Visit to Muzzafarabad, Neelum Valley & Pir Chinasi - June 2019

[sharondavid1]

It had been several months when my friends and I had a trip to North. The planning for this trip started in mid of May 2019 when Kamal called me during office hours & floated an idea to make a short trip to Kashmir. So it took us (I i.e Sharon, Kamal, Imran & Zain) almost a month to finalise the dates. Our initial plan was to leave from Islamabad on 14th of June in morning. Kamal & zain were supposed to reach Islamabad from Mardan & Swat in morning, however Kamal got busy due to some official work, despite that he managed to leave from Mardan to Islamabad in the late afternoon and picked Zain from the motorway.

And for INTRO(left to right)
Sharon (I), Imran, Zain & Kamal

[sharondavid1]

So both of them arrived at a restaurant in Islamabad at 8:00 pm, I & Imran were already there waiting for them. Immediately we ordered the dinner. After having food we settled our luggage in Kamal's car and left for Muzaffarabad at approx 9 o'clock in evening.
And for the next two days I would be on the driving seat, Imran was the co-driver and Zain & Kamal were the passengers.

Before moving any further with the story lets have some teaser:

[sharondavid1]

During the trip we were accompanied by
1. Corolla Gli A/T
2. Nikon D90; 18-105 & 70 - 300 mm lenses
3. Samsung Note 8
4. Colemen Icebox (never used during the trip)

[sharondavid1]

While travelling on Murree expressway we had a tea break of 20 mins on a roadside dhaba.

And after having tea we resumed the journey

[aqeelsr464]

Waiting for more pics

[sharondavid1]

Although I've travelled on expressway few times before but this time I noticed that 7th avenue can be seen from some points before Murree. The night view of Islamabad's 7th avenue was wonderful.

There is another story I'd like to mention here that when we were driving on Kashmir Highway it was 9:00 pm and Imran predicted that we can't reach Murree before 10:30 pm, in answer I said we will be there by 10:00 or 10:15 pm. And we had a bet on that.

While driving I was constantly trying to beat time but failed; it was around 10:45 pm we reached Murree and owing to the bet we had 2 hours earlier a historic line came from Imran's side :
"Sharon aap hamesha theek hote ho magar Jab Jab mere khilaf hote ho, Ghalat hote ho".

[sharondavid1]

Our initial plan was to reach Muzaffarabad via expressway, however upon reaching Murree we learnt from the locals that expressway is under construction and it is more suitable to use Bhurban road. So we took Bhurban road from Sunny Bank and from here descent started which lasted till kohala bridge. This is a comparatively narrow road with bazaar on both sides. We were lucky to cover this route during late hours as it is always busy in daytime.

[sharondavid1]

The descent gradient was much that I used L gear mostly and D2 occasionally. There are no safety concerns on this road; women, families and motorcyclists can be spotted after every passing minute travelling on this route in late hours. By 11:15 pm we reached Kohala Bridge point, and a few yards before the bridge I began to notice a strange sound so asked fellow passengers if they can notice what I am listening. They replied in no. After some moments I told them that it feels like burbling of a river and Kamal commented "yaar yaha pe paani kaha se aa gaya". I pulled the car on the road side and stepped out to satisfy my curiosity followed by remaining 3 passengers. Suddenly we learnt that River Jhelum is actually running parallel to road. So we took it as an opportunity to click some pictures.

[sajid65]

Excellent Start....Keep it up and keep sharing more interesting stories.........

[raza988]

Great start.....keep rolling. I think its River Jhelum that flows beside kohala.

[sharondavid1]

Thank you for making me correct, indeed its Jhelum not Neelum. I am really thankful for your valuable input.

[sharondavid1]

After a short break for pics we crossed Kohala bridge. Before we crossed it I had a perception that on the other side of bridge a steep ascent and rough roads would welcome us however as we rolled into Azad Kashmir's territory, nicely laid carpeted road with adequate road signs was there to facilitate tourists like us.

A glimpse of the road after Kohala bridge

[sharondavid1]

From Kohala it took us almost an hour to reach PC Muzaffarabad. By 1:30 am we reached PC Hotel and for the next two nights we would be staying here. I still remember the security guards expressions when he saw our ride, he was really shocked and must be thinking what kind of people these are who had come to dine at such time. In confusing manner he approached us and said
"Sir, restaurant's timing is over" .
"We have a booking here" we replied. After a confirmation call from room reservation he let us in.
As we settled luggage in the room our target was to have a delicious meal but sooner we came to know that snacks are the only item available in late hours. So we ordered some snacks. While having snacks we cherished on some memories from our shared past.
I believe that only fortunate people find a spare time from the hustle of life to spend with their friends and loved ones in the midst of nature.

A view of Muzaffarabad city from Pearl Continental.

PC Muzafarrabad Front view

[sajid65]

Good Going. MashaAllah.

[rehankillbill]

Sharon bhai welcome back again with a beautiful thread indeed looking forward for more pics and further trip detail

[sharondavid1]

The next morning we left our hotel after routine checkup of our ride by 8:30 am. After refuelling the car from a nearby station we had breakfast at some dhabba. It is advised to always check your vehicle before starting the journey for the following while on trip:
1. Engine & gear oil 2.coolant level 3. brake oil 4.power steering oil
5. TIP(tire inflation pressure) 6. drive belts
Further, keep a sachet of Ispaghol for radiator leakages and a bottle of brake oil. These are two items I always carry in my ride apart from some other tools since I am a "Vehmi" kind of person.

Vehicle checkup

A group pic before leaving for Neelum valley

A beautiful bridge in Muzaffarabad. It looks attractive in evening with green lights

[sharondavid1]

While refuelling

With regard to refuelling there is another short story.
Before making a trip Imran & I often call each other and arrange meet ups to finalise the plans. So one day while sitting in office I called Imran and asked what if we get the Jerry cans filled from Islamabad and carry them all the way to Kashmir to avoid any fuel shortages. In response he said "Sharon hum Azad Kashmir jaa rahe hain, maqbooza Kashmir nahi!" and a great laughter followed.

[sharondavid1]

As we did not have breakfast before starting journey, so had stop in Kahori town to buy some fruits. While Zain & kamal were searching for fruits, Imran & I had some pics

Zain & Kamal

[sharondavid1]

On the way we spotted traffic board and I'm still unsure whether it was for information or taunt

Moments later we stopped for breakfast

[sharondavid1]

Here's another advise for the tourists in Neelum valley, before moving further from Muzaffarabad get yourself SCO sim as other mobile networks often don't work there.