Trip to Line of Control (LoC), Azad Kashmir

[AbuJamal]

On April 18th, 08, a group of 22 friends and colleagues set out from Lahore to visit the Line of Control (LoC) between Azad Kashmir and the Indian occupied Jammu Kashmir to pay homage to our troops stationed there under extremely challenging conditions, and to see for ourselves if it is true: “Kashmir Jannat Nazeer”. I had the privilege of being a part of this excellent group of friends, who made this a trip of a lifetime.

We started from Lahore on Friday, April 18th, at midnight. We had engaged a 4500 cc, 25-seater Toyota coaster, courtesy of our colleague Sohail Akhtar.

It generally takes about 2 and half hours to reach Muzaffarabad from Murree. The road between Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Kashmir and Murree, is very well built. It was truly refreshing to breathe the fresh mountain breeze while going through thick forests on the way. One cannot stop praising the Almighty Allah for all the beauty He has created.

[AbuJamal]

River Jehlum (which flows from Jammu Kashmir) was our companion on the way. We stopped for a breather at the bridge over the river. This bridge is also the border between Azad Kashmir and Pakistan.

[BlackViper]

july 18 th . 08...man u guys move in the future

[TM]

Ummm yet another time travel story.... time machine is really a great invasion... we can see the future (July 18, 2008) today, isnt that too good... (j/j)

on serious note... great photos. keep them coming.

[JumboJet]

awesome! keep the pics coming

[AbuJamal]

Athar and Sohail posing in front of the bridge.

A little rock climbing was in order for Abu Jamal.

Athar pushing his luck with the gushing water. Hope his wife doesn’t see this stunt :).

[AbuJamal]

Thank you BlackViper and TM for pointing out the error-the typo has been fixed :).

Thank you JumboJet.

Moving towards Muzaffarabad…

Look at the beautiful shades of green..

We stopped at the Garhi Dopatta bridge on the way – one sees many such bridges in the Northern areas..

Nadeem enjoying the breeze…

[AbuJamal]

Entering Muzaffarabad around 10 am. This is the Courthouse.

Looking at the snow-covered peaks in a distance got us really excited.

[OffRoad]

Abu Jamal,
Very nice pIcs...I think the bridge pics taken ws of Garhi Dopata :)....Its a beautiful place (jehlum valley) did u make upto Chakothi Border..I have been to that area before & after earth quake....I made upto Sarwar Shaheed Post & Pandu(Top)....
Keep more Pics coming
Stay well.
Regards,
fahad

[AbuJamal]

Dear Offroad,

Lovely hearing from you :). You're right bro, the bridge is of Garhi Dupatta :). You are indeed one great encyclopaedia of Pakistan, masha Allah.

Jehlum valley was beautiful. I have heard Neelum Valley is better, but the road was closed because of land slides.

We did reach Chakothi border, up to the Bus terminal (were not allowed to gobeoynd). I am sure your trip to the actual posts would have been amazing . I would love to see your trip's photos whenever it is convenient for you to share them.

This is the Quaid-e-Azam bridge which leads into downtown Muzaffarabad. Underneath is the meeting point of River Neelum, and River Jehlum.

[AbuJamal]

You may be able to make out the two rivers by their colors. Water of River Jehlum is a bit darker than Neelum’s.

[AbuJamal]

We took a stroll to the waters below the river, and were delighted to find a few people fishing.

Khawar with catch of the day.

River Neelum is on the right, and Jehlum on left.

[AbuJamal]

After taking a rest for about half an hour, we moved towards the town of Chakothi, which is home to LoC. It takes about 3 hours to reach from Muzaffarabad to Chakothi, but due to heavy land slides, one has to drive slowly every now and then. The Army continuously works to clear the road of land slides.

Again, River Jehlum was our companion on the way, hence the area is called Jelum Valley.

[HanifBhatti]

@AbuJamal
Once again excellent trip/pix. (Y)

[AbuJamal]

Dear Libra Sb,

Sir, it is an honor to receive your comments. Your trip to Muzaffarabad and Thandiani was the imspiration for this trip, and we truly enjoyed every minute of our trip, as well the pictures of yours.

Thank you and may Allah bless you.

[HanifBhatti]

@AbuJamal
Thanks... On my next trip to Lahore/Islamabad will defiantly meet you
I am still inspired by your Mount Spantik trip.

Hiking Trip to Mount Spantik, Skardu

[AbuJamal]

Thank God, we’re out of school

Look at this beautiful piece of Engineering

[AbuJamal]

Dear Libra Sb,

Sir, it would be an honor to meet you insha Allah.

Regards,

Ahmadyar

[AbuJamal]

We had planned to have lunch at the LoC, so we stopped at a small town enroute to pick up rotis.

Say hello to the hungry fellows: (Kashmir Hotel was our host)

We were delighted to see a beautiful bird's nest inside the Kashmir Hotel. Thank God, the birds were not camera shy

[AbuJamal]

We had to stop at many places as the road had been washed away by land slides, hence the road was not so smooth anymore. At certain points, we had to get out of the coaster, as it could not cross the humps with full load.

Nadeem leading the way. Boys, if you had taken this walk a few times back home in Lahore, the coaster would have been much lighter and would have had better ground clearance.