Nakyal Fatehpur Thakyala: Hill Town of Kotli

Nakyal, officially Fatehpur Thakyala (also spelt Thakiala), is a hill town and tehsil headquarters in Kotli district, Azad Kashmir, about 40 km from Kotli city at around 1,524 metres. It is noticeably cooler than the rest of the district, with green valleys around it, but it also sits only about 3 km from the Line of Control, which shapes everything about a visit.

This guide explains where Nakyal is, where the double name comes from, how people reach it, what a visitor finds, and the safety picture you need to weigh first.

Where is Nakyal?

Nakyal lies in the east of Kotli district, in hill country above the Poonch river. The town is in a valley, and local sources describe the Line of Control as running along two sides of the tehsil, the north and the east, about 3 km from the town itself.

At 1,524 metres it is high for Kotli district, much of which is low and hot in summer, and Wikipedia notes that Fatehpur Thakyala is colder than the rest of the district because of that height. That is the main reason people from Kotli and the plains think of it as a hill town.

The tehsil is made up of eight union councils: Khandhar, Karela Majhan, Datot, Dabsi, Methrani, Dhrooti, Mera and Jhandroot. You will hear several of these names in news reports, because they are the villages closest to the LoC.

Why two names: Nakyal and Fatehpur Thakyala

The area's old name was Thakiala, after the Thakial Rajputs who have lived here for generations. It was renamed Fatehpur Thakiala to honour Sardar Fateh Muhammad Khan Karelvi, a leader from the area who took part in one of the first major protests against the Dogra government in 1931, over a tax on salt, and who sat in the Jammu and Kashmir Praja Sabha for Poonch from 1934 to 1946. Nakyal (also written Nikyal) is the name most people use day to day, so ask for that.

Before 1947 the area was part of the Mendhar sub-division of Poonch. The fighting of 1947 and 1948 split it, leaving one part on the Pakistani side and the other in Indian-administered Kashmir, which is why the LoC runs so close to town.

The tehsil is also known as the home of Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan (1934 to 2021), Sardar Fateh Muhammad Khan's son, who served twice as Prime Minister and twice as President of Azad Kashmir. He was born at Karela, in the Karela Majhan union council about 10 km from the town, and was buried in his family graveyard at Fatehpur Thakiala.

How do you get to Nakyal?

Go to Kotli first. Taking Wikipedia's figures of 181 km from Islamabad to Nakyal and 40 km from Kotli, the first leg is roughly 140 km, all of it on hill roads once you leave the plains. Our Islamabad to Kotli guide covers that drive in detail.

From Kotli city the road to Nakyal is about 40 km of hill road. We could not find a reliable published drive time, so treat it as a slow road and allow plenty of daylight.

• Start early and aim to arrive by early afternoon.
• Fill up and draw cash in Kotli. Don't count on card machines in Nakyal.
• Carry your original CNIC. Expect checkpoints this close to the LoC.
• Avoid the monsoon if you can. Like every hill road in Azad Kashmir, the Kotli road is at its most landslide-prone in July and August.

Local transport runs from Kotli, but we found no timetable or fare we would trust. Ask at the main stand in Kotli.

What is there to see?

Nakyal is a working tehsil town, not a resort, with the ordinary services of a sub-district headquarters. The appeal is the setting: cooler air than Kotli, green hillsides, and views across the valleys towards the higher Pir Panjal.

Karela Majhan, about 10 km from the town, is the most often described spot. It is two villages: Karela higher up and Majhan lower down beside the Poonch river, where rice is grown. Wikipedia describes views along the Poonch river and of the snow-capped Pir Panjal range from here.

Local tourism pages talk about walks into the surrounding valleys and meadows. We found no route descriptions or distances we would rely on, and many of the paths lead towards the LoC. Don't walk anywhere without asking locally whether it is permitted, and never wander towards military posts or the border.

Mosques and private land are part of daily life here. Dress modestly, ask before photographing people, and don't photograph checkpoints, army posts or bridges.

Where to stay

Kotli city has the widest choice; see our hotels in Kotli guide. Government tourism listings for Kotli district mention tourist rest houses at Fatehpur and Karela Majhan, but we could not confirm how to book them or whether they are currently open to the public. Most visitors come for the day from Kotli.

Is it safe to visit Nakyal?

Nakyal's position is its biggest risk, and it is worth being clear about it.

The Nakyal sector has long been one of the parts of Kotli most often hit by cross-LoC firing, with civilian deaths and injuries reported in many years. In April 2019 a 60-year-old man was killed by gunfire at a wedding in Dabsi village (Dawn). On 8 May 2025, during the India and Pakistan hostilities, Pakistani media reported Indian shelling of the Mathrani area of Nakyal, with residents moved to shelters.

The UK government (advice updated 22 September 2026) advises against all travel to Azad Kashmir within 10 miles of the LoC. Nakyal is well inside that zone. Azad Kashmir as a whole also went through the Joint Awami Action Committee unrest from June 2026, the deadliest there in years, with at least 24 dead in the first two weeks and more than 50 by rights groups' later counts, and long internet and phone shutdowns.

Pakistani visitors, many with family in the area, do travel to Nakyal. If you go:

1. Check local news, and ask someone in Kotli or Nakyal about the situation on the LoC that week.
2. Travel in daylight and stop at every checkpoint.
3. Follow any instruction from police or the army, including being turned back.
4. If you hold a foreign passport, check your own government's advice first. Going against it can void travel insurance.

Our Azad Kashmir safety guide covers the wider picture.

Is Nakyal worth the trip?

If you have a connection to the area, or you are already in Kotli and want a cooler half day in the hills after checking the current situation, it can be a quiet and green outing. It shows a side of Azad Kashmir that tourist itineraries rarely touch.

It is not a place to choose for scenery alone, and it is a poor choice for families on a first trip, because the LoC is so close. If you want hill country in this part of Kashmir with fewer of these concerns, Rawalakot and Banjosa are a better start; see our places to visit in Rawalakot. For more of Kotli district itself, our places to visit in Kotli covers Tatta Pani, Throchi Fort and the Gulpur waterfall, and our Kashmir page lists the main destinations.

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