Trip to Naran - Please review my plan

[Shabir3]

Hi All,

I had planned a trip to Naran on coming weekend, My plan is as follow:

Day 1: Leave LHR @ 10:00 PM and reached @ Shogran till 10:00 AM (At least)
Day 2: Checked in @ Shogran & after having some rest leave for Siri Paya (same day)
Day 3: Leave for Naran and checked in @ Naran hotel, after that leave for Saif-ul-malook @ 10:00 AM.
(Try to cover Lalazar in same day)
Day 4: Wake up early and leave for Lulusar & Babusar top.
Day 5: Heading back to Lahore.

Please suggest if there's any improvement required or anything I am missing!

Also any economical hotels please?

I will be with my wife & 2 kids.

Thanks

[salman28isb]

Aoa,

Trip seems ok but I suggest you should travel abbottabad onwards in early day time. Maybe start at 6:00 AM from Abbotabad for shogran

Hotels in Naran are bit expensive as compare to batakundi (15 Km from Naran) but if you have booking in Naran then please avail that as there is no communication available after Naran.

I would also suggest you go to babusar top, lulusar lake from Naran as it is the most beautiful scenic road journey. Lulusar lake comes on your way to babusar.
I advice to start each journey as early as possible to avoid rush and avail maximum sunlight. Moreover beauty is even intensified during early hours of the day.

I am just back from khunjerab pass along with my family using same route.

[Shabir3]

Trip seems ok but I suggest you should travel abbottabad onwards in early day time. Maybe start at 6:00 AM from Abbotabad for shogran

Was, Thanks a lot brother.

So that means should I start my journey from lahore earlier than 10:00 PM? In order to reach early @ Shogran? Like if i start @10:00 PM then I will reach till 9 or 10:00 AM at Shogran?

So should I stay at Batakundi instead of Naran? any guess about hotel rates in Batakundi?

Thanks

[hondacityjan17]

I believe since you will be the only driver, as stated by the guy above, you should start the day at first light and should be back at your hotel by sun down for two reasons
1- you will need rest as you are the only driver
2- it is rain season and any landslide will be difficult to spot at night so it is dangerous to drive in dark

[hondacityjan17]

Don't know the rates but view is a lot better than Naran and it is a lot less crowded

[Shabir3]

Hi Sir,

Thanks for the reply,

Yes actually once I reached there @ Naran/Kaghan, I am planning to hire jeep, even for track to babusar top too, However for journey of Lahore till shogran I will use car and want to cover that distance over night like leaving from Lahore @ 10:00 PM and then reach in shogran in Morning.

Is that's a good approach?

[salman28isb]

Shogran is about 3.5 to 4 hours from abbottabad considering traffic and stopovers. If time is no issue you can manage it easily. However I would not recommend one journey from Lahore till shot ran as it will fatigue you as you will have to drive continuously in coming days.

Moreover if you have booking in NARAN like PTDC or any good hotel then it's ok. I stayed in batakundi for 6,000/ a night in comfortable room with attached bath having geyser and dinning facility. Rates in Nara are bit higher.

[hondacityjan17]

Road to shogran is in a very bad condition. If you have a car like corolla with good road clearance and you are an expert driver then I would suggest you drive there otherwise I would suggest you leave your car in some secure parking area and take a jeep there.

As for Naran to Babusar top you can easily drive in you family car as road condition is very good except for a few very small bad patches

[Shabir3]

Dear brother,

I have Mehran, so my initial plan was to leave the car at kiwai and then proceed to shogran on jeep.

However I was bit confused for babusartop that either to go on car or jeep:
1- Because while going on car I can stop wherever I want to in order to enjoy scenic beauty
2- I wasn't sure if it will be good to take personal car till babusar top

Thanks

[hondacityjan17]

Hope your car is good mechanically. From Naran to Babusar top the whole valley is so beautiful that you want to stop at every point. I would strongly suggest you to use you car in fr trip to Babusar top but for shogran take a jeep

[amirbilal]

I am also traveling to same area on Honda City MT and have a slightly different plan. So I was talking to a friend last night who visited this area in 2016 and as per him the road from Kiwai to Shogran is in bad condition but still OK for cars. He reached till Shogran on Honda City Automatic without any trouble.

Mehran has a lot more ground clearance then City so it should be fine driving towards Shogran. Please make sure your tyres are properly inflated and in good condition.

Have a nice trip!

[hondacityjan17]

I went there in July 2016 as well and there were a lot of cars traveling to shogran. Also a lot of cars such as Pramio, every, civic were parked on that road with their hoods open. And for road clearance you definitely need car like mehran or corolla. City is not recommended unless it is insured

[amirbilal]

Have you travelled to Shogran on your car? Your ID suggests that you have Honda City so I am wondering if the ground clearance is OK for the road from Kiwai to Shogran. We will be 2 adults and 4 young kids approx. 240 KG weight inside the car

[Shabir3]

Thanks a lot brother, actually I am bit reluctant to drive on shogran road so thats why my approach will be to leave car at kiwai.

Are you also travelling from Lahore?

[Shabir3]

Yep sir, Its mechanically fit Alhamdulillah ,

Thanks a lot, so will do it on my car insha'Allah

Once again thanks for encouragement

[hondacityjan17]

Yes I have Honda City but I got it this year. I went there with office tour on Toyota Hiace Grand Cabin. We did not risk taking it to Shogran as its road clearance is like Honda City and later we came to a conclusion that it was a good decision.
the road is very narrow plus very very steep and has not been maintained for some time that is why you see so many jeeps there.

In Naran locals would suggest you take a jeep to Babusar top but the road is really good so you can go in your City. Only a few small patches are rough

[hondacityjan17]

Mehran can go to shogran but it will require a lot of effort on your part and a lot from car as well. Since you have a long journey a head I would say you will not regret taking a jeep there.

[amirbilal]

we are planning to stay in Shogran for a night so parking car at Kiwai for whole night does not sound good to me. If we had to take just a round trip to Paye from Kiwai then I would park car at Kiwai, visit Paye, come back to head to Naran in the afternoon.

What do you suggest is a better choice?

[hondacityjan17]

Yes leaving it overnight on road side is not a good idea. When you get there ask around the restaurants that if there is a secure parking area to leave the car overnight if there is none than you have no choice but to drive it up to shogran

[drnuman1]

السلام علیکم صابر بھای پہلی بات مہران پہاڑوں کی شہزادی ھے میں نے اسے سکردو منٹھوکا ابشار پر بھی دیکھا ہے جہاں عام لوگوں کا خیال ہے کہ وہاں جیپ ہی جا سکتی ہے ۰تم بلا خوف شوگراں جاو سڑک چھوٹی ہے لیکن رواں دواں ہے