DAY 4: 3rd Sep 2014
We woke up late in the morning due to last hectic and tiring journey. It was still raining.The rain didnt stop since when it started last day in Muzaffarabad. We got ready with our rain coats and umbrella that we had bought from Light house because we wanted to do Arang kel trek. It was very cold in Kashmir due to rains .We went down to Parbat hotel for Breakfast/Lunch at 12 pm. We started the trek at 2 pm. The weather was pleasant and it was drizzling the whole way. On our way up we met a group of 3 students from Pakpattan. They were descending. They told us that the way down is very slippery after rains. But we still continued our trek and reached there in 2.5 hrs i.e. 4.30 pm.
Arang Kel is one of the most beautiful places i have ever seen. And the low clouds were making it a heaven on earth. We took some juices,biscuits and a cup of tea from Army shops there for every one to energize ourselves. As it was about to get dark soon so it was mutually decided that we should stay at Arang kel. Army guys agreed to give us one room in 800 Rs. we told them that we will be back in an hour or so. We explored the whole Arang kel in an hour and got back to the army guest house at 6 pm. AND A BIG PROBLEM WAS AWAITING US THERE:'(.
When we reached there THE ARMY JAWANS told us that now the room charges will be 1500 Rs as you cannot go down. We were astonished to hear that from those guys. They wanted to take advantage of our Majboori as night was approaching fast. We did fight a lot in words with those guys. We didnt expect this behavior from army Jawans. I also belong to an army background myself but i have never seen such soldiers in my whole life. Anyways we were really agitated:mad::mad::mad: so we decided to descend at night against all odds.
We started to descend at 6.30. It was Raining HEAVILY and our Rain coats were not protecting us from this heavy rains. The way down was very slippery especially at turns. It got pitch dark in half an hour and we had a single torch with us. But by the Grace of Almighty ALLAH we got down unharmed. we reached army check post at bridge around 8. They were shocked to see us at that moment. Anyways we reached Parbat hotel at 9.30 pm yo have dinner. The dinner was Lobia Chawal and Gosht Chawal. Had a round of tea then reached back in our hotel at 10.30. Changed our clothes and got into our beds. IT WAS STILL RAINING OUTSIDE.
We took some BIG RISKS there but overall it was a whole different experience for us and we learned a lot of things that day.
Enjoy the pics
