Recommendation for route (Isb to Naran)

[MSSR]

Hi Travel Gurus,

I will be traveling from Lahore till Babusar Top with my family on City 1.3 MT in 1st week of August. I will be taking M1/Hazara Expressway for the way up but want to change route during return journey primarily for sightseeing. I have never explored Balakot/Garhi Habibullah/MZD/Murree route so need your valuable guidance about this route. Road condition, risk of landslide etc.?

Is this recommended or i should take Abbotabad/Nathiagali/Murree route? Which one is tougher to drive?

Thanks in advance.

[MSSR]

Any response please. Waiting for the help!

[talha.aamir]

Road condition is really good
Went there last year isb to naran tool about 9 hours so the motorway should take less time. You can return via the nathia gali route its good but time consuming

[bright.jupiter]

In my opinion kohala to Murree is more steep and tougher than Abbotabad Nathiagali road.
Abbotabad Nathiagali road is much better and more scenic.

[farhannk]

in my view both routes are serene.. nathiagali / abbotabad rd is much enjoyable ..

[alikhan7]

Last year i took my city to Babusar.. you have to be very careful crossing streams from Batakundi till Besal as stones might hit your city underneath.
Best route would be Expressway. Nathiagali route is good but too many steeps, secondly too much traffic on murree road.
Balakot/Garhi Habibullah/MZD/Murree route is not recommended on city

[pwuser148163377895]

Just came back from naran on Monday.
From ISB. To ayubia/nathiagali...stayed 1 night....then from ayubia to abottabad to naran had a 9hr journey...as there were 4 landslide areas with 1 way traffic taking turns....then lots of broken patches of road from kaghan to naran area.
From naran to babusar top...the broken patches of road are very bad that you must stop n go so u dont damage your car...hence it takes 2.5hrs to reach there...N u must come back before 6pm..night travelling is dangerous and risky...we had a landslide on way back to naran city...more then 100 cars n buses were stuck n landslide was huge though it was only drizzling.. most the ppl left their cars there n walked with families across the landslide area where jeeps were taking them to the city from balakot area...Next day they had gotten rid of 1 landslide but another had taken place in the morning n there was loose mud on which wooden planks were being placed for cars to cross 1 by 1

One hell of an adventure...on way back from abbottabad we took motorway n reached Islamabad in less then1.5hr... also on the way back the traffic was less as it was night time n the landslides had been removed by then.

Do take the boat rafting adventure in balakot on way to babusar...you will get wet so keep extra clothing in case.

Saiful Malook area shud also be seen before 5pm...as only jeeps can go there n it's one hell of a jumping jeep trip of half hr...u literally are half in air in the jeeps 🤣🤣

[MSSR]

thanks @alikhan7, @bright.jupiter, @talha.aamir, @farhannk. have safely completed my tour. took nathigali route during the return journey and thoroughly enjoyed it as usual

[MSSR]

thanks @pwuser148163377895 for sharing the detailed status. Thank God i didn't encounter any landslide or road blockage during my journey till babusar top. Though few recent landslides could be witnessed but road was cleared by the time i traveled.
I missed rafting in Kunhar as i was traveling with my parents so couldn't include adventurous activities in my itinerary
And yes saif ul malook is not worth visiting anymore i guess. Whole body aches once you are back from the bumpy travel from the lake and the lake in itself is not pretty as it used to be several years ago.