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Azad Kashmir

Woww!!! Breathtakingly beautiful.....I am planning to visit Muzaffarabad this June... I hope, our plan gets finalised...

Can anyone tell...how far is Neelum valley from Muzaffarabad? How much time it takes..to reach Neelum valley from Muzaffarabd?
 
Woww!!! Breathtakingly beautiful.....I am planning to visit Muzaffarabad this June... I hope, our plan gets finalised...

Can anyone tell...how far is Neelum valley from Muzaffarabad? How much time it takes..to reach Neelum valley from Muzaffarabd?

June is the perfect time to visit Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Neelum Valley is about a 6 hour drive from Muzaffarabad. Azad Kashmir looks small in the map, but in reality it is huge.
 
June is the perfect time to visit Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Neelum Valley is about a 6 hour drive from Muzaffarabad. Azad Kashmir looks small in the map, but in reality it is huge.

Thanks..
I have heard tht in June, weather in Gilgit Baltistan in summer is tooo hot? is it true?
 
Thanks..
I have heard tht in June, weather in Gilgit Baltistan in summer is tooo hot? is it true?

I do not think Northern Pakistan is too hot in summer.

Climate

The climate of Gilgit–Baltistan varies from region to region, surrounding mountain ranges creates sharp variations in weather. The eastern part has the moist zone of the western Himalayas, but going toward Karakoram and Hindu Kush the climate dries considerably.[18]
There are towns like Gilgit and Chilas that are very hot during the day in summer, yet cold at night, and valleys like Astore, Khaplu, Yasin, Hunza, and Nagar where the temperatures are cold even in summer.
 
As Omar has said it really depends on the area your visiting up there. Beyond KPK and AJK the mountains get seriously high which is a major barrier for rain clouds to reach those places and hence the alpine forests and the grassy green slopes that you see are mostly restricted in the south; Kaghan, Naran, Neelum, etc. Naltar, Astore, Deosai and Fairy Meadows are an exception with smidgets of pine forests and/or grassy slopes around. It can even get hot in Skardu during the summers but its not the kinda hot that we usually imagine. One cluster of clouds can make a hot day turn to freezing.

Honestly there is no best time to go to the North. All the seasons are superbly awesome. If you want to see the valleys green with cool/cold weather go in late March/April. The bush and trees would have recently been coated green, flowers would have started to bloom, you'll see the pink and purple apricot trees blossoming, most of the places will be open to visit and you'll still need some warm clothes to keep you comfortable. Some snow would still be left in valleys like Astore and Naltar. Then May up till August is the most comfortable time to go there. The temperatures are inviting and all the valleys are accessible. The famous valleys of Khaplu, Hushe, Hunza, Skardu, etc. will all be green with barren rocky mountain sides. This is the time you take your parents and kids with you and have picnics in green valleys amongst clear waters of the many lakes with snow capped peaks standing above you. Then comes Autumn; Sept/Oct. If you want to see colors this is the time for you. You'll see every shade of yellow, orange and brown that you can imagine and then some more. The air is a bit moist during this time and cloudy weather is frequent. The winds can get cold during the day and freezing during the night. The whole atmosphere is reminiscent of a fairy tale and the places seem as if out of one of Tolkien's books. There will be splashes of snow on the mountain sides and the peaks would have already started gathering heavy snow. Then comes the season of all seasons, the Winters. There's nothing that compares to the winters when your up there. They valleys are all brown with little to no leaves on the trees. Everything is bone dry and dusty. Temperatures are freezing would be an understatement. The moment you climb above the valleys, 3000 meters and above, breathing becomes a battle. Everything is frozen and I do mean everything. The second snows will start falling around late December and places like Deosai would be completely shut off from the rest of the world for the next three to four months. The sky would look grey-ish from the valleys with mist hanging around. And the mountains become white. You'll see white mountain tops everywhere you. The area around Chillas is a sight to be hold at this time with dry barren almost desert like valleys and mountain sides with snow covered peaks surrounding it from all sides. And If your lucky, like it was in January this year, you could see splashes of snow on the road through out the north, except for the patch from Chillas to Jaghlot (it hardly ever snows there). This is the season when G/B shows its true colors and its true splendor. There's nothing in the world that can match it. These places are hardcore in the truest sense.

ps: The G/B is far from the conventional notion of green mountain slopes and pine forests everywhere. Its a shame that our own people don't really know what it looks like. The sites up there are to be witnessed and cannot be told without gross injustice. The scenery there changes dramatically every hour or two when your on the road, completely contrasted from what you were looking at 30 miles ago. The mountains, the valleys, the fauna and the flora would completely change from before. Clustering all these places inside the brackets of the Hunza, the Skardu or the Gilgit valley would be a serious mistake.
 
