Kaghan Valley: Latest Updates for 2013 Season

[Handbrake]

Good to see your pictures of flicker. What is the exact point you caught trout fish.?

I didnt catch the Trout. It was a Trout farm near Kewai. Next to a hotel with chairs in river

[Handbrake]

any idea by when jheel road will be open? I am planing to go on 7th Jun.
Also advsie if anyone knows about road from shogran to Paye top is open for 4x4

Both should be open by the 7th....

[M.rehman786]

Summary of 2012 Season

https://www.pakwheels.com/forums/road-trips-vacations/212878-kaghan-valley-latest-updates-2013-season#post3825691

2013 Season in Kaghan Valley

A.A. PWers

Like last year, this thread will be the latest information source for Kaghan Valley trip plans in 2013.

Please update this thread with whatever latest information comes in so that we can run one thread only for Kaghan valley instead of dozens of threads and same information being repeated again n again.

Update 1 - 12 April 2013:

@adeel976
First jeep has entered into Naran Bazar on 5th April 2013.
Machinery working on removing glacier just before Naran city.

Update 2 - 16 April 2013:

@owais8668
assalam o alaikum to all...
i didnt read all comments , em gonna tel u my experience of 10/4/13..
we were 5 friend on 96 corolla, till kaghan road is open fr every car then the road is open till 10kms then there is glaciers, so frm there its almost 15kms to naran...when we were there only 1 hotel was open, rent was 1200 per nite...
from kaghan we hire jeep to naran fare was 1500/(on this fare we allow driver to pick more customers)..otherwise it was 2500/...
Jeeps drop a little before Naran and it is a walk of 10 min to Naran bazaar.
em planning to make a detailed thread on it..

Update 3 - 17 April 2013

@ahmed.ejaz
It is a great time for all snow lovers to go on their off roaders to enjoy snow.
There are total of 3 glaciers between Kaghan to Naran, first glacier being the worst.
I went to Naran with no chains. I returned on 7th April.
Best view of Naran is right now, all covered in snow :)

Update 4 - 1 May 2013

Source: Paramount Adventure Club
- Sri Paye road is open only till Sri and ahead is trekking till Paye Meadows
- Road is open for all vehicles till Naran
- Road is half way open for jeeps on Saif-ul-Muluk way and rest is still trekking on snow
- Road is open till Batakundi and work is in progress for Jalkhad access

Update 5 - 3 May 2013

@ShaMaaL
Latest travel thread from Kaghan Valley

https://www.pakwheels.com/forums/road-trips-vacations/214070-trip-kaghan-naran-shograan-30th-april-02nd-may-2013-a

Update 6 - 19 May 2013

@Wanderlust
I am in Naran since yesterday. Road is clear about six km after naran and machinery is clearing further. There are a couple of really bad patches between Kaghan and Naran with sudden ditches where a casual driver may severly damage the vehicle. A number of land slides waiting to be cleared.
Road to lake saiful malook is just clear for a couple of km.
Yesterday was sunny and hot but it was pleasant at night...just sweater served the purpose.
Morning now and clouds have started gathering.
Very few tourists. Hotel owners are charging reasonable. We paid just Rs. 1500 for a four bed newly constructed very nice room...clean hotel on main road with huge parking.
Overall, hotels are getting ready for the season, repair work going on, carpet wash...and sharpening their knives as season will start in a couple of weeks. But season of restaurants have already started...very expensive.

Update 7 - 30 May 2013

@Handbrake
I spent last weekend in Naran and Saturday night on the Lake. Road to Naran is clear for any vehicle with OK clutch and gas kit. Jeep Track to the Lake should be half way open by now.

Update 8 - 31 May 2013

@adeel976
Naran to Jalkhad road is open now. Jeep drivers worked hard to open that road.
Road to lake saif ul malook is too close to lake saif ul malook, only fifteen minutes walk required.

Please contribute the latest information like:

- Road conditions
- Places visited
- Jeep rents
- Hotel rents
- Any specific advice or new information

Thanks & Regards

Mobeen

Dear Sir,

Would you pls advice whether I can go to Shogran and then Naran with my family on cultus 2008 but good conditioned ??

Also pls confirm if there is some shortcut road to by pass abbotabd city traffic and where to find Mansehra shortcut when going and return??

Bundle of thanks dear.

[amnd]

Left Lahore at 5:30am and via Motorway, Hassan abdal and abbottabad, reached Balakot at 4:30pm.

Vehicle: Prado 1997 registered 2006 TZ

lahore to Pindi: 5:30am to 10am.
Pindi to Abbottabad: 10:30am to 12:30pm
Abbottabad to Balakot: 2:30pm to 4:30pm

Road condition: all clear. Saw Couple of accidents including a Daewoo bus that seemed to have a head on collision with a Hino truck! Thank fully it didn't look fatal. Manshera - Balakot stretch is clear with occasional patches.

Weather condition: very warm but it has just turned pleasant at 18:00hrs since the sun has gone down under the mountains.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's update on Balakot - Naran

Sent from my Nexus 4 using PW Forums mobile app

[imtishal]

@amnd

Please ask about the status of route to dodipat.

