Kashmir is a name that always filled my imagination with awe-stricken landscapes, lush green trees, and mighty mountains. It was always perfect in every picture as if the images had been photoshopped in the highest resolution. Well, I found AJK just like that, especially the area of Neelum Valley, which was picturesque and a piece of heaven on earth.
Azad Kashmir is a miraculous place, the garden of the Himalayas. You will not expect such a landscape here and It overflows with incredible greenery and charm. The Neelum Valley in Kashmir is a popular spot for its beautiful green meadows and coniferous forests. People come here for picnics, camping, and hiking in the mountains. It is considered one of the best places to visit in Azad Kashmir. We have wide range of Neelum Valley Tour Packages to serve you in better ways.
Taobat Valley offers breathtaking views of snow-capped mountains, vast meadows, and lakes. About 25,000 people live here, primarily practicing Islam. South of the village of Halmat, however, the valley is almost uninhabited. You can choose from our Azad Kashmir Tour Packages a perfect getaway with your family.
The stretch of AJK is 400km, and Neelum Valley is part of its runs for 144km. It includes many large and small villages, Kutton being the starting point and Taobat being the last. You will enter from Islamabad into Azad Jammu Kashmir via the Murree Expressway and then the Kohala- Muzaffarabad Expressway. The highways were well-built with road safety signs and walled borders on the edge side of the road.
As we moved higher in the mountains, you will enter Neelum Valley. The place is significant as LOC runs through it, and the army seems present at several check posts. The roads are decent, but as you move towards Keran, there were several 10-minute-long, rocky patches with no railing or boundary at the road’s edge. At this point, the situation got a little scary as one wrong angle may get the car into the 8000-foot ditch. It is commendable how our drivers drove with extreme precaution as this was a single-lane, two-way traffic, thin, rocky, roads. The one driving on the edge has to be vigilant and focused at all times. Except for the patches, the road leading to Keran was fine.
Taobat
Taobat
Taobat
Taobat
Taobat
Taobat
Taobat
Taobat
The next day we planned on ascending to Sharda. The distance from Sharda to Keran is 37km which on a proper road can easily be completed in 40-50 min but it took us 2.5 hours at a speed of 10km/hr. Everyone went through car sickness as the car was wobbling on the terrible, stony road. The road had no side borders and all we could see was the deep ditch, with heavy rain, praying for a safe journey.
We took a deep sigh of relief once we arrived at Sharda. We stayed here for three days as none of the family members with children yearned to ascend to more beautiful places at a higher altitude because of the traumatic road experience we had from Keran to Sharda.
Arang Kel is a village at a height of 8379ft. It is accessible through a cable car or by hiking. Hiking was a long, steep track which only those can do who are a pro at. The cable car fits in 8 people at a time and goes back and forth to the valley. It approximately takes 5 – 6 hours of patiently waiting for the turn. The cable car was originally made for the locals but now the local contractor runs it for commercial purposes. Locals keep coming in and they have to be accommodated first. Then, special guests of the army coming straight from the mess are accommodated. Waiting time is exhausting.
Anyway, we reached the other side of the mountain and trekked for an hour. The track was well-built and there were local horse riders to take the ones who weren’t able to climb. I came on a horse which had a changed path and oh my goodness, what mesmerizing landscape did I just see! The back end of Arang Kel is not much commercial and is the perfect place to visit. The place had the homes of locals. Small huts with daylight and partial clouds over the snow-dripped mountains. A local Chacha explained to us the different angles of Arang Kel and the starting mountain of Nanga Parbat which was gorgeous.