I remember visiting Murree in July as a kid and people were wearing sweaters. Northern Pakistan is awesome during summer season. Someone was telling me Peshawar and FATA areas are very hot in summer season so it depends where you go in Northern Pakistan.
 
Can any one plzz tell how are the roads, from Pindi to Azad Kashmir? How is the journey, if we go by road, from Pindi to Azad KAshmir? Is it dangerous or safe? I am planning to go there, within next 3-4 days.. if the roads r safe, we might ho ahead wth the plan.. So plz if someone could tell me urgently..
 
Farah, I assume you mean Muzzafarabad, AK? Well the roads are fine. The only thing is you need to drive with care, there are lots of hairpin bends with very steep valleys. As long as you keep that in mind you should be fine. My uncle actually is a Ex-en in the PWD, AK. He had horrible accident just after the bridge over Jhelum.

Any way have a nice time. The people are peace loving and law abiding compared to Pakistan. So it is lot safer then most of Pakistan. Although people talk about Jihadi's and Kashmir in the same sentance there is hardly any terrorist bombs etc. Sometimes you can get landslides in rainy season but you should be fine. do tell us where abouts you are going and please let us know how it went when you come back.

One thing for sure, you are going to enjoy this trip and don't forget to take a camera with you.
 
Farah, I assume you mean Muzzafarabad, AK? Well the roads are fine. The only thing is you need to drive with care, there are lots of hairpin bends with very steep valleys. As long as you keep that in mind you should be fine. My uncle actually is a Ex-en in the PWD, AK. He had horrible accident just after the bridge over Jhelum.

Any way have a nice time. The people are peace loving and law abiding compared to Pakistan. So it is lot safer then most of Pakistan. Although people talk about Jihadi's and Kashmir in the same sentance there is hardly any terrorist bombs etc. Sometimes you can get landslides in rainy season but you should be fine. do tell us where abouts you are going and please let us know how it went when you come back.

One thing for sure, you are going to enjoy this trip and don't forget to take a camera with you.

Thanks for the reply
@bold..Hmm.. If we compare the steep valleys, here with tht of Kaghan and Naraan, are they more dangerous here in Muzaffarabad? Also v heard tht roads were heavily damaged in earthquake of 2005, so are the roads now properly built now? we are planning to hire a van from Pindi, with a driver, who would most probably be trained in driving in those areas..so it should be fine..... Actually i am really very excited to go there but my Khaala is afraid of steep valleys..but she has been to Kaghan and Naraan, and she could bear with tht...so thts why i asked the comparison..
 
Farah, the valleys are no more steeper than Kaghan - you of course realize that Kaghan is not too far from there anyway so it is very similar. Of course how steep they are varies and it depends where you intend to go. Are you just going to Muzzafarabad? the major roads are all fixed by now but I can't comment on the smaller bye-roads.

I would strongly suggest you go up the Neelum Valley although it is very close to the LOC. Yes, it's probably a good idea to hire a driver although if he drives too fast it might be a idea to tell him 'take it easy'.

As long as your don't suffer from acrophobia you should be fine. If you do, avoid being next to the window on the slope side. I have to admit on a very narrow road when you run into one of those stupid overloaded trucks and you have to pass them with inches to spare on the slope side it can be bit 'uncomfortable'.

I am sure your Khaala will enjoy the the thrills and spills - Just don't let her stick her head out of the window on the slope side.

Enjoy:wave:

FACT: Did you know AK has the best literacy rate in Pakistan [ including female ] - Of course excluding urban centres like Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad. Not bad track record and source of pride for a place that was so cut off and underdeveloped in 1947.
 
Farah, the valleys are no more steeper than Kaghan - you of course realize that Kaghan is not too far from there anyway so it is very similar. Of course how steep they are varies and it depends where you intend to go. Are you just going to Muzzafarabad? the major roads are all fixed by now but I can't comment on the smaller bye-roads.

I would strongly suggest you go up the Neelum Valley although it is very close to the LOC. Yes, it's probably a good idea to hire a driver although if he drives too fast it might be a idea to tell him 'take it easy'.

As long as your don't suffer from acrophobia you should be fine. If you do, avoid being next to the window on the slope side. I have to admit on a very narrow road when you run into one of those stupid overloaded trucks and you have to pass them with inches to spare on the slope side it can be bit 'uncomfortable'.