[desertdevil]

Got report from someone in office that Saif ul Malook jheel road is open till top for jeeps now. The road to babusar is still closed beyond jhalkad.
Can someone guide how long would it take to trek from jhalkhad till lulusar lake?

[aesiege]

Dear Sir,

Would you pls advice whether I can go to Shogran and then Naran with my family on cultus 2008 but good conditioned ??

Also pls confirm if there is some shortcut road to by pass abbotabd city traffic and where to find Mansehra shortcut when going and return??

Bundle of thanks dear.

Yes Cultus can go to both locations. Just need extra care while driving on Shogran road.

No, there is no short cut. Only way is to cross early morning to avoid traffic.

Mansehra bypass is at the start of city on right side. Its 3 way fork like place and left is bypass for KKH, centre is city road and right is Kaghan side bypass.

[aesiege]

Got report from someone in office that Saif ul Malook jheel road is open till top for jeeps now. The road to babusar is still closed beyond jhalkad.
Can someone guide how long would it take to trek from jhalkhad till lulusar lake?

It will take 3-4 hrs till Lulusar Lake from Jalkhad. If u will use the old route along with Lulusar stream then u can avoid the initial climb of around 500-600 ft.

[luckybilal]

@amnd

Please ask about the status of route to dodipat.

I think people here will have phone numbers of jeep drivers, please help us for dudipatsar trek.

[AsifSkhan]

Good effort!

[amnd]

Reached Naran yesterday. Took us 4 hours but we had our stops at many places. Road condition is Ok but it gets bad after Kaghan. All kind of cars can use the road but one has to be very careful. Road to babu sir is still closed. Will check about lake today.

Weather is pleasant at day time but got cold at night. Its 07:20am and its very windy. Don't forget to bring warm clothes.

Naran is still surrounded snow capped mountains and on lake side, snow is pretty heavy

Sent from my Nexus 4 using PW Forums mobile app

[whiteangel]

I think people here will have phone numbers of jeep drivers, please help us for dudipatsar trek.

Drive to Jalhad, hire a jeep till Besal. Trek starts from Besal it is 18km distance. Overnight stay at the lake is recommended. If you are not up for the walk then take horses. If you want to come back the same day then it is recommended to take horses from Besal. But you must start very early, you need to start the trek before the sun comes up so you can be back by sundown.

[luckybilal]

Agreed! just wanted to get most recent updates, 'amnd' is providing updates

[luckybilal]

Reached Naran yesterday. Took us 4 hours but we had our stops at many places. Road condition is Ok but it gets bad after Kaghan. All kind of cars can use the road but one has to be very careful. Road to babu sir is still closed. Will check about lake today.

Weather is pleasant at day time but got cold at night. Its 07:20am and its very windy. Don't forget to bring warm clothes.

Naran is still surrounded snow capped mountains and on lake side, snow is pretty heavy

Sent from my Nexus 4 using PW Forums mobile app

Oops, thanks brother, but road to Babusar pass is cleared now, breaking news, 11 hours before your post http://www.facebook.com/ParamountAdventureClub

[M.rehman786]

Reached Naran yesterday. Took us 4 hours but we had our stops at many places. Road condition is Ok but it gets bad after Kaghan. All kind of cars can use the road but one has to be very careful. Road to babu sir is still closed. Will check about lake today.

Weather is pleasant at day time but got cold at night. Its 07:20am and its very windy. Don't forget to bring warm clothes.

Naran is still surrounded snow capped mountains and on lake side, snow is pretty heavy

Sent from my Nexus 4 using PW Forums mobile app

Dear Sir,

Would you pls advice the road condition to Shogran ??

Also confirm whether I can go to Shogran and then Naran with my family on cultus 2008 of well mentained ??

Also pls confirm if there is some shortcut road to by pass abbotabd city traffic and where to find Mansehra shortcut when going and return??

Bundle of thanks dear.

[owais8668]

well doing a very good job mr amnd.....hope u are enjoying...

[owais8668]

jst want to ask....if the road to babu sir open so any kind of car can reach there??

[lateralus]

0301-8163979 basheer guide

Contact details of any guide????

[amnd]

Thank you Owais. Babu sir is still not fully open for all cars. I saw a corolla trying to get pass jhalgat but he was back very soon

Road to jhalhat is open but lots of glaciers in between. Cars need to be careful (will upload few pictures once I am back)

Today was very sunny... So much that we had to shorten our stay at Jhalgat. Because of it, river kunhar's level is high.

We hired a local fisherman who charged 2000 plus 100 for the permit. We started from our hotel (PTDC naran) and went all the way to helipad. No luck but at 5pm, we managed to capture a small rainbow trout...

If anyone interested, his name is Zulkarnain. Direct msg me for his number. He also referred a guy in main bazaar who sits in hotel sun rise. His name is Riaz. The guy sells trout otherwise lot of restaurants in main bazaar sell rahu fish. The rate is 3000/kg. Luckily he had 3 small pieces of 300g.

Road to lake saif ul malook is open till lake now.

More updates tomorrow and pictures once I get back to Lahore

Sent from my Nexus 4 using PW Forums mobile app

[lateralus]

tahir he can give info for naran 0345- 9549795

I think people here will have phone numbers of jeep drivers, please help us for dudipatsar trek.