VISIT KUMRAT VALLEY AND JAHAZ BANDA | KOHISTAN | KPK | PAKISTAN

First thing first, Kumrat Valley is not a Family Vacation spot (currently in 2020). Its an adventurer place where there are small camp-style-hotels with basic necessities only. Its a place for camping and trekking and requires lot of pre-planning.

Since the place has starting getting popularity after Imran Khan visit in 2017, so after seeing lot of people’s interest, KPK Govt has launched Tourism police there and now going to start road construction in early 2020.

THE BEST TIME TO VISIT KUMRAT VALLEY

Kumrat Valley is not accessible for full year. Because of heavy snow, you can not visit this place in winters. The snow starts melting in April till end may when it becomes accessible for locals  however after June, the greenery start appearing in the valley and finally the valley gets started to welcome the visitors.

Hence the best time to visit Kumrat Valley is from  Mid of June to Mid of October.

The videos you are seeing in this blog were made in 1st week of July 2019

CAMPING SITES 

There are several camping sites along the river of Kumrat and locals have provided wooden huts and tents for tourists. If you want to put your own tent then it is allowed however locals will ask you to pay 500 Rs per nite if you peg your tent near Waterfall area. If you go further in a little no-mans land, then you can camp free-of-cost. You can get a camp of 2, 3 persons from locals at 500 ~ 1000 Rs per nite (as per availability)

ELECTRICITY AND CHARGING FACILITY

There is no proper electricity at in Kumrat Valley. People have installed Solar panels at their huts which are only sufficient for LED bulbs for lighting however do not expect that you would be able to charge your mobiles or Drone batteries. So better take Power banks and extra batteries with you.

MOBILE SIGNALS AT JAHAZ BANDA AND KATORA LAKE

As of now, there are currently mobile signas at THAL bazar only. There are no mobile signals at Kumrat Valley camping site. I had to make some emergency calls and for that i hired a motorbike who braught me to Thal bazar so that i could call at home and then i went back to camping site

IMPORTANT TIPS FOR PACKING

1. Always pack your bags light

2. Prefer foldable things, to utilize maximum space

3. Prepare for the emergency, not for leisure

4. Never rely on your friend, bring your own things

PREPARATION FOR LEAVING ON CAMPING/ TREKKING TRIP TO KUMRAT

In order to see how to pack your bags, watch the below video. Also you can see the

Preparation Checklist

RESOURCES TO BUY TREKKING/ CAMPING EQUIPMENT IN PAKISTAN

Since many of you have asked to share resources where one can purchase camping/trekking gears so here is the list:

1. Dominance.pk (5% discount code: BBT05)
2. Hazari.com.pk
3. Acsender.pk
4. The Sport Store
5. Higher.com.pk
6. Camps.pk
7. Gearup.asia
8. WALI E-MALL (for Biker and riding gadgets)
9. DARAZ.pk (open market for all kind of equipment)
10. OLX.pk (Pick from the seller directly and save the shipping fees)

TRANSPORT

There are 3 ways to reach Kumrat Valley

1. Join a group tour on facebook (around 12,000 Rs per person for 3 Nights trip)
2. Drive your car upto THAL and then hire a jeep to reach Kumrat Valley
3. Take public transport to reach THAL and then reach Kumrat Valley on jeep

I traveled to Kumrat Valley  on Public Transport. Although my route was:

Lahore > Dir > Thal > Kumrat Valley

but i recommend to travel through other route because its a hassle to get a public transport from Dir to Thal. So i recommend the below route:

Lahore > Mardan > Thal > Kumrat Valley

EXPENSES AND JOURNEY DETAILS OF VISITING AND STAYING IN KUMRAT VALLEY

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1. LAHORE TO DIR (KPK):
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– Take bus from LAHORE-to-DIR at Larri Adda near Minar-e-Pakistan ( Bus Fare = 1400 Rs)
– You can book your seat by calling SADAAT BUS SERVICE at 0306-4066634 or 0313-5747238
– Bus leaves from Lahore at 1800 hrs and drops at DIR early morning 0430 hrs

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2. DIR TO THALL 
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– From DIR bus terminal, you can either take a seat in local van to KUMRAT or THALL but they start operation at 0830 hrs. (Fare = 500 ~ 600 Rs/person)
– So if you are 5~6 people, you can hire a personal car that will drop you at THAL BAZAR in 3 hours.
– Private Car fare: 2000 ~ 2300 Rs (for all 5~6 persons)



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3. THALL  TO KUMRAT

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– If you are solo and have small bag, you can hire a local motor bike who will drop you at Kumrat Valley within 1.5 hr in 500 ~ 700 Rs
– Or you can hire a 4×4 Jeep in 2500 Rs (can take upto 7 persons) that will drop you at Kumrat Valley in 2 ~ 2.5 hrs
– You should do camping near Waterfall point (Kumrat Aabshaar)
– A 3 to 4 person camp can be rented out at 500 ~ 1000 Rs depending upon the season

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3a. FIRST DAY CAMPING IN KUMRAT

