Day 1: Monday 26 Jul
Left Lahore at 1 pm for Abbottabad along with my wife, mother and 2 year old daughter. Weather was very pleasant and cloudy throughout the way. Reached Abbottabad and spent the night at a hotel.
Day 2: Tuesday 27 Jul
Woke up early next morning. It rained late in the night in Abbottabad and the weather outside was quite pleasant. Left for Naran at 11 a.m. As we neared Balakot, it rained heavily for a few minutes, but the rain subsided as we reached Balakot. Reached Naran comfortably, 90% of the road was in great shape. In Naran the weather was cloudy but there was no sign of rain. Checked into Troutland hotel on the jheel road, rent was 4000 per night. Strolled in the bazar and drove upwards from Naran a few kilometers taking pictures and checking out the views. Came back to the hotel in the evening just as it started to rain.
Day 3: Wednesday 28 Jul
Woke up early in the morning. It rained all night and Wednesday morning was no different. Waited till 12 for the rain to stop. It didn't. But when the rain slowed we decided to go to Jalkhad. As we left the hotel, it started raining again. After travelling 15 kilometers towards Jalkhad, I decided to turn back since the rain showed no sign of stopping and it was too dangerous to keep driving and risk a landslide blocking our way back. Drove back to the hotel and stayed there all night. It continued raining all this time. Some guests from the hotel left for Islamabad only to return after a couple of hours to inform us that the roads were blocked.
Day 4: Thursday 29 Jul
Woke up early in the morning. It was still raining. THe clouds were as threatening as ever and there was little hope that the rain would stop. I lost all hope in this trip and was planning on leaving as soon as the rain stopped and the roads reopened. We decided to leave the hotel and find a place in the bazar, because at least in the bazar we could walk around instead of just sitting inside the hotel room. We moved to a hotel right in the beginning of town. The owner informed us that we could stay for free, because all hotel owners had decided to not charge any money from tourists who were now stuck because of blocked roads. In the evening, the rain became heavier. The river was raging and we could see tents that were pitched on dry land being overrun by the river. The road in front of the hotel being in the low lying area of town, began to accumulate water. Some other people in the hotel started panicking and wanted to move out. The owner said that he would find us another place on higher ground. We moved to a guest house close to the bypass and spent the night there. It stopped raining that night and it looked like the weather would clear up
Day 5: Friday 30 Jul
Woke up Friday morning and it was raining again. But thankfully, the sky cleared by around 10. It was the first sunshine I had seen in 3 days. The sky remained partially cloudy but there was no rain that day. Spent the whole day getting updates on the road. Most people decided to stay back until they got confirmation of the road opening. But some people decided to try their luck. A few cars left Naran, but only got as far as Kaghan. The locals said that the road would be cleared tomorrow.
Day 6: Saturday 31 Jul
Woke up saturday morning, it was raining again. It didn't look like we would be able to get out that day. But the sky cleared after a few hours. The news was that the road is still not completely cleared. But a lot of people had had enough and decided to go anyway. Cars started leaving as early as 7 am. We waited till 8 and then decided to go ahead. There were quite a few obstacles on the way, buy we successfully made it to Kaghan in about a hour and a half! Pushed ahead from there and almost reached midway to Balakot, close to Mahandri. A small landslide and a big rock blocked the road here. There was barely enough space for one car to pass. Local people were trying to break the gigantic rock that blocked the way with a sledge hammer. But it wasn't easy. We passed that place and then right after that was another landslide. This one was much bigger. It started with a thick muddy patch follwed by rocks. A jeep tried to pass through but got stuck in the mud. People volunteered to make a patch themselves, After more than 3 hours of work they were able to make a barely passable path and some jeeps were able to pass through. Thankfully a buldozer arrived on the scene and in less than an hour it cleared half the road so traffic could pass through. But the road ahead had a few more hurdles. At one place, half the road had been completely eaten away by the river and FWO officials were only allowing one car to pass at one time. Further on the way we encountered lots of fallen rocks on half the road. The bridge near Kiwai had been washed away and a makeshift bridge had been hastily built by FWO. Reached Balakot at 7 pm. On the way to Mansehra, at one place, half the road had once again been washed away and an excavator was busy trying to widen the road by carving up the hill. Reached Abbottabad around 8:45, went straight to Usmania restaurant to eat a big juicy well-earned steak. Filled up with petrol at the Total Pump at 9:15 p.m. and headed for Lahore. Traffic was surprisingly thin which helped us reach the motorway toll by 10:30 p.m. Usually this road takes about an hour and 45 minutes. Headed for Lahore half awake. That steak tried to put me to sleep many times. Had to stop at every service area to rest for a few minutes.
Day 7: Sunday 1 Aug
Reached Lahore at 3:30 a.m. 19 and a half hours after leaving Naran! The longest ride of my life.
27 Jul: View of Fairyland hotel in Mahandri
27 Jul: Window view from the room we were staying in at Trout land Hotel
27 Jul: View of river before the rain
27 Jul: My car
27 Jul: Another view of the river
28 Jul: Window view from the room. It had started raining at this time
28 Jul: View of waterfall on the way to Jalkhad
28 Jul: The river water looking muddy due to the rain
29 Jul: After two days of rain, water level rises substantially. Tents pitched near the river are getting washed away.
