalazar... Babusaar top and Lulusar lake..... :)
3.Where should I stop over at night how are the hotels can any body guide me about decent family hotels or rest houses and room rent they usually charge.
If you can,t go till naran in one go then you can stay a night in Abotabad or mansehra.... Rents for double bed will be no more then 1500
4.From where can hire Jeeps What do they usually chargs
You can hire jeeps from Naran... You can visit Lulusar lake and Babusar and Lalazar in one go.. And saif-ul-malook on other day.... For Saif-ul-malook they charge 1500 to 2000.. Babusar area they charge 5000 more or less
5.How will be the weather in June
Weather will be cool... Nights get even more cooler ]

[janleva]

[QUOTE=janleva;4368372]
1.Road condition till Naran any offroad patch or its all carpeted( Can a civic make it there in early-mid June)
Any vehicle which is machinacly fit can go to naran Easily.. last year i saw Markx.. 2 Mercedes benz.. And mehrans.. etc.. There are few bad patches but any car can go till naran easily :)
2.Which places can I visit on the way? a total noob her
saif-ul-malook... Lalazar... Babusaar top and Lulusar lake..... :)
3.Where should I stop over at night how are the hotels can any body guide me about decent family hotels or rest houses and room rent they usually charge.
If you can,t go till naran in one go then you can stay a night in Abotabad or mansehra.... Rents for double bed will be no more then 1500
4.From where can hire Jeeps What do they usually chargs
You can hire jeeps from Naran... You can visit Lulusar lake and Babusar and Lalazar in one go.. And saif-ul-malook on other day.... For Saif-ul-malook they charge 1500 to 2000.. Babusar area they charge 5000 more or less
5.How will be the weather in June
Weather will be cool... Nights get even more cooler ]

many thanks

[luckysweet_5]

1.Road condition till Naran any offroad patch or its all carpeted( Can a civic make it there in early-mid June)
Yes , you can travel there easily , the same method you are trying to go through (maps) , i did last year . It was my 1st trip with my wife and kids . I travelled to ISLAMABAD from FAISALABAD and then to Balakot the same day . From ISL to BALAKOT it took only 4.5 hours .
I had COROLLA GLI 1.6 AUTO . Roads + Weather was awsome

2.Which places can I visit on the way? a total noob here
In BALAKOT we stayed at ASHIANA hotel , it is on the River , Beautifull view (loving sound of seashore) he charged only 1500 for a family room

3.Where should I stop over at night how are the hotels can any body guide me about decent family hotels or rest houses and room rent they usually charge.
Stay at BALAKOT , I hope you will really enjoy there , as it is not so much expensive and you can take rest , because your distance from LAHORE to ISL is more than FSD

4.From where can hire Jeeps What do they usually charge
NARAN valley , to Saiful Malook and other hilly areas where the car cant travel

5.How will be the weather in June
Well at the time we visited with kids , At day time no jackets were needed + T-shirts were normally used by kids also . At night only jackts were used because of cool breeze.

Have a nice trip bro

[atharwaqar]

1. well dear road from mansehra to naran (Newly Built just like near to motorway ) but my friend, when it rains or land slides, then even the motorway gets stuck :-p , yes it is easy for a civic to meet the road requirements v easily, but keep in mind that you carry extra fuel, (although available there but it you never know when the slide can occur and u have to get stuck) 2. That's a good question friend, now I can give you two option plan a) If you leave LHR on Friday Lets say at 6 a.m , you will reach RWP by 11 , now from here ABotabad is 2 hrs drive, means you reach there by 2 or 2:30 ,, from here you can do is , you can stay in ptdc balakot (on the way to naran takes abt 1.5 to 2 hrs to reach from ATD, it is booked on phone and can also from abbotabad their office is on mansehra road , ATD ). you will reach there by 5 . have a stay go to kunhar river (passes along road side enjoy with family eat and chill the night) and next day you leave balakot in early morning , at 6, see the scenic beauty reach naran by 9 (road traffic dependent) . book a hotel and hire a jeep, got to saif ul mulook (Jeep takes 7-800 per person ). come back and and njoy the evening of naran , have bbq with family and enjoy, Next day early morning leave for Lalazar meadows and Babu Sar Pass , very scenic beauty.
b)You Leave LHR Friday morning same time , instead of staying at Balakot reach directly Naran and perform same routine
in both cases, you should leave Naran By 1 pm Sunday

3)there are decent and clean private hotels in Balakot (v beautiful specially one ha 10 bed room and rent is just 2k it is on opposite side of road side and on other side its kunhar river,) then there are manyy hotels in naran , U HV TO TAK LIL SURVEY BY YOUR SELF when u reach. Its easy to find accomodation

4)Jeeps are available in bulk in Naran , expensive hotels hire by themselves and it drops u to the room J
5)Weather is totally unpredictable, day temp may reach 20 -25 but mostly cloudy while nights drop to near to 0 degree also . do take uppers and jackets
Best OF Luck
FEEL FREE TO CONTACT 03245151121

                                                                                                                            </font>

[zaffar]

https://www.facebook.com/PARHENACOTTAGE

[rfsalem]

AoA

I just had a wonderful family trip during Eid Ul azha holidays. Other members info here was very useful so i must chip in to help others plan and enjoy.

quick tips:

1. Excellent road till Naran. fully carpeted and wide. Any car can go. No worries.
2. Go in off season like May and October....No rush...cheap hotels...enjoy scenic beauty without crowd (personal preference only).
3. Stay in hotel DeManche... Naran. excellent family hotel and reasonable food costs. best u can get there.
4. Plan for minimum 2 full days or better 03 at naran to see all around.
5. Always start early morning for what ever.. Staring your day at 11 am is waste of effort and day time.(U need to press family for that but its worth it.. start by 9am max..earlier the better)
6. Go to Saif ul malook early.start 8-30 or 9 am. a 45 min journey. Enjoy Allahs creation in its natural form when there is no crowd. u can have private snaps with nobody around. a little late and it would be crowded park in lahore.
7. Plan for at-least 2 to 3 hours stay. Do take pony ride around lake (specially for kids).
8. Weather can change quickly so be prepared with all clothing.
9. If weather is cold your camera battery can fail u. if possible have extra batteries (not must but u dont want to miss the snaps after taking such a long journey).Lake is much more majestic and mystic than it looks in photos. so sit there and enjoy.
10. No mobile coverage at lake.
11. The road ( or path) to Saif ul malook is now quite wide (unlike yester years). Family would still want to yell in terror but much safer now as two jeeps can cross easily. So no worries there.
12. Season closes by end october. get info before leaving towards end october.
13. Avoid night driving by utilizing day light. A return journey till islamabad with family stop overs, food, rest can take 6 to 8 hours. So last time for leaving naran should be 1 Pm max.

Have a nice trip and feel free to email if needed: rfsalem@yahoo.com