HELP - Skardu Trip - After Eid(End of June 2017)

[asad971]

Hello everyone,
I'm Asad. I'm new to PW and I tried reading a lot about Skardu and GB for a family trip after Eid-ul-Fitr. Now, I only got more confused after reading so much varying information. I guess, the main reason is that I have no clue about planning such a trip as it would be my first. The people in this trip would include 10 adults and 3 kids(around 7-9 year olds) and we plan to rent a coaster/van with a driver for this purpose. Our starting location would be Lahore. We plan to primarily visit Skardu. After researching online including PW forums, google, blogs etc; I have concluded that the route through AH1, Karakoram Highway, Mansehra - Naran - Jalkhad - Chilas Rd, Karakoram Highway and S-1 to Alamdar Rd in Skardu (route link: https://goo.gl/maps/6h8PYQrDgiE2). I need information about road conditions, night stays, when and where to rest, exotic places which come in between and if there a way to possibly include a trip to Deosai Park.

My questions are as below:
1. What would be the rent for a night stay at a good hotel/rest house in Skardu for 4 adults(my parents, a sibling and me) considering the hotel shouldn't be too expensive and we could possibly share two rooms or even a big one room?
2. How are the road conditions for the route I suggested? I have heard that the S1 highway (Gilgit-Skardu Road) is dangerous, is there any better route?
3. What would be the choice of vehicle considering the terrain and number of people(10 adults + 3 kids)?
4. What would be the best route so we pass maximum number of scenic places like one of the reasons for choosing this route was that it passes through places like Naraan, Kaghan and Nanga Parbat peak. Is this route okay or should I choose another route?
5. How much time would it take (travelling time only) for us to reach Skardu from Lahore?
6. Where should we stop on our way because I'm presuming the journey would be long and hectic and we would need multiple stops along the way.
7. Is air travel direct to Skardu via Islamabad recommended or is road travel better?
8. Any advice to make trip memorable or to avoid any mishap?

I'm sorry for so many questions. I'm honestly so confused and I need help from all you travel gurus of PW to make this trip memorable.
Thank you,
Asad

[umairadeeb]

Stops / Night stays:

Day 1. Abbottabad or Balakot
Day 2. Naran
Day 3. You can either travel to Gilgit for a night stay or go directly to Skardu (this will be hectic).

Road condition:
Lahore to Abbottabad: Good
Abbottabad to Babusar: Good with some rough patches due to landslides etc.
Babusar to Raikot Bridge: Bad condition
Raikot Bridge to Jaglot (KKH): Good
Jaglot to Skardu: Bad

Places to Visit:
Near Balakot: Shogran, Siri Paye
Naran: Lake Saiful mulook, Lulusar lake, Lalazar, babusar top.
Skardu: Kachura lake, Upper Kachura lake, Satpara lake, Kharphocho Fort, Katpana desert, Shigar valley, Mantokha waterfall, Khaplu

You can add Deosai to this list depending on how much time you have.

Q#1 Though I've never been to Skardu, rent of a decent room will be something between 2500-5000 depending on condition and location.

Q#2 Yes, the road is dangerous but experienced driver will have no difficulty there. Alternate route is from Astore to Skardu via Deosai, but only jeeps could cross it AFAIK.

Q#3 HiAce? Coaster will work too, but you need an experienced driver.

Q#4 This route is okay.

Q#5 Lahore to Islamabad 5-6 hours i guess. Islamabad to Balakot 3-3.5 hours. Balakot to Naran 4-5 hours. Naran to Babusar top 3-5 (not sure). Gilgit to Skardu is 9 hours. So I am guessing from Jaglot to Skardu, it will take something around 7-8 hours.

Q#6 Already answered above.

Q#7 Air travel is recommended if you can afford it. May be you can arrange one way journey via airplane.

Q#8 Don't travel after sunset. Don't make your trip hectic by adding maximum places. Stay one more day at a place you liked.

Also check out other threads where people have shared their experiences.

[Wanderlust]

Dear Asad,

I hope I can advice you as I had completed Skardu trip last year in October. We were just two, me and my friend and our ride was Corolla. I was the one who drove during the entire trip.

