I was planning a trip to Northern area with my family and finally we decided to go to Naran and Lake Saif-ul-Muluk. I went for a 3-day trip to Naran & Lake Saif-ul-Muluk and on my way back I also stayed one night at Nathia Gali. The attractiveness and the beauty of these areas is beyond doubt. The Glory and flora of these beautiful areas forces every one visiting to admire blessings of Allah Almighty. Pictures will speak the rest.
There are about 1200 Pictures of the trip as I couldn’t resist the glory of the area and wanted to capture the beautiful scenes even when I was driving.
Trip Details:
Trip: Naran & Saif-ul-Muluk – Nathia Gali
GPS Location of Saif-ul-Muluk
N34º52'15.8"
E73º41'44.9"
Height: 3210 meters above sea level
Ride: Land Cruiser Prado
Stay: Naran- PTDC Motel
Nathia Gali: Green Treat Hotel
Trip Accessories:
1) Air Compressor for low air pressure or flat Tire (Battery Operated)
2) Electric Wheel Nut Opener (Battery Operated)
3) Tool Kit for DIY
4) Tourch
5) Thuraya Satellite Phone for No Communication Areas or Emergency Calls
City Distance:
1) Rawalpindi - Abbottabad 122 km
2) Abbottabad – Mansehra 24 Km
3) Mansehra - Balakot 48 Km
4) Balakot - Kaghan 60 Km
5) Kaghan - Naran 22 Km
6) Naran - Saif-ul-Muluk 10 Km
7) Abbottabad – Nathia Gali 34 Km
8) Nathia Gali – Murree 36 Km
9) Murree – Rawalpindi 65 Km
I left Rawalpindi at 7:30 in the morning via Islamabad highway. Then I took Motorway till Burhan. From Burhan we switched to Abbottabad road via Hasanabdal. It took us 2 and half hours to reach Abbottabad (122 Km.). I was not in a rush as I was with family and wanted to enjoy every bit of my travel.
In abbottabad refueled my ride and headed for Mansehra which was 24 Km away. From Mansehra I took Mansehra by-pass road to avoid city traffic. From Mansehra soon after joining the main KKH after by-pass there is a small bridge, from here we need to take right turn towards Naran. Naran is 122 Km via Balakot from this point and Balakot is 48 Km. Reached Balakot at 12:00 noontime. Had lunch there and again on the move. The landslides and earth quick has destroyed most of the road from here to Kaghan. But its open and most of the cars can manage this road. It took me 4 hours to reach Kaghan 60 Km with three stops at waterfalls and along the river. From Kaghan it took me 1 hour to reach Naran (22 Km) and at 5 PM I arrived Naran and Stayed at the PTDC Motel.
Saif-ul-Muluk:
Lake Saif-ul-Muluk is about 10 km East of Naran and is only reach able with 4x4 (No exemptions for Mehrans). The only thing I missed here was my WILLYS. I would have loved to do these 10 km on my Willys but with family I can’t take ma Willys up there. I even didn’t took chances for my Parado and hired a CJ-5 Jeep for this Adventure Trip from Naran to Saif-ul-Muluk.
Half the way to the lake we saw the breathtaking scene “Malika Parbat”. Great snow covered peak giving a shining view of its proud existence. We stopped there for few pics and then again on the move.
It took us 55 minutes to reach Lake Saif-ul-Muluk. Wow it was all worthy to reach this place and admire amazing/astonishing/wonderful (no words to describe) beauty of this place. Spent the rest of the day at lake enjoying every corner of it along the breathtaking scene of Malika Parbat”. The reflection of Malika-I-Parbat in the water of Saif-ul-Muluk is some thing to capture on the camera and an amazing view. In the later after noon we headed back to Naran.
Next day stared return Journey and from Abbottabad I turned towards Nathia Gali. On the way to Nathia Gali I took some pics of the Haro River where Pakwheels had its first Picnic and Off-Roading. It reminded me the great memories of our tour. Its 36 Km drive from Abbottabad to Nathia Gali. Stayed one night there and the weather there was really nice to enjoy and have good time with the family. Little one’s were also enjoying the horse ride as they spent most of the time just riding around.
Next day in the later after noon I headed back to Rawalpindi via Murree. And arrived home safely. All in all it was a great trip to have a great adventure time with the family.
There are lots of splendid pics to come. I will be uploading after re-sizing, as the actual size is too big with high resolution. But pls bear with me as with my family engagements and Jeep project, uploading process will be in episodes. Stay Tuned.
