Help Me Plan a Tour with My Family

[mjunaidit]

I just recently got a Grande and wanted to ask fellow pakwheelers what would be the best first tour for the car with Family? I'll need a lot of guidance but will be really thankful to whoever can guide me

Good roads are a huge preference because I want to enjoy the ride of the new car while others enjoy a comfortable journey as well.

The duration of the tour can be upto 15 days easily. No problem with that.

I love KKH but what is the most saaf suthra and easy to drive route to get there?

I'm still confused about where to stay specially because of the family factor. Is it easy to get a good family hotel on any destination you arrive? I guess you still need to have some knowledge of good hotels. Or is PTDC the standard?

Plus it's already september. When does the snow falls start in the north that block all the roads?

[andaparatha]

there are not many roads in excellent condition throughout the KKH.. if you are an experienced driver then it shouldnt be an issue to drive in few rough patches on a new car

You can take your car to galiyat with no worries
also till naran road is good

hotels dono regions (mentioned above) mai achay mil jaatay hain

snow falls prediction ki super power hum mai se kisi mai nahi... but yes september is the best month to travel up north

and i would strongly advise you to go through a couple of threads on pakwheels... see the pictures travellers have uploaded of the road conditions.... that would help you in making a wise decision

[mjunaidit]

Thanks for the reply. I will check other forums. And I did go to galiyat on a Santro a while back. Not sure what level of driving expertise that puts me on

[ali454]

If you have 15 days a drive to the Hunza valley can be one the best tours on a new car.

Except for a few bad patches from naran till babusar (mostly water crossings) and a one hour rough patch from Chilas till Raikot bridge, the road is excellent.

All these rough patches can be managed easily by any car without any damages if you drive sensibly.

The KKH upwards from Raikot bridge especially is a driver's heaven.

[mjunaidit]

if you drive sensibly.

Please elaborate this part a bit and I'm sold on this trip. I bought the car just to drive it on KKH mainly afterall

[andaparatha]

it seems you have limited experience
you need to drive slower than usual.. speeding on an unknown area (esp. mountains) will lead to misjudgment and bearing its repercussions
rough patches per gaari guzaarna mai sensibility ki zaroorat paray gee... you do not want the bottom of your new car and their tyres to get hit by anything on the road while driving
if you plan to go further from naran (hunza) your car will steeply ascend and descend on babusar pass..make sure you know how to keep your car under control throughout

[haris05]

No issue at all to drive on KKH.....the road between Chilas hai Raikot bridge (55km) is not bad.....still can drive very easily.

I must suggest to follow Naran route to reach KKH....which is also good road.....but be careful around Babusar region. Don’t rely too much on brakes while descending from Babusar top towards Chilas.

Rest is just ENJOY!!!

[mjunaidit]

Yep, I understand the importance of Engine Braking on mountains. I guess that's the first thing you learn when you go into any sort of mountain range. I learned about this first when coming back from ISB, then Monal and then really used it at Murree - Nathia Gali route on a manual car.

Grande comes with CVTi so it does offer you manual gears for the very same purpose.

I guess the only thing a less experienced driver needs to be careful about is to drive slowly, be extra attentive to the road and never try to speed your way through anything no matter how tempting it might be.

[mjunaidit]

I can also do a shorter tour if it helps. So if first I should drive to Naran to learn the basics and then go back later at a different time for KKH, I can do that as well. Just trying to find out what's the best plan of action here.

Some people recommended me to go to Sawat, Kalaam first because that's an easier route. Was wondering if that really is the case.

[ali454]

The road from Babusar Pass till Chilas can be really deceptive to a new driver and the only key for a successful descend and ascend on that road is PATIENCE!

The road is good so an unexperienced driver will be tempted to push the car and ends up cooking the brakes especially when near the end of slopes the road apparently looks flat but has a steep gradient. Ive seen drivers giving gas to their cars just because they perceive that the road is flat but its not.

Similarly on the way back to the Top people tend to get impatient and start pushing cars in low gears and end up with a heat up by the time they are at the real steep slopes near the top.

