Neelum Valley, Azad Kashmir Pakistan

[jetti]

nice pics.. these are in P0K and legally India's lands, and allah will ensure it comes back in india;s hands

 

[aks18]

nice pics.. these are in P0K and legally India's lands, and allah will ensure it comes back in india;s hands

Keep dreaming

 

[jetti]

Keep dreaming

allah will deliver it to india soon

 

[aks18]

allah will deliver it to india soon

Best of Luck

 

[Uchiha]

holy crap i thought this was switzerland or something ....is there anyway we can get this back ?

Get a visa

 

[SHAMK9]

nice pics.. these are in P0K and legally India's lands, and allah will ensure it comes back in india;s hands

keep dreaming, these are in AZAD KASHMIR PAKISTAN

 

[Areesh]

Corrupt Govt should do something or anything to promote tourism in this region. Would improve the economy of AJK and locals a lot.

Seriously this is just unbelievable beauty. Truly a paradise.

 

[Safriz]

Bumpity Bumpity Bump............................

 

[Farah Sohail]

How much time does it take...to travel from islamabad to neelum valley? How are the roads? And what abt weather in june?

 

[Zibago]

How much time does it take...to travel from islamabad to neelum valley? How are the roads? And what abt weather in june?

It took us 8-9 hours but we were slow and stopped a lot in our way
@krash is a better person to assist you

 

[Challanger]

Sun Set Scene in Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Pakistan.

Kid Out For Daily Shopping in Kashmir

How much time does it take...to travel from islamabad to neelum valley? How are the roads? And what abt weather in june?

It can take upto 4 hours on normal speed and which less stays. And June is perfect time to visit that part of Kashmir because in summer you have opportunity to visit Upper-Neelam Valley and Sharda as well. Pictures I shared were from Upper Neelam Valley in February-2015. And we were not get to the Sharda...

To your second question roads to Lower Neelam Valley are perfect but for upper neelam valley or Shardah use Jeeps.

 

[krash]

It took us 8-9 hours but we were slow and stopped a lot in our way
@krash is a better person to assist you

How much time does it take...to travel from islamabad to neelum valley? How are the roads? And what abt weather in june?

Really depends on where in Neelum Valley are we talking about. The Neelum river joins the Jhelum river right in the middle of Muzaffarabad; Neelum comes from the north and falls into the Jhelum as it comes in from the south-east and turns southwards. So technically, as soon as you cross the Quid-e-Azam bridge or cross Gojra on either the Abbottabad Rd or the Muzaffarabad bypass you are in Neelum Valley. As you exit Muzaffarabad northwards both the roads join and become the Neelum Rd. So 'technically', it takes you around two and half hrs non-stop from Islamabad to enter Neelum Valley.

Considering the fact that you would want to actually reach some place in Neelum Valley which is reminiscent of the pictures that you see on google, i.e. the famed Neelum Valley, with decent lodging then nearest two places would be Kuttan and Keran. Kundal Shahi is around 6-7 hrs non-stop from Islamabad, from where both Jagran/Kutton and Keran are only half an hour further.

As far as the roads are concerned, you'll first take the Murree Express Way till Lower Toppa, which I'm sure you know is a dream.

After reaching Lower Toppa the Express Way becomes the Muzaffarabad Rd which is a typical mountain road, narrow and a little bumpy, exactly like the old Murree road.

Around an hour after this you'll reach the Kohala Bridge. Going over this bridge you'll cross over the Jhelum River and enter AJK. The road here becomes a two lane highway. This road is newly built and amazing all the way till Muzaffarabad (barring any landslides of course). You'll need only around 45 min to reach Muzaffarabad from here.

From Muzaffarabad you'll take the north exit onto the Neelum Rd. This road begins as the road that brought you to Muzaffarabad but starts narrowing as you drive further. Still, it is in very good condition, except for the small stretch where the Neelum-Jhelum Power project is being built. It will take you around three and a half hours to reach Kundal Shahi from Muzaffarabad. From here you'll either take the narrow road up the gorge towards Kuttan (30-45 min) or keep driving for another half hour to reach Keran. Below is the kinda road you'll see all the way till Keran,

The road from Kundal Shahi to Kuttan/Jagran is narrow and in one area almost gravel (due to a major landslide) but the route is spectacular (Lord of The Rings references everywhere) and the Jagran Resort is the place to stay at in all of AJK.

From Keran to Shardah and then onto Kael the road pendulums every which way, from OK-ish to terrifying. You'll see patches like this which are very doable,

Then patches like this which are somewhat doable,

And then long patches like this which aren't very doable by an average joe,

Last time I was there it took me an hour and a half to cover the last 4km till Kael because the road was only mud and I was finding it extremely hard not to let my car drift off the edge.

The road beyond Keran (till Taobat) is a jeep track and I'd advise against driving your own car there.

The good thing though is that contracts have already been finalized for the expansion of the Neelum Rd. So in a few more years it won't be a problem driving till Kael at all.

Although Neelum is extremely beautiful from the beginning, the spectacular areas that you see in pictures start from Kundal Shahi. So I'd sincerely advise driving till Kutton/Jagran, spending a few nights there and then hiring a vehicle (if you're not seasoned enough to drive there) to take you till Kael. Then spend a couple of nights at Kael with a day trip to Arang Kael and another to Taobat on a rented jeep. Return to Kutton/Jagran, spend a night there and then drive all the way back to Muzaffarabad or Islamabad the next day.

The weather in June ranges from good to awesome depending on the clouds. The temperature drops as you travel northwards. By the time you reach Kael, it'll be cool to cold even in the sun. So take some warm clothes with you.