Leepa Valley 2-Day Itinerary

A two-day Leepa Valley itinerary works by breaking the long drive from Islamabad with a night at Dao Khan or in the valley, spending the full second morning seeing Leepa's villages and terraces, and starting back over Reshian Gali early enough to reach Muzaffarabad or Islamabad before dark. It is a tight but workable plan for visitors who cannot spare three days.

This is the version to use if you have exactly two nights, not three, and want to see as much of the valley as that allows without pushing your luck on the road.

Day one: Islamabad to Dao Khan or Leepa

1. Leave Islamabad early, ideally by 6 or 7 am, to give yourself the full day. The drive to Muzaffarabad over Murree and Kohala takes about three and a half hours outside peak traffic.
2. Muzaffarabad to Reshian. Follow the Jhelum Valley road east through Garhi Dupatta and Hattian Bala to Naili, then climb to Reshian, the gateway village and checkpoint.
3. Register at Reshian with your CNIC, and decide here whether to continue by car on the newer road or switch to a hired jeep, which most visitors do.
4. Climb to Dao Khan, a forest clearing at around 2,490 metres with government rest houses, about 4 km beyond Reshian. If you started very early and the road is clear, you can continue into the valley itself; otherwise, sleep at Dao Khan and save the descent for the morning.
5. Evening at altitude. Dao Khan is cold after dark even in summer, so have warm layers ready regardless of how the day felt in Islamabad.

Day two: the valley, then back over the ridge

1. Early start from Dao Khan. Continue over the crossing and down into the valley, aiming to reach Leepa village by mid-morning.
2. Nokot and the terraces. If your route brings you past Nokot, this is the sector most people photograph, with rice terraces stepping down the slope and wooden houses among them. Morning light works best here.
3. Leepa village. Walk through the village between the fields and the traditional wooden houses, and see the small bazaar. This is the natural centre of a short visit, since most of what people come to Leepa for is close by.
4. A short stop in Moji or Chananian, if your driver's route and the time available allow, though on a two-day plan this is the first thing to drop if you are running late.
5. Start back by mid-afternoon. The climb back over the ridge and down to Reshian takes a couple of hours, and you do not want to be on that road after dark. From Reshian, continue to Muzaffarabad for the night, or push on to Islamabad if you left the valley early enough.

Making the two days work

• Book Dao Khan or a Leepa guesthouse before you leave Islamabad. Rooms are few, and turning up without a booking risks a wasted evening. Our Leepa Valley hotels guide covers the options.
• Agree the jeep route and timing at Reshian up front, including how long the driver will wait at each stop and whether the fare covers the return. This matters even more on a tight schedule than on a longer trip.
• Accept you will not see everything. Two days covers Nokot and Leepa comfortably; Chananian and a longer stop at Moji usually have to give way. Our full Leepa Valley guide covers all five sectors if you can stretch the trip to three days instead.
• Keep a spare half-day in mind. If the road is affected by rain or an early snowfall, plan for the possibility of a delayed return rather than a same-day connection onward from Islamabad.

Is two days enough?

It is enough to see the valley's main sights, but it is a full, fairly tiring trip rather than a relaxed one, with most of day one and the end of day two spent travelling. If you can add a third night, it removes the pressure to start the return drive from deep in the valley on the same afternoon you arrived there, and it is the better plan with children or older relatives. For a two-day trip on your own schedule or with more detail on costs, see our trip planning page and our Leepa Valley trip cost guide.

Frequently asked questions