The KKH from Chilas till Raikot bridge is basically dam site ( the famous DIAMIR-BASHA dam ) and will be submerged under water therefore it has not been maintained. Has a lot of patch work and some broken patches but its alright if you go slow. A corolla will do just fine.

[mjunaidit]

That's one detailed reply. So basically, patience and then some more is the key here.

Another tip I got from the Bus Driver who drove us up north, was to stop and rest your car BEFORE it heats up. That way you can avoid getting into that heat up situation to begin with...

[ali454]

Yes Patience is what matters. If youre impatient and a show off youll end up heating up the engine. Whether youre driving a brand new car or an old one doesnt matter there.

Ive seen new civics and Corollas with their hoods up near the top.

[mjunaidit]

Makes a lot of sense. Thanks a lot for chiming in with such a detailed reply. Made my day

I was curious about the kind of challenges one faces up north and it seems like most of them are because of being impatient and have less to do with experience. You can overcome the lack of experience with caution but it doesn't work the other way round.

[arsalaanali89]

Hey there, I returned from Hunza this week. Regardless of the car, if you have 15 days and you have a flavor for sight seeing, i'd recommend you to visit Hunza valley. The place is simply majestic! You wouldn't want to come back. Roads are excellent with few bad patches. Good to the extent that people think of it as a racing experience and push their car to the limits. That should be avoided for: 1. Personal safety 2. Everybody else's safety 3. Environmental safety. Since people are going to GB in flocks these days the places are getting littered up and losing the natural beauty. So we should be sensible enough to protect our asset.
Road till Kaghan is 90% good, Kaghan - Naran 85%, Naran - Batakundi 80%, Batakundi - Lulu sar lake 80% and beyond upto the top 95%. But the gradient is very steep so one has to be careful about the car and himself. Dont over kill the engine or else you'll end up burning the clutch or ruining the transmission or an engine overheat. It may sound difficult but it'd b reasonably easy for grande.
Road from top to chillas is 90%, chillas - raikot is 40% with a 5km patch of 20% with no gravel, just rock and sand. But all of it is manageable in a sedan, just move slow, roll up the windows, turn on the ac and kill the time. After raikot bridge it's the 8th wonder of the world and no wonder people admire it so much. KKH is 95% excellent till khunjerab top.
You can find hotels everywhere, from budget to luxury. September and beyond is off-season so you may find good deals. You can contact me if you need further help. I had visited swat valley, neelum valley, galiyat and naran valley several times before but i found GB to be the most beautiful.

[MudassirRauf]

Brother, I traveled from Karachi till Babusar on my city last month. On hilly areas, you will see lots of cars get ahead of you, let them be. Be patient and respect these mountains. Also, use of breaks should be sensible on descending by using lower gears 1 or 2 only. On water crossings, be very vigilant.
And most of all enjoy the trip, make stops where ever you want, buy whatever you want.

[mjunaidit]

We decided to do a week long shorter version of the tour first to Naran to train the driver i.e. me

What's the best route to Naran. Via Nathia Gali or Abbotabad?

We leave on the 24th from Faisalabad BTW. Any weather concerns or stuff?

[arsalaanali89]

Both routes r good ... abbotabad is a bit shorter though.. for weather c the forecast.. i guess rains will start coming down soon

[MudassirRauf]

Nathiagali route is time consuming, scenic and longer. Abbotabad route is much better as you will travel on motorway till havelian. But try to leave islamabad early morning to avoid abbotabad traffic.

[andaparatha]

check next 3 day prediction here
http://www.pmd.gov.pk/loop.htm
they seem pretty accurate in past

add nathiagali on return ..stay there for a day or 2

ps: heavy rains intend to block roads travelling to naran.. if it happens detour to muzaffarabad or kaghan

[ezisohail]

Brother, you have 15 days that are enough to visit good areas. Prefer Giligit, Hunza side & then Gupis & phunder valleys. Roads are almost fine. of course, in these areas, roads are not 100% ideal. Some bad patches you have to face. Use Babusar route, it is still open in september. Hotels are not issues in these areas.