Should I risk going to Chitral on Mehran?

[engradnanshoaib]

Hy everyone. In the mid of May every year, A festival named "chilam joshi" is held in Kalash Valley near Chitral. I am very much fond of visitng northern areas however I have not traveled this long on Mehran or any other car. I am planning to go to this festival on my Mehran. I was worried if I should go on it or not. Here are some facts which can help you understand my position before giving your kind suggestions
1. I have Mehran 2004 with very good engine condition. However I am afraid of its brakes wether they will work in hilly areas or not. How important is hand brake?? It is also a bit problamatic.
2. I am amateur in traveling long distances. So far in my life, I have traveled only about 4000 kms on long distance and that also only on plain areas. I've heard that Loari top road is 5th most dangerous road in the world.
3. I have both CNG and Petrol however I am not sure if CNG will work in hilly areas in this season
4. Tour companies are offering around Rs. 15K for one person for 4 day tour. Please suggest how much will I save if take risk driving myself (02 person traveling)?
5. Any other problems that might occur in this tour please also point out.

Thank you for reading. Please reply with your experience of long distance traveling on mehran.

[smshahbazalam]

asalam-o-alekum adnan

i am also found of travel by road, but i depends from you start you tour on mehran, waise mehran pe jastay hain n log jate hain n all depends on ur car condition sirf engine count nahi hota suspensions tyre electrical thing n all sab count hoti hian agar koi bhi chiz kharab hogaee to what u will do, agar u wanna travel in ur mehran i suggest you to only use petrol in all ur tour it will give u good pickup or cng to ek limit pe jakai khtum hojayegi n as per my knowledge tum un areas main cng nahi milegi....khair bhai breaks and hand break is most most important u dont know kahan pe kaisa rasta hai kitni steep hai, kitne sharp turns hain and raods kaise hain to hand break ko sahi karwaoo and traveling in ur own car will be bit expense then a tour company because they divided all the expense in no of people n in ur case u have to bear all the expense by ur own....agr tum by raod travel karna charahai ho to yeh tour adventures to ho sakta hia magar cost effective nahi or one most important thing...app driver kaise hoo are able to drive on such road or on hilly area....q k us areas main to proper roads bhi nahi....bhai i hope or pakwheeler bhi tumhian suggestion then decide karoo ....

[zia1288]

Well mehran can go anywhere if it is in fit condition. But as you mentioned you are not experienced enough, you should avoid risking your life.

[waseem_rajput]

You can goonly easily I aslo travel in naran kaghan in mehran but before goingyou check clutch plate and brakes

[jaheen100]

Yes You can , If your car is running perfectly.

[enigma1255]

No CNG, Get servo brakes installed, get tires and rims checked. clutch plates and radiator checked. Change oil before you go

[nomi381]

Do not overspeed.
Use lower gears instead of hard breaking.
Mehran is a legendary car.
Take wherever u want.
Even saw it Near deosai

[engradnanshoaib]

Thank You all for your kind replies. Today I have got it checked and tuned. oil changed. Brakes and Clutch plates are also fine. Just Pray for me though.

[engradnanshoaib]

Loari top sharp turns are very tricky. low gears and less dependancy on brakes is important. Lets see how my first tour goes. @smshahbazalam you are right about economy. Adventure is one thing but risk and economy are also major factors. I am still afraid. Lets see what I decide at the end.

[hassantahir2]

I would advise you to use Genuine Suzuki brake pads instead of local one's.
Local brake pads get heated very quickly while driving downhill.

[fsdboy]

Aslam o Alaykum. Well brother mehran can do it but plz use new or less used tires for your safety and as a brother mentioned above about brake pads... baki Lowari top isn't dangerous it's adventures you've to full concentrate on corners and it's offroad track 2nd offroad is from Ayun valley to Kalash all the way pathetic road condition... and it's hard to find a room in festival days and rates are too much high in festival days... you can use a campsite or room will be around 6k-8k per night... and do use maps for ur tour as you'll need to turn for Ayun valley before chitral... may Allah be with you.. have a safe ride

[fsdboy]

Baki don't compare naran kaghan or kkh till babusar top as lowari top and road from ayun valley to kalash valley is totally offroad... and lowari py barish ho jaye to bhy slippery hojata h... take ur petrol with you in canes or two three bottles kehin na kehin kam ajata h baki cng nhi milegi nd festival days me bht zyada rush hota h vehicles ka apko half se one hour b ek jga khrry hona ho skta h... all depends on that day... so take reserved petrol with you

[engradnanshoaib]

based on your kind suggestions, overall condition of my car, my driving and economical factor, I have decided to wait til next year for this adventurous tour on my car. This year I will go there with a tour company. Hopefully will enjoy everything there, specially camping at night.

[casportsonline]

Well according to my personal experience, there is no risk of life whether you go by mehran or any other heavy traffic vehicle. Mehran is just a small car and no matter its condition is good or bad you can definitely have issues after a constant drive on hilly roads and hundreds of kilometers trip.
The best car which I used in my drive test experience for more than 3 months is Toyota Salon, its efficient and you can trust on it no matter the trip is short or small. We use to travel almost 600 to 800 KM a day sometimes and Toyota Corolla never gave us any major issue, except 1 time when we had radiator leakage.

[shiraz.latif]

Mehran can go everywhere in the world i have seen it in sakardu i have seen it in northern areas if it is in fit condition then you can conquer the world on it