I am sure your Khaala will enjoy the the thrills and spills - Just don't let her stick her head out of the window on the slope side.

Enjoy:wave:

FACT: Did you know AK has the best literacy rate in Pakistan [ including female ] - Of course excluding urban centres like Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad. Not bad track record and source of pride for a place that was so cut off and underdeveloped in 1947.

Thank u soo much for a detailed reply..
Yes we plan to go to Muzaffarabad initially, if all goes well..Inshallah... I have seen pictures of Neelum valley, and its breathtakingly beautiful... I am very much tempted to go there..but as someone said here, its still 6 hours drive from Muzaffarabad...so lets see, what others will have to say abt it...if they are interested to go there..but I will personally be more than excited to go there... Hopefully we will go there...

Actually I am going there with my khaala's family.. Our initial plan was to go to Khaanaspur and Nathiagali..but it was I who floated the idea of going to Azad Kashmir, since none of us have been there before, and have seen its pictures.. So most of others, like Khaaloo and my cousins, they are very excited to go there, to Azad Kashmir, but mu Khaala is just a bit nervous abt going there... But I am hopeful, opinion of majority will prevail and Inshallah we will be going there

@bold.. Oh really? It has such a good literacy rate?... Woww...Thts really good..
 
Thank u soo much for a detailed reply..
Yes we plan to go to Muzaffarabad initially, if all goes well..Inshallah... I have seen pictures of Neelum valley, and its breathtakingly beautiful... I am very much tempted to go there..but as someone said here, its still 6 hours drive from Muzaffarabad...so lets see, what others will have to say abt it...if they are interested to go there..but I will personally be more than excited to go there... Hopefully we will go there...

Actually I am going there with my khaala's family.. Our initial plan was to go to Khaanaspur and Nathiagali..but it was I who floated the idea of going to Azad Kashmir, since none of us have been there before, and have seen its pictures.. So most of others, like Khaaloo and my cousins, they are very excited to go there, to Azad Kashmir, but mu Khaala is just a bit nervous abt going there... But I am hopeful, opinion of majority will prevail and Inshallah we will be going there

@bold.. Oh really? It has such a good literacy rate?... Woww...Thts really good..

go for neelum valley :smitten: i have plans to visit neelum valley next year :D in july i am going to khunjerab pass Pak china border :smitten:
 
Thank u soo much for a detailed reply..
Yes we plan to go to Muzaffarabad initially, if all goes well..Inshallah... I have seen pictures of Neelum valley, and its breathtakingly beautiful... I am very much tempted to go there..but as someone said here, its still 6 hours drive from Muzaffarabad...so lets see, what others will have to say abt it...if they are interested to go there..but I will personally be more than excited to go there... Hopefully we will go there...

Actually I am going there with my khaala's family.. Our initial plan was to go to Khaanaspur and Nathiagali..but it was I who floated the idea of going to Azad Kashmir, since none of us have been there before, and have seen its pictures.. So most of others, like Khaaloo and my cousins, they are very excited to go there, to Azad Kashmir, but mu Khaala is just a bit nervous abt going there... But I am hopeful, opinion of majority will prevail and Inshallah we will be going there

@bold.. Oh really? It has such a good literacy rate?... Woww...Thts really good..

At the risk of possibly going off topic but yes it is true - Azad Kashmir has the highest literacy rate in Pakistan and same is true across the LOC. Read this article by the late khalid Hasan ( also a refugee from the Valley ) in Daily Times.


Literacy rate in Azad Jammu and Kashmir soars to 78 percent, leaves the rest of Pakistan behind

By Khalid Hasan

WASHINGTON: The high literacy rate in Azad Kashmir, unlike that in Pakistan, where it is only 45 percent, has been attributed in part to the area’s “egalitarian” social structure compared with its “quasi-feudal” counterparts found in Pakistan.

According to a new report on Kashmir, issued by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and partly covered by this space on Sunday, the literacy rate in Azad Kashmir is 61 percent, compared with 45 percent in Pakistan. However, according to Ijaz Nabi, a senior World Bank economist who was present at the release of the report authored by Teresita Schaffer, the literacy rate in Azad Kashmir is actually 78 percent. Primary school enrolment is 80 percent for boys and 74 percent for girls. However, enrolment rates for higher education are seen to drop sharply, with only 33 percent of boys attending high school and 19 percent of girls doing that. The quality of primary education leaves much to be desired because of lack of facilities and trained teachers. There are few private schools, especially for girls.

