AoA, We have just came back from a yadgaar Azad Kashmir tour. It is worth visiting place at least once in life.
we were Five Lahori friends managed to spare time from the busy life. Initially 11 members were going to join but only five had heart at the time of wheels roll.
so our ride was Suzuki Liana (liana proved to be strong , dhoka nahi dia 5 Lahori;) bande aur diggi full thi, it was ascending on steep hills like a charm)
Advance booking was carried out at Lower Topa, Keran AJ&K Rest house, Kel army guest house, arrang kel again army guest house, Kutton hydro proj rest house.
Day one : Travel from Lahore night stay at Islamabad (late nikle the so had to stay at isd, aur lorkon ne balke shadi shuda larkon ne Centaurus bhi ghomna tha 
)
Day two : Left Isd at 0600HRS, Breakfast at Lower topa and continue to Kohala.... short refreshment stay at Kohala bridge......2, 2 parathe kha liye the phir turnings pe chakkar aane shru ho gae..........lunch break at Muzaffarabad (al-habib hotel meal was gud, sar pe khare ho kr Karhai banwai)............. since it was sunday, AJ&K Tourism office was closed. called to an officer in Ministry of tourism, he managed our receipts of rest houses. Continued our journey to Keran..............short stay at Dhani water fall.......... reached Keran at 6PM. NIght stay..........temp was 12 as there was light rain. jackets nikaal li. Raat 10 baje tak sardi main ghomte phirte rahe aur 1 baje cook ko utha ker chae banwai......100 se kam galian nahi nakali hon gi us ne.
Day three : Car was parked at Keran rest house (Mr. feroz caretaker kept good care of car, jab wapis aye to car wash thi aur chamak rahi thi)........... hired jeep and travelled to Sharda (kashmir main jeep fares boht ziada hain, he charged 6k as there was no other jeep available at the early morning). visited sharda ........... sharda cantt main smart army captain ki tarf se tea break............... visited sharda university (bari purani he bhai, is ka zikar Al-Beruni ki kitab main bhi ata he). Archeology Deptt is not taking care of it, its remaining structure will fall down i fear. Few children were asking money (sirf sharda main feel kia k bachon ko pese mangne k liye bheja jata he, this practice was not seen elsewhere in kashmir)
Barish zoron per a gae aur thand bharh gai. we wanted to reach Kel as soon as possible as weather mood was changing to bad and road condition was deteriorating, ( in halat main jeep fare double aur ziada tar transport band). Capt sb offered a night stay but we thanked and went to Sharda bazar for the jeep.
Road condition from sharda onward rather Keran onward kafi kharab he...... sharda se aage tu full keechar tha, jahan gari thora slip kerti thi wahan hamara dil saans ko skip kr jata tha........... at one point we have to disembark and gari ko dhaka shahi kerni pari...............
Keran army guest house is on top of the hill and gives excellent view of the valley............... samgh nahi aata kis kis tarf ki photos le.....Unfortunately hum log photos k chakker main par jaate he aur us beauty aur nature ko feel nahi krte....
after having lunch (kamal ka khana banate he ye log) we took rest. Main ne shurly chori k chalo yaar kal ki bajae aaj hi Arrang Kel chalte he.......raha nahi ja raha. Every body agreed and we kept our luggage at guest house and started trekking to Arrang Kel
Many pple advised us ..... beta barish ho rahi he aur raasta boht slippry he aap log nahi ja sakte..........magar hamain jin charhe hue the......we continued without Barsaati and the Guide (must items for trekking). 20 % charhne k baad pataaaas ho gae, beth gae aur apne stamina per afsos kerne lage. I become the victim of bla bla. (isi ne kaha tha, kal chale Jate, waghera waghera). However , we continued aur marte girte pohench hi gae. (ek story is trekking ki seperate banti he).
Arrang Kel is real beauty of Kashmir.............. Natural beauty, lush green mountains on all sides, their top covered with snow which is coming down like snakes, they shine like silver & Gold in summer..........under them big trees standing like troops at gaurd. landscapes and flowers and water streams and in between them few small colorful wooden houses, goats and horses and a peaceful silence and what not ...........simply you cant explain the scenario.
Day Four : whole night rain continued.........we came out of the cottage at 5 AM. I saw four weathers in half an hour (believe me there was snow fall for 10 minutes, then atmosphere cleared, after 10 minutes again heavy rain with Zala bari (hailing) started then came the sun and again dark clouds............. i have never seen this quick change in weathers.
kuch awara gardi k baad we managed a guide and started our journey back down to Kel. halki barish chalti rahi, sardi lagti rai, gup shup hoti rahi aur hum Kel bazar main pohench gae.......... Guide was very helpful as he gave us sticks to walk and took the easier way.
There are three ways of trekking......... first is Kanari mostly used by locals, 2nd is Khachri trek from where horses and khachar came, third is longest and 2km away from Kel i think its called Kel track. PPle informed us that due to heavy rain there is landslide and way to Taobat has become difficult so we cancelled our journey to Taobat.
one Army man has already booked our tickets in Coaster Bus for keran. we reached Keran took Tea and continued to Kutton on our car. There is steep ascend from Kundal shahi to Kutton, however manageable with gud driving skill;).
Kutton Hydro Project Guest house is very well managed place to stay. Banda family k saath aye aur 2, 3 din idher reh ker jae. weather was pleasant and peaceful flowery environment. We went to the kitchen and asked permission to make Karhai ourself........ so Lahoriyon ne khoob udhum machaya aur karhai bani (staff also enjoyed our shugal).
Day Five : Started our journey back to Muzaffarabad. Reached Mzd took our lunch. Ek do bandon se poocha k which is better road to Isd..... via Kohala or via Garhi habibullah. One driver told us to go via Garhi Habibullah so we took that way.......... but let me tell u, the road of Gari Habibullah is more steep, curvy and lengthy..... and there is toooooo much trafic from Mansehra to Abbotabad to Hasanabada. Better one should go from Mzd to Kohala and turn left to Bhurban road and Ghika gali then thru motorway Isd.
Note :
- Please get ur booking in advance
- Park car at Kutton or Keran, aage rasta kharab he, however i have seen pple going on their cars till Kel
- Plan to stay a night at Arrang kel
- Take good shoes for Trekking
- Keep First Aid kit
- If jeep driver is in hurry tell him to drive slow for ur safety
- Things are expensive in Kashmir with regard to other northern areas (what i hve seen)
I have few photos which are not Enhanced because mughe software se enh kerna nhi aata 
Regards,
Asif
