High mountains, lush green valleys, shimmering waterways, beautiful lakes and untamed wild life. This is northern Pakistan.
Last summer a group of my friends planned a visit to Kaghan and Naran Valley and I was assigned to make the necessary arrangements and collecting all the required information about travel, accommodation, etc. Accordingly, this scribe contacted a number of tourist guides, travel agents as well as Khyber Pukhtoonkhwah Tourism Department for getting all possible information for making the upcoming visit to Kaghan and Naran Valley a memorable one. I was informed that the best time to visit Kaghan Valley and Naran is the summer time, particularly from May to September.
Kaghan Valley is a jewel among the many beautiful valleys in Mansehra district in Khyber Pukhtoonkhwah province. This 160 kilometers long valley is the most popular summer holiday spot for domestic as well as foreign tourists visiting Pakistan.
Kaghan Valley features pine forests, alpine meadows, crystal clear lakes and cool mountains. The main feature of the valley, Kunhar River, is famous for the trout and is nestled along its banks by towns of Balakot, Paras, Mahandari, Kaghan and Naran. The local people are quite friendly and simple, they take their herds of cattle to the high pastures of the upper Kaghan fling and bring them down again in autumn. While going to Kaghan Valley, the tourists can easily spot them camped along the road in their traditional tents or moving up and down the valley with their herds of animals, sheep and goats.
A visit to Kaghan Valley at the appropriate time of the season is an unforgettable experience and it is rightly said that seeing is BEAUTIFUL PAKISTAN Kaghan and Naran Valley HEAVEN ON EARTH Our Special Correspondent 20 April 2025 believing. Naran is located at 7888 feet above the sea level and is the main attraction for the tourists in the Kaghan Valley, just 85 kilometers from Balakot on the bank of Kunhar river which flows quietly smoothly and is regarded as ideal for trout fishing.
There are large numbers of hotels of different categories providing accommodation to the domestic and foreign tourists at reasonable rates.
Naran comes alive only in summer time starting in late May when the snow melts and road to Naran becomes passable. Most of the tourists stay in Naran for a couple of days and utilize the time by undertaking day long excursion trips to Saiful Malook Lake, Lalazar, Lake Lulusar and Babusar Pass.
No trip to Kaghan Valley is complete without visiting the legendary Lake Saiful Malook which is named after Prince Saiful Malook who had fallen in love with a fairy from the mountains. The lake at 10,500 feet height is surrounded by impressive snowclad mountains and crowned by the summit of Malika Parbat (Queen of the Mountains) .
Words are just not enough to describe the beauty and serenity of the setting and even picture post cards do not do full justice in this regard. Jeeps are available on hire in the bazaar and one can drive up there through 10 kilometer track in one hour. Some more adventurous visitors walk to a small glacier about 63 kms up and hire a pony for the trip.
Malika Parbat ( Queen of the Mountains) is the highest mountain of the Kaghan Valley and one can have a best view of this peak from Lake Saiful Malook on a clear day when the pointed peak is mirrored in its deep blue waters. It is still famous as a virgin peak as no one has so far climbed it successfully. Despite being a low height peak as compared to the gigantic Karakoram mountains, it is considered as a rather difficult peak due to its steep summit and several hanging glaciers on upper slopes.
There are many side valleys in Kohistan region which are excellent for hikers, trekkers, mountain bikers, fishing enthusiasts, photographers and nature lovers. One such area is Supat Valley which is located in the Himalayan Mountain series parallel to Kaghan Valley.
There is Babusar Pass and Shogran also which the visitors to Kaghan and Naran Valley should not miss while going there.
Transport, boarding and lodging facilities for the tourists are improving with the passage of time. Hopefully, when friends of this scribe plan a trip to Kaghan and Naran Valley, they will find much more there to see and enjoy than what I have written here. Seeing is believing as the words cannot explain fully the scenic beauty which lies up there in Kaghan and Naran Valley