The report – Kashmir: the economics of peace-building – says the devastation caused by the October earthquake at AJK schools has been “particularly heartrending”. There are more women than men in Azad Kashmir, especially in Mirpur and Muzaffarabad districts where they outnumber men: 104 and 106 respectively to 100 men. The report points out that AJK is not a prosperous area, the annual per capita income being $184, just 40 percent of the figure for Pakistan. Thirty-eight percent of the population is malnourished and, according to one survey, 35 percent of the population is infected with diarrhoea or dysentery. Only 35 percent of Azad Kashmiris have access to clean drinking water. The unemployment rate is between 25 and 50 percent of the economically active population, with Mirpur having the lowest figure at 25.5 percent and Sudhonoti the highest at 52.3 percent. The report finds these figures “staggeringly high, compared with Pakistan where the highest rate is 14 percent (in the NWFP). AJK is heavily dependent on remittances from abroad, which results in poverty levels going up or down depending on the economic conditions in the country from where remittances are sent.”

The report found the quality of medial care in AJK “poor”. In 2002, there were about 1,500 hospital beds, a ratio of about 2,000 persons per bed. The number of people per physician is about 6,000, about four times the comparable figure for Pakistan. The area around Mirpur has for long been a recruiting ground for the Pakistan Army, while other young men go abroad in search of employment. One estimate indicates that 44 percent of non-farm income – or 13.2 percent of all AJK income – comes through remittances. The 1998 census placed the total population of AJK at 2.9 million with an estimated growth rate of 2.3 percent annually. The average population density in 219 persons per square km. Eighty-eight percent of the population is rural and overwhelmingly dependent on agriculture, though the land is not particularly fertile. Seasonal migration to Pakistan is common. Nearly 47 percent of the urban population is located in Mirpur and Muzaffarabad. In urban areas, about 41 percent of the labour force is self-employed, with 28 percent in government service and 22 percent in private employment. Some 59 percent of urban homes have a direct connection to piped water, compared with 25 percent in rural areas.

The report points out that AJK has the potential to generate 5,000 MW of hydroelectric power. The expansion of the Mangla Dam, which produces 1,000 MW of power, at a cost of Rs 62 billion is the only major dam-building project currently in hand, but several others are on the drawing board, all of them “bitterly controversial”. The raising of the Mangla Dam by 30 feet will submerge an additional 15,780 acres of land and displace 44,000 people from 8,000 homes. Each displaced family will be paid Rs 300,000 plus 110 percent of the market value of the house it has lost. A new city and smaller towns are also to be built. According to the report, “This follows the pattern established during the building of the original dam, but memories over mishandling of the earlier compensation package are still vivid.” The expansion is due to be completed in 2007.

According to the CSIS report, funded by Kashmiri-American millionaire Farooq Kathwari, “The people who have benefited most from the current situation in AJK are those who have risen to the top on the local political scene. A Kashmir settlement that resulted in AJK’s full integration into Pakistan – regardless of how the rest of Kashmir was dealt with – would certainly leave them with less of a claim to local power. Entrepreneurs who have made money facilitating movements of militants are also ‘winners’ under the current set up. On the other hand, a more normal relationship across the Line of Control, even if it stopped short of a full settlement, would open up opportunities for entrepreneurs from both AJK and Pakistan, through expanded trade and tourism. Refugees and displaced people would also be major beneficiaries of an easing of tensions, especially if it led to a revival of the economy and the opportunity for private-sector employment. A final group would gain from normalisation of economic and social relations, and even more from a peace settlement: divided families.”

Referring to the newly-begun bus service between the two Kashmirs, the report says, “Kashmiris are only beginning to think about how much more gratifying a broader array of contacts would be. This suggests that the time is ripe for the kinds of economic initiatives set forth in this report – and hopefully for moving beyond them to a genuine settlement.”

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

And quote "Kashmiris are a politically conscious people with overall literacy rate far higher than that of India and Pakistan"

FDL - AP Archives: "Advantages of Independent Jammu-Kashmir"

And tell your Khaala she will be safer in Muzzafarabad than in Karachi. Yes, because the roads are so twisty and the continous up a hill and down a hill even small distances can take hours. Yes, I would strongly suggest like AKS said that you go to Neelum Valley. You don't have to go along the entire length.
 
More of Neelum Valley, Azad Kashmir thanks to aks18 for posting these beautiful pictures in the following thread:

http://www.defence.pk/forums/genera...6890-neelum-valley-azad-kashmir-pakistan.html


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