I’m planing a trip to the Northern Areas of pakistan (Honey moonish) lol meaning after wedding inshallah but before actual honey moon I have heard of and seen pics of Saif ul Maulook lake and am so amazed mashallah.. please hare any personal experiences and or places to stay etc there. I am also very interested in Heaven on Earth/ Shangerila ressort please share your experiences pictures or thoughts.. best times to visit etc, I’m in Canada so have seen enough snow lol so summer spring season best times to go etc..
Thank you all.. looking forward to some quick replies..
Lake Saif ul Maluk is situated in Kaghan valley and is absolutely heaven on earth. I have been there two times already and gonna visit it this June again :)
You can leave from Rawalpindi in morning and reach Balakot in noon.. have some rest there, stay overnight and then next day leave for Shoogran. Spend a day in Shoogran which is very beautiful place. You can go even to Siri & Paye if kind of adventurous :)
Next day you can reach main Naran town in few hours from Shoogran. Accommodation is not a problem in Kaghan valley, there are hotels of all kind in main Naran bazar. Lake saif ul maluk is 8 km away from Naran town and can be accessed through Jeep (easily available on rent). The best option is to go there in morning and return to Naran in evening. At lake you can only camp because there is no hotel present. Next day you can visit Lalazar which is also a very beautiful place few kilometers ahead of Naran.
Kaghan valley is very beautiful and I'm sure you'll enjoy a lot.
a few questions if you don't mind please, how much do you think a week long trip would cost for two people including food, hotel, jeep, camping etc? a rough estamate would be great as I have no idea about Pakistan.
Also what time of the year is the best for such an adventure? any idea about the Shangrila ressort?
I am not sure about costs but it will be cheaper in June than July. July is the main tourist season. Chances are that it could be a busy year this year as many people stayed away last year but then again the economy is still at a low point.
Jheel saiful Mulk may nto be accesible until late June as heavy snowfall which I presume Pakistan would have got at higher elevations this winter. The weather in Kaghan is wet in July. The monsoon rains can be heavy and they can also create landslides which can block roads off. Shogran has higher rainfall than Naran.
Icant remember Jeep rates and food can be cheap.
From Pindi to mansera takes 3 hours, Maserra to Naran 4 hours.
June to September are the best months to visit the Kaghan valley. I have went there two times already (once in July 2005 and secondly in June 2008) and both times it was easily accessible. I think Lake saif ul Maluk would be accessible this June because a friend of mine went there in April 2010 (last month) and the snow was started to melt.. even the jeep road was accessible. So in mid June it would be perfect season to visit Lake Saif Ul Maluk.
In June, the rates are definitely cheaper as compared to July. In 2008 we got a hotel room for just Rs 300 a day/night. Although it was not very much fancy but did the trick for us because we were all boys and tight on budget (You can see it in the video I’ll post in the end). A friend of mine went to Kaghan valley same month after a week of our trip with his family and they got the room for 900 Rs per day/night but their hotel was definitely way better than ours and was perfectly suitable for a family. I think the rates would lie around the same this year too.
I’m not sure about the jeep cost either because we used public transport most of time (to save budget :D) But just to give you an idea, we went to Lake Saif ul Maluk by foot and returned on jeep (coz my friends were so tired :D) and gave him 400 Rupees. A better option would be for you to hire a jeep from Balakot for few days. The jeep driver will take you to all the places and would also help you out in finding hotels etc. This would be around 7000-9000 for 4-5 days if you visit places like Shoogran, Naran, Lalazar, Lake saif ul maluk.
Food is also expensive as compared to other cities like Lahore or Karachi (just about 50-60% more). Don’t forget to taste the trout fish as it is very delicious. Its expensive though.. last time it was Rs 1200 per kg.
Here is the video of my tour in June 2008 just to give you an idea about the place in the month of June:
P.s. The video title says July 2008 but infact it is wrong and the real dates were 16th June to 22nd June 2008. Also the first lake is Lulupatsar Lake.. and the second lake is Lake saif ul Maluk (you would know if you read the information board pics).
And I haven’t been to Shangrila, Skardu yet. I had plans to visit Skardu valley this year but couldn’t finalize it because of fellows. They are demanding to visit Kaghan valley instead so I’m going to Kaghan valley for third time InshaALLAH around 15th June
(You can see it in the video I’ll post in the end). A friend of mine went to Kaghan valley same month after a week of our trip with his family and they got the room for 900 Rs per day/night but their hotel was definitely way better than ours and was perfectly suitable for a family. I think the rates would lie around the same this year too.