Islamabad to Arang Kel: Distance, Route and Time

From Islamabad to Arang Kel is about 290 km by road to Kel, the last town in the upper Neelum Valley, followed by a chairlift ride and a steep walk, or about two hours on foot. The drive alone takes ten to eleven hours through Muzaffarabad, Keran and Sharda, so almost everyone splits it with a night in Keran or Sharda and reaches Arang Kel on the second day.

This guide covers each leg of the route, the choice of overnight stop, the last stretch from Kel up to the village, public transport, and how to plan the return.

Distances in the Neelum Valley vary a little between sources, so treat these as rounded.

The route, leg by leg

Islamabad to Muzaffarabad

The usual way is the Murree Expressway, down to the Jhelum at Kohala, across the bridge into Azad Kashmir and on to Muzaffarabad: about 140 km, three and a half to four hours. On summer weekends traffic around Murree can add an hour or more.

When the Murree road is jammed, the Hazara Motorway to Mansehra and then the road through Garhi Habibullah is a sensible alternative. It is longer, at about 190 km, but mostly motorway.

Muzaffarabad to Keran

From Muzaffarabad the Neelum Valley road follows the river north-east past Nauseri, Kundal Shahi and Athmuqam, the district headquarters. It is paved and in fair condition, but narrow and full of bends. Keran is about 90 km and three hours on. Fill up with fuel and draw enough cash in Muzaffarabad or Athmuqam for the rest of the trip.

Keran to Sharda

Beyond Keran the road is still mostly paved but patchier, with potholes and streams running across it in places. It passes Dowarian, where the jeep track to Ratti Gali Lake begins, and reaches Sharda after about two hours.

Sharda to Kel

The last 20 km is the roughest stretch of the drive: broken in places, muddy after rain, and passing a slope at Shaikh Bela, just before Kel, that has blocked the road with rockfalls several times in recent years. Allow an hour to an hour and a half. A normal car can manage it in dry weather if driven slowly, but many people leave their car in Sharda and take a local jeep. Our Neelum Valley road condition guide describes each stretch in detail.

Stops worth making on the way

A drive this long needs breaks, and some of them are worth planning:

• Muzaffarabad. Lunch, fuel and cash. It is the last city, and the best place to buy anything you have forgotten.
• Kundal Shahi. The turning for Kutton and the Jagran valley, if you have time for a side trip on the way up or down.
• Keran. Tea by the river, with the far bank in Indian-administered Kashmir just across the water.
• Sharda. The ruins of Sharda Peeth, the old centre of learning beside the river, are worth a short stop, ideally in the late afternoon light.

Keep photo stops to safe, wide places. Pulling over on a bend or under a loose slope holds up traffic and puts you where falling stones land.

Where to break the journey

Option 1: a night in Keran (best for most people)

Keran is about seven hours from Islamabad, so leaving at 6 or 7 in the morning gets you there by mid-afternoon without rushing. It has the widest choice of riverside hotels in the lower valley. The next morning, Keran to Kel takes three to three and a half hours, which puts you at the chairlift around midday.

This is how our Neelum Valley Escape does it, with a second night in Sharda so that the day you go up to Arang Kel is short and unhurried.

Option 2: a night in Sharda

A longer first day, nine to ten hours from Islamabad, but it leaves only an hour or so to Kel the next morning. You can be at the chairlift early, ahead of the queues, and have most of the day at the top. Worth it if you have only three days in total.

Option 3: straight through to Kel

Possible with a pre-dawn start and a second driver, but you arrive after ten or eleven hours on mountain roads, often in the dark on the worst stretch. We don't recommend it, and it is not a good idea at all in July and August, when the risk of slides is highest.

Option 4: a night in Muzaffarabad

If you can only leave Islamabad in the afternoon, drive to Muzaffarabad the first evening. The second day to Sharda or Kel is then comfortable. It adds a night, but spares you the long first day.

Our guide to where to stay in Neelum Valley compares Keran, Sharda and Kel as bases.

From Kel up to Arang Kel

Arang Kel sits about 450 metres above Kel, across the Neelum River. There is no road, so you have two choices.

The chairlift. It starts in Kel, crosses the river and climbs about a kilometre to a ridge below the village, in a few minutes. From the top station a steep path through the pines reaches the meadow in 30 minutes to an hour. The fare is small and in cash. In summer the queue can take hours on weekends and holidays, so arrive early, and don't count on it running once evening comes.

On foot. Cross the river by the bridge in Kel and follow the path up through the forest, around two hours for most people and up to three with children. It is steep, but needs no special skill. Some people ride up and walk down.

If you are staying the night at the top, leave the car and your big bags in Kel, somewhere agreed in advance such as your hotel there, and carry a single small bag. Our Arang Kel guide covers the village, the walks and where to stay.

Suggested plans

Three days

1. Islamabad to Sharda.
2. Sharda to Kel early; Arang Kel for the day, or overnight at the top.
3. Kel or Arang Kel all the way back to Islamabad, a long day of ten hours or more.

This works, but it is tiring, and one closed road wrecks it.

Four days

1. Islamabad to Keran.
2. Keran to Kel; up to Arang Kel for the night.
3. Arang Kel at first light; walk down; drive back to Keran.
4. Keran to Islamabad.

Five days

1. Islamabad to Keran.
2. Keran to Sharda, with time to stop along the river.
3. Sharda to Kel; up to Arang Kel for the night.
4. The meadow early, then down to Muzaffarabad.
5. Muzaffarabad to Islamabad by the afternoon.

The five-day plan is the shape of our own trip, and it is the one that leaves you feeling you have seen the valley rather than driven it.

By bus

Buses run daily between Muzaffarabad and Kel, and there is also a service from Rawalpindi to Kel. It is the cheapest way up the valley and perfectly workable for students and solo travellers, though slower, with little choice of departure times. Carry your CNIC, as you will pass identity checks along the valley road.

The other way in: over Noori Top from Naran

In summer there is a second approach, from the Kaghan valley. An unpaved jeep track of about 49 km climbs from Jalkhad, beyond Naran, over Noori Top at close to 4,000 metres and comes down to Sharda. It is usually passable only from about July to September, needs a 4x4 and a local driver who knows it, and suits people already in Naran rather than anyone starting from Islamabad.

Coming back

The return is as long as the way up. From Arang Kel, allow a full day to Muzaffarabad or Keran, then a morning to Islamabad. Leave Kel early, so that the Sharda stretch and Shaikh Bela are behind you before any afternoon rain, and avoid reaching Murree at dusk on a Sunday, when traffic is heaviest.

Frequently asked questions