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4. KUMRAT TO KALA (PATHAR) CHASHMA
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– Trekking time = 1 hour (if starting from Kumrat Waterfall point)
– Path is very wide and worthy for 4×4 Jeeps and Motorbikes
– There are few camping facilities (4 to 5 camps only) at Kala Chashma point.
– You should stay a night there only if you want further trekking to Shahzor Lake or Kundal Lake
– There is one Tuck Shop and restaurant at Kala Chashma who can serve Pakora, Daal, Chicken Karahi, Cold drinks etc.
– Camp of 4 to 5 people @ 500 Rs/nite

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5. KALA CHASHMA TO SHAHZOR LAKE (15 hours trekking)
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– Trekking from Kala Chashma to DOJAGGA is almost straight path and takes around 3 hours (with breaks)
– From DOJAGGA (also called DOJANGA in Kohistani language) to Shahzor Lake, the trekking path is slightly UP-HILL and takes around 6 hours (with multiple breaks for rest and re-energize)
– On return, it takes only 03 hours from Shahzor lake to DoJagga point, however from Do-Jagga to Kala Chashma, trekking time is same i.e 03 hours.

– So total time of Uphill (towards Shahzor Lake) = 9 hrs and Down-hill (towards Kala chashma) = 6 hrs

(We started our trekking at 0800 hrs and came back 2300 hrs. Dont forget to take food and Head-lamps with you)



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6. THALL TO JAHAZ BANDA
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– Jeep track is steep, it takes you from Thal and drops at Takki Top (Taki Banda)
– Jeep fare = 3000 Rs
– Time from Thal to Takki Top = 2 ~ 2.5 hrs
– You can not take Jeep or Bikes further from Takki Top
– Trekking time from Takki Top to Jahaz Banda = 03 hours
– Camping facility at Jahaz Banda = 500 rs per camp (for 2 or 3 people)
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7. JAHAZ BANDA WATER FALL
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– Just 15 min down-hill trekking from camping point, you will witness beautiful waterfall and lush blue zig-zag water flowing between lush green ground.
– You can also do camping at this so-peaceful place.
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8. KATORA LAKE TREKKING
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– Must start your trekking at 0600 hrs from Jahaz Banda
– Trekking time one-side = 03 hrs approx
– Must take rain coats with you as you will witness rain on the way 2 or 3 times and even heavy hail storm.

I COULD NOT UPLOAD REMAINING 04 EPISODES OF KUMRAT VALLEY TRIP BECAUSE I LOST MY ALL DATA WHEN I WAS TOURING IN USA AND SOMEONE STOLE MY LAPTOP AND ALL HARD DRIVES BY BREAKING INTO MY CAR.

Anyways, i went again Jahaz Banda in 2020 and filmed separate Vlog series

READ: Solo trip to Jahaz Banda, Katora Lake and Kund Banda

 

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Watch my other VLOGS of Exploring the beauty of Pakistan

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1. Androon Lahori Nashta: https://bit.ly/2XacxXt
2. Camping in SHARAN Forest: https://bit.ly/2FbE2Fy
3. Visiting TAOBUTT Kashmir: https://bit.ly/2XhbRzf
4. Rati Galli Lake: https://bit.ly/31LKexY
5. Toli Peer Hike Kashmir: https://bit.ly/2Xgg86m
6. Swat Kalam Malam Jabba: https://bit.ly/2IkoIZd
7. Saji Kot Waterfall: https://bit.ly/2WNfe1I
8. Road trip to HUNZA Valley: https://bit.ly/2Rgw3vZ
9. Mushkpuri Top hiking: https://bit.ly/2WJxELN
10. Neela Wahan (Blue Ponds): https://bit.ly/2ZtWwsU
11. Neelam Valley Kashmir: https://youtu.be/dcg4xauI2Pg
12. Haneef Siri Paye | Ambala Lassi: https://bit.ly/2Ko77ll
13. How to visit KUMRAT VALLEY & JAHAZ BANDA: https://youtu.be/FpMOvAiaPHQ
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BACKPACKING IN INDONESIA:
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▶️ Episode-1: Preparing for my longest trip| https://bit.ly/2JrCX02
▶️ Episode-2: Met my humshakal in Bangkok to Bali | https://bit.ly/2Ee40aX
▶️ Episode-3: Day trip to Nusa Penida Klingking Beach | https://bit.ly/2JrDzTo
▶️ Episode-4: visiting Gate-of-Heaven (Lempuyang Temple) | https://bit.ly/2LSlu2W
▶️ Episode-5: Tukad Cepung Waterfall | Bali | https://bit.ly/2QdoDZD
▶️ Episode-6: TANAH LOT TEMPLE: https://bit.ly/2wcN4x7
Episode-7: A Day in UBUD |Bali Swing | Monkey Forest | https://bit.ly/2VC8DBv
▶️ Episode-8: Going BALI to JAKARTA | https://youtu.be/zTTTkIUFQSI
▶️ Episode-9: I met president of Indonesi | https://youtu.be/TISH0mEtTyU

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