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Nanga Parbat Photo Gallery - Nanga Parbat to Islamabad Through The Kaghan Valley

The return from Nanga Parbat to Islamabad with views of the Karakoram Highway, Babusar Pass to Kaghan Valley, Lake Lulusar, Lake Saiful Maluk and Shogran

01 Karakoram Highway From Rakhiot Bridge To Chilas From Fairy Meadows, we descended to the Karakoram Highway, a rough paved road with occasional spots torn up due to rockfalls, small streams and the weather.

01 Karakoram Highway From Rakhiot Bridge To Chilas

02 Karakoram Highway To Chilas, Chilas Hotel We drove along the Karakoram Highway to Chilas, a small bazaar town, and stayed at a comfortable hotel on the highway.

02 Karakoram Highway To Chilas, Chilas Hotel

03 Colourful Truck On Karakoram Highway In Chilas Pakistan I enjoyed a stroll around Chilas, admiring the colourful trucks that ply the Karakoram Highway.

03 Colourful Truck On Karakoram Highway In Chilas Pakistan

04 Dirt Road From Chilas Towards Babusar Pass We leave Chilas and slowly drove up, up, up, and up on a rough dirt road. We pass many tractors carrying large logs of wood to Chilas. Iqbal mentioned it's become a big business. All along the road right to the last tree, we see trees lying by the side of the road or next to the river. I guess they don't know about renewing their resources yet.

04 Dirt Road From Chilas Towards Babusar Pass

05 Babusar Pass Looking Back The Road Towards Chilas We have a couple of short delays with a broken down tractor, a road plow, and a donkey. We make good time and reach Babusar Pass (4173m) in two and a half hours from Chilas.

05 Babusar Pass Looking Back The Road Towards Chilas

06 My Driver Ilys On Babusar Pass My driver Ilys posed for me on the Babusar Pass before we jumped back in the jeep and drove down into the Kaghan valley.

06 My Driver Ilys On Babusar Pass

07 Road Between Babusar Pass And Lake Lulusar In Kaghan Vallery Over the Babusar Pass there is a barren green valley with patches of snow still clinging to the black mountain tops.

07 Road Between Babusar Pass And Lake Lulusar In Kaghan Vallery

08 Wildflowers Frame The Road With Lake Lulusar In Kaghan Valley We descend from the Babusar Pass to see beautiful wildflowers blooming on the side of the road with the dark green waters of Lake Lulusar (3350m) in the distance.

08 Wildflowers Frame The Road With Lake Lulusar In Kaghan Valley

09 Wildflowers, Lake Lulusar In Kaghan Valley Wildflowers grow near Lake Lulusar (3350m), the source of the river Kunhar.

09 Wildflowers, Lake Lulusar In Kaghan Valley

10 Narrow Scary Road Above Kunhar River Between Lake Lulusar And Naran In Kaghan Valley This road above the Kunhar River is very narrow and slants downward to the edge. My driver Ilys hugs the inside ... a little too close. I hear a pop and a loud whoosh as the air rushes out of the back tire. A sharp rock made a seven cm gash in the tire. Ilys and Iqbal change the tire in just 10 minutes. And we're off again on the scariest road in Pakistan.

10 Narrow Scary Road Above Kunhar River Between Lake Lulusar And Naran In Kaghan Valley

11 Verdant Green Valley Between Lake Lulusar And Naran In Kaghan Valley We follow the Kunhar River through fertile green hills dotted with pine trees in the Kaghan Valley.

11 Verdant Green Valley Between Lake Lulusar And Naran In Kaghan Valley

12 Comfortable Hotel In Naran Kaghan Valley We arrived at Naran (2427m) at river's edge and checked in to a comfortable hotel.

12 Comfortable Hotel In Naran Kaghan Valley

13 Lake Saiful Maluk With Malika Parbat In Kaghan Valley Ilys drove 9km from Naran in half an hour up 770m to Lake Saiful Maluk (3200m). The overcast skies slowly parted to reveal this beautiful lake, set in alpine surroundings. The water reflects the surrounding peak of Malika Parbat (5290m).

13 Lake Saiful Maluk With Malika Parbat In Kaghan Valley

14 Jerome Ryan Skipping Rocks On Lake Saiful Maluk In Kaghan Valley Lake Saiful Maluk (3200m) is the most popular lake in Pakistan ... for middle-class Pakistanis that is. They arrived in jeeps, small buses, and on foot, swarming the lake, and vastly outnumbering the one and only foreigner. Jerome Ryan skipped rocks on the lake.

14 Jerome Ryan Skipping Rocks On Lake Saiful Maluk In Kaghan Valley

15 Verdant Steep Sided Valley From Paved Road After Kaghan We drove over a very good dirt road from Naran to Kaghan. We followed the Kunhar River through the verdent steep sided valley. Just past Kaghan, the very good newly paved road begins, interspersed with frequent dirt patches.

15 Verdant Steep Sided Valley From Paved Road After Kaghan

16 Shogran In Kaghan Valley We leave the main road and climb 8km through tall pine trees to Shogran (2362m), a major Pakistani tourist destination set among tall pine trees, green meadows, cornfields and cow pastures. There are many hotels, with flower covered gardens, and restaurants.

16 Shogran In Kaghan Valley

17 Sri Paya Grassy Meadow Above Shogran Kaghan Valley We drive up an extremely rough jeep track to Sri Paya, just a plain grassy meadow. I assume the reason it's popular is the view, but the clouds rolled in and we couldn't see anything.

17 Sri Paya Grassy Meadow Above Shogran Kaghan Valley

18 Beautiful Sri Lake At Sri Paya Meadow Above Shogran Kaghan Valley Just down from the Sri Paya meadow there is a small meadow with a beautiful green Sri Lake.

18 Beautiful Sri Lake At Sri Paya Meadow Above Shogran Kaghan Valley

19 Descend From Shogran To Main Road In Kaghan Valley Ilys drives down the road from Sri Paya through Shogran to the rejoin the main road.

19 Descend From Shogran To Main Road In Kaghan Valley

20 Construction On The Main Road Kaghan Valley The main road in the Kaghan Valley is in constant need of repair from rockslides and the edges disintegrating. The road workmen use pick axes, sledgehammers, wheelbarrows and shovels to maintain the road.

20 Construction On The Main Road Kaghan Valley

21 Two-Lane Road Through Fertile Green Countryside Kaghan Valley Ilys immediately transforms from an extremely cautious slow driver on dirt roads to a race car driver on paved roads swerving around each corner in the winding road. He has to be careful and watch out for children going to school, adults casually strolling, old men with canes, cows, goats, and donkeys on the edge of the road. Ilys had to constantly pass and avoid all manner of vehicles, including cars, jeeps, suvs, buses, trucks, vans, jeepneys, tractors, motorcycles, bicycles, and horse and donkey carts. The speed limit changed to 100 for the last 45km to Pindi as we drove on the 4-lane divided Peshawar Road to Pindi.

21 Two-Lane Road Through Fertile Green Countryside Kaghan Valley


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