Route was Lahore to Rawalpindi via GT road. Then Balakot, Naran, Babusar and Chilas. Overnight in a hotel in Chilas. We started at 10:00 at night from Lahore and reached Chilas at 3:00 in the afternoon. Two stopovers one at Balakot for breakfast and the other one at Naran for sighseeing. We had barely managed to cross Babusar as snowfall had started at the top. As you are planning with family, I would suggest overnight at Naran.
Road condition - average to excellent from Lahore to Chilas.

2nd Day - we started at 8 in the morning and reached Kachura lake (~20km before Skardu) at 5:30pm. Again two stopovers, first just before Jaglot for tea and the second one somewhere on Skardu road for namaz and lunch. From Jaglot, you may have wonderful views of Nanga Parbat but mostly early in the morning. For lunch, I think there is ONLY ONE reasonable place where wagons stop. Be watchful for this place, its in the middle of Skardu road on the right when coming from Jaglot. Road condition is bad from Chilas to Raikot bridge. Then from Raikot to Skardu turn on KKH is excellent. Onwards, Skardu road is just OK ranging from average to below average with some bad patches but I its not that bad. Its a narrow road, may be dangerous for you and may not be for another person. But definitely it requires a lot of patience and focus as there are a number of blind turns. On the positive side, not much traffic....only trucks with some local cars and vans that you will see.

Your best bet would be hiring a hiace or coaster that can manage easily Lahore Skardu section.

Hotels - last year, it was the first time when Babusar top road was opened. "Pests" wearing formal dresses and high heels flooded and littered Baltistan because of this shortcut. Even in October (offseason), hotels were expensive. They had earned more than expected in the season and they did not bother to give us room at cheap offseason rate. There are few good hotels around Kachura lake where one can stay. We also stayed there as the rooms were good and neat. Hotels in Skardu were not that clean. We ended up paying at least Rs. 3000 per day to hotels though my friend is good with haggling the hotel rent. You should expect to pay at least 5000-8000 now for a good room.

What to see when in Skardu....Kachura lake, indeed an awesome place to visit, then have a day trip to Shigar valley with amazing views of cold desert and lunch in the lawns of Shigar fort...what a surrounding. I was not very impressed with Khaplu but there are two nice historical places (a) Khaplu Fort (b) an old mosque with exceptional wood work. In Skardu city, a hike up the Kharfocho fort will give refreshing views of Indus River.

Hope it helps.

[namohsin]

عید کے دنوں میں ہم لوگ بھی اسکردو جانے کا ارادہ رکھتے ہیں اپنی کلٹس پر اگر فاصلے اور ڈرائیو ٹائم بھی مل جاتا تو ہم لوگ بہتر پلان بنا سکتے تھے کیونکہ میں بھی فیملی کے سااتھ ہونگا اور کوئی دوسرا ڈرائیور بھی نہیں ہو گا۔ اگر چہ میں لاہور سے شاردہ (وادی نیلم) تک ڈارئریکٹ ڈرائیو کر چکا ہوں 2015 میں۔ اسکردو میرے لئے بابوسرٹاپ سے آگے نیا راستہ ہو گا۔ لہٰذا اس میں تھوڑا محتاط ہونا پڑے گا۔ شکریہ.

[nagar1]

apki thread pa distance chart share kia ha bhai

[namohsin]

مل گیا ہے، بہت زبردست معلومات ہیں، بہت شکریہ.

[asad971]

@umairadeeb @Wanderlust
Thank you for the replies specially Wanderlust for that detailed description.
We have planned it out from 8-15th of June and have contacted a rent-a-car business and they are charging around 8k for a day (a 15 passenger coaster, excluding diesel costs, would cover driver's food and toll tax etc), is it okay or are they overcharging? Also, we plan to only make a single stop i.e. we will stop for night's rest only in a single place. We thought of staying over in Mansehra for this purpose and all other stops would be for a few hours only. Also, now we only have 1 child and 8 adults. What are your views?