Jahaz Banda Trek from Jandrai: Route, Timing and Camping

The Jahaz Banda trek starts with a jeep from Thal up through Lamoti and Jandrai to Taki Top, the roadhead, about an hour to an hour and a half away. From there it is a walk of about 6 km and three to four hours to the meadow at around 3,100 metres. Most people stay one night in the simple hotels or tents at the top, and many go on to Katora Lake the next day. The season runs from about June to September.

Jahaz Banda is a broad, high meadow above the Kumrat forest, ringed by snow peaks and fir, and it is the best walk in Upper Dir that an ordinary fit person can do without a guide. Below: how the route works, what the walk is like, where to sleep and how to time it.

Where is Jahaz Banda, and how does the route work?

Jahaz Banda sits in the upper reaches of the Kumrat area in Upper Dir, in the mountains south-east of Thal. It is not on the jeep track through the forest to Kala Chashma. You reach it by a separate route:

1. Thal, the last village in the valley, where you hire the jeep.
2. Lamoti, where the side road branches off and starts to climb.
3. Jandrai, a village on the jeep road. Older trip reports start walking from here, before the road was pushed higher.
4. Taki Top, sometimes called Taki or Takki Banda, where the jeep road now ends and most people start walking.
5. Jahaz Banda, the meadow, three to four hours on foot above Taki Top.

Katora Lake lies above Jahaz Banda, a further three to four hours on foot. It is a separate walk with its own difficulties, covered in our Katora Lake trek guide.

The jeep from Thal to Taki Top

The jeep road climbs about 16 km from Thal to Taki Top on an unpaved track, which takes one to one and a half hours. It is 4x4 only; ordinary cars stop in Thal.

Because you will almost certainly sleep at the top, the usual arrangement is a drop at Taki Top and a pick-up the following day, or the day after if you are going to Katora Lake. In 2025 and 2026 a drop and pick-up has been advertised at roughly PKR 10,000 to 13,000 per jeep, and a one-way drop at around PKR 5,000. Fix the pick-up day and time before the driver leaves you, because there is little or no signal to change it later. Our guide to the Kumrat jeep fare covers how to agree a fair price.

If you would rather walk the whole way from Jandrai, allow six to seven hours to the meadow over roughly 7.5 km, with a steeper climb.

The walk: Taki Top to Jahaz Banda

The trail from Taki Top is clear and well used in season, and fit walkers can manage it without a guide. It is about 6 km, and most people take three to four hours up and two to three hours down.

What to expect:

• A steady climb through forest at first, on a path that is rocky and steep in places.
• Stony stretches and a stream crossing as you gain height. The water is cold and can run faster in the afternoon, when the snowmelt is highest.
• Open grazing meadows before the final approach, with the peaks coming into view.
• Small tea stalls along the path in season, selling tea, cold drinks and snacks.

Horses can usually be hired at Taki Top for anyone who does not want to walk, and porters and guides can be arranged in Jandrai or through your hotel in Thal. Walk at a steady pace rather than racing: you finish at about 3,100 metres, noticeably higher than the forest camps.

Where to sleep at Jahaz Banda

Jahaz Banda has a scatter of simple wooden hotels and rest houses, run for the summer, and space to pitch tents on the meadow. In 2025 and 2026 a room or tent cost roughly PKR 1,000 to 1,500 a night. Expect basic rooms, solar lighting rather than mains power, and simple food: rice, daal, chicken and roti. Ask about toilets and bedding before you settle on a place.

Nights are cold even in July. Bring a warm sleeping bag or ask how many blankets are provided, a warm jacket and a hat. There is patchy signal on some networks, mainly Telenor, but don't count on it. If you are camping, pitch away from the streams, and carry all your rubbish back down.

For the camps and huts in the Kumrat forest below, see our guide to where to stay in Kumrat.

When to go, and how to time the days

The meadow is usually clear of snow and the camps open from about June to September. Snow covers the higher ground from roughly October or November into May, and early June can still have snow on the upper path. For Jahaz Banda alone, June to September works; for Katora Lake as well, July to September is safer. Our guide to the best time to visit Kumrat covers the months and the Eid crowds.

A typical plan from Thal:

1. Day 1: leave Thal by jeep at 8 or 9 am, start walking from Taki Top by about 10, and reach Jahaz Banda by early afternoon. Spend the rest of the day on the meadow, or walk to the waterfall near it.
2. Day 2: walk to Katora Lake and back, five to seven hours in all, and sleep a second night at Jahaz Banda.
3. Day 3: walk down to Taki Top in two to three hours and meet the jeep, back in Thal around midday.

If you skip Katora Lake, it becomes two days: up on the first, down on the second. Strong walkers sometimes do the lake and the descent on the same day, but that is a very long day, with the jeep ride on top.

Start each day early. Rain and cloud can come in quickly in the mountains, and it is better to be at the meadow, or back at the jeep, before the weather has a chance to turn.

What to carry

• A warm jacket, hat and gloves, whatever the month
• A waterproof jacket
• Walking shoes or boots with good grip for wet rocks
• A sleeping bag if you plan to camp
• Water bottles and purification tablets for stream water
• Snacks for the walk
• A torch or head torch and power banks
• Sunscreen and sunglasses
• Cash for the jeep, your room, food and the tea stalls
• Your CNIC, and any regular medication

Who is the Jahaz Banda trek for?

It suits reasonably fit adults, groups of friends and families with older children who are used to walking. The path is clear, the climb is steady rather than technical, and the meadow at the end is one of the finest in this part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. With horses available, less confident walkers can still get there.

It is harder going for young children, anyone with heart or breathing problems, or anyone who has not walked uphill for three hours before. For them, a day in the Kumrat forest and at Kala Chashma is the better plan; our Kumrat Valley guide covers it.

On security: Pakistani walkers visit Jahaz Banda every summer, but Upper Dir saw serious militant attacks in August 2026, and the UK government advises its citizens against all travel to the district. Check local news before setting out. If you would like the jeep, the nights and the walk arranged around your dates, send us your plans.

Frequently asked questions