Camping in Naran: Where to Pitch, the Rules and Cold-Night Kit

Camping in Naran works best in two ways: at an organised camp, where local operators pitch the tents and cook, or with your own gear at the high meadows of Lalazar and Jalkhad. Saif-ul-Malook is the most famous spot but also the most regulated, and in August 2026 visits were limited to daytime hours, which ruled out a night by the lake. Whichever you choose, plan for cold: even in July, average night-time lows in Naran are around 10°C, and Lalazar and the lake are 700 to 800 metres higher.

This guide compares the main sites, explains the rules that apply in the valley's two national parks, and lists the kit that makes a cold night comfortable.

Organised camp or your own tent?

An organised camp is the easy option and the one most families choose. Local operators set up tents with mattresses and bedding at the popular spots in season, often with meals and basic toilets. You bring warm clothes; they handle the rest. Ask exactly what is included, whether the tents are double-skinned, and what happens if it rains hard.

Your own tent gives you freedom and quiet, but you carry the whole load: shelter, bedding, stove, water and food. Some hotels in Naran also let campers pitch on their lawns for a fee, which gives you a toilet and a safe spot for the car, a sensible middle way for a first night.

Where to camp around Naran

Saif-ul-Malook

The lake at 3,224 metres, below Malika Parbat, is where most people imagine camping. In past seasons there have been camps around the shore, and a still night there, once the day visitors have left, is very different from the crowded afternoon.

The difficulty is the rules. The lake sits inside Saiful Muluk National Park, the jeep track is the first thing to close in bad weather, and in August 2026, after monsoon floods, the Mansehra administration reopened the lake for visits between 9.30 am and 4 pm only, with the police making sure nobody stayed after closing. Whether you can spend a night there depends on what is in force when you go. Ask in Naran before you plan it, and don't try to get round a ban.

Getting there means a jeep: PKR 5,500 return per jeep from Naran in 2026, the fare fixed by the Balakot administration. Our Saif-ul-Malook guide covers the lake and the track.

Lalazar

A high meadow of grass and pine at 3,123 metres, on a shelf above Batakundi. It is quieter than the lake, with space to pitch away from other groups and views across the valley. Facilities are limited, so bring what you need, including water treatment.

Local jeeps run up a steep, narrow track from Naran or Batakundi, and in 2026 the official return fare was PKR 4,500 per jeep from either. Arrange a pick-up time for the next day before the driver leaves you.

Jalkhad

About 40 km above Naran on the Babusar road, where the valley opens into wide, grassy flats beside the Kunhar. It is the most open of the three, with room to spread out, and it is reachable in an ordinary car on the paved road. Herders graze their flocks here in summer, so pitch clear of their camps and ask before you set up close by.

Jalkhad is also where the jeep track to Noori Top and the Neelum valley begins, and Pyala Lake lies in the hills close by. It is the easiest place to camp if you are driving yourself, but exposed to wind.

Further afield

• The Dudipatsar trek. In July and August there is a seasonal tented camp at Mulla ki Basti, below the lake. Our guide to the Dudipatsar Lake trek covers it.
• Sharan, lower down the valley. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture and Tourism Authority runs camping pods in the Sharan forest above Paras, with beds and attached washrooms, bookable online. It is the gentlest version of camping in the valley.

The rules

Much of the upper Kaghan Valley lies in two national parks, Saiful Muluk around the lake and Lulusar-Dudipatsar further up. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Wildlife Act 2015 prohibits felling, burning or destroying plants in a national park and polluting its water. In practice:

• No wood fires. Cook on a gas or kerosene stove, and don't cut branches or pull up shrubs.
• Nothing in the water. No washing up, soap or rubbish in the lakes and streams.
• Carry everything out. There is no rubbish collection at the camping spots.
• Follow timing orders. The district administration restricts access to the lake and the upper valley after heavy rain and in the early and late season. Police enforce them.
• Camp where others are. Pitch at an organised site, near a settlement or near other groups, not alone in an isolated spot.

How cold does it get?

Colder than people packing in Lahore expect. In Naran itself, at 2,409 metres, average night-time lows are about 8°C in June, 10°C in July, 7°C in August and 3°C in September, according to Wikipedia's climate table for the town. Lalazar and Saif-ul-Malook are 700 to 800 metres higher, so expect lows in low single figures in high summer and around freezing in September. Wind, rain or a clear, still night all make it feel colder, and the ground takes heat out of you all night.

That is why the months matter. Mid-June to August is the comfortable season. September is beautiful and far quieter, but only with proper cold-weather gear. May and October nights are for experienced campers.

Tent hire and cold-night kit

Don't count on hiring gear in Naran itself. Organised camps supply tents and bedding, but if you want your own set-up, bring it from home or hire in advance: some outdoor-gear sellers in Pakistan rent out sleeping bags and tents. Check the tent's condition and the sleeping bag's temperature rating before you leave the city.

The kit that makes the difference:

• A double-skin tent with a rain fly and pegs that hold in stony ground
• A sleeping bag rated to about 0°C or below, plus a liner
• An insulated mat under the bag; the cold comes up from the ground
• Warm layers for the evening: fleece or down jacket, woolly hat, gloves, thick socks
• A waterproof jacket, because summer afternoons often bring rain
• A stove, fuel and a pan, and hot drinks for the evening and the morning
• A torch or head torch and a power bank; there is little or no signal above Naran
• Water treatment tablets or a filter
• Rubbish bags to take everything back down

Camping safely in the monsoon

July and August are the busiest camping months and also the wettest. In July 2026 heavy rain closed the Saif-ul-Malook road and the upper valley, and thousands of stranded visitors were moved down to Naran; the lake was closed again for a week in August.

• Don't pitch beside rivers or in dry stream beds, which can flood with little warning after rain higher up.
• Check the forecast for the valley before you go up, and don't camp high when heavy rain is expected.
• Move down early if rain sets in. A wet jeep track is harder to get down than to get up.

Is camping in Naran worth it?

Yes, for a night or two, if you have the right gear and choose your spot and your dates carefully. A clear night at Lalazar or Jalkhad, with the stars out and the day crowds gone, is the best of Naran.

It is less suited to small children, to anyone who feels the cold badly, and to trips at Eid, when the popular spots are as crowded as the bazaar. If camping is the part that worries you, spend the nights in a hotel and visit the meadows by day; our guide to hotels in Naran compares the areas. To build a trip that mixes both, use our trip planning page.

Frequently asked questions