Naran Kaghan Itinerary for 3 Days from Islamabad

A Naran Kaghan itinerary of 3 days from Islamabad works like this: day one is the drive to Naran, day two is the upper valley in your own car, with Babusar Top, Lulusar Lake and a jeep up to Lalazar, and day three is Lake Saif-ul-Malook in the morning before the drive home. Expect about 17 to 19 hours of driving across the three days, most of it on the first and last. It is tight but it works, as long as Babusar is open and you start early each day.

Below is the plan hour by hour, with the driving time for each day, where to sleep, and what to change if the pass is shut, the lake track is closed or it rains.

When this plan works

This itinerary is written for the weeks when everything is open: from about mid-June, once Babusar is reliably clear of snow, to early October. Babusar reopened on 25 May in 2026, but continuous snow a few days later led the administration to warn tourists off the road, so late May and early June are a gamble.

It works best on weekdays. On a summer weekend or at Eid, the drive up the valley can take several hours longer, the lake jeeps queue, and the whole schedule slips. If your only option is a weekend, leave Islamabad on Friday before dawn rather than Friday evening.

In July and August, the monsoon months, keep the plan flexible. Rain can close the lake track or the road for a day, and in that case the swaps further down this page apply.

Day 1: Islamabad to Naran

Driving: 6 to 7 hours. The whole day is about getting up the valley in daylight and arriving rested.

1. 5.30 to 6 am: leave Islamabad on the M-1, then the Hazara Motorway towards Mansehra.
2. About 8 to 8.30 am: leave the motorway at Mansehra. Fuel and cash here if you didn't get them in Islamabad.
3. About 9.30 am: breakfast in Balakot, by the river.
4. About 10.30 am: tea at the Kiwai waterfall.
5. About 12 noon: Kaghan town.
6. 12.30 to 1 pm: Naran.

Our Islamabad to Naran road guide covers each stage, the tolls and where to stop.

In the afternoon, check in, have a late lunch and rest. Then spend the rest of the day on three jobs:

• Book the Saif-ul-Malook jeep for day three. Agree the start time, how long the driver will wait at the lake, and the fare. The official return fare in 2026 is PKR 5,500 per jeep.
• Fill the car. You will need a full tank for Babusar tomorrow, and the petrol pump is quieter in the evening.
• Walk along the Kunhar and through the bazaar, then eat early. Tomorrow starts at 7.30.

Day 2: Babusar Top, Lulusar and Lalazar

Driving: 4.5 to 5 hours in your own car, plus about an hour by jeep. The road to Babusar is paved and a normal car in good order can make it. The pass is for daylight only, so the timetable below keeps well inside it.

1. 7.30 to 8 am: leave Naran. Carry warm jackets, water and snacks.
2. About 8.30 am: through Batakundi, 16 km up the road. Don't stop yet; you will be back for lunch.
3. About 9.30 am: Lulusar Lake, at 3,410 metres. A short stop at a viewpoint, then on. The light is better on the way back.
4. 10 to 10.30 am: Babusar Top, at 4,173 metres. Stay 30 to 45 minutes. Walk slowly, keep children close to the car, and head down if anyone gets a headache or feels dizzy.
5. 11 am to 12.30 pm: back down the valley, with stops at the Gittidas meadows below the pass, at Lulusar, and for tea at Jalkhad.
6. About 1.30 pm: lunch in Batakundi, by the river.
7. 2.30 to 4.30 pm: jeep from Batakundi up to Lalazar, a high meadow at 3,123 metres. The official return fare is PKR 4,500 per jeep. Leave your car at Batakundi.
8. About 5 pm: back in Naran.

If anyone in the group is not well at altitude, or the pass is closed, stop at Lulusar and turn round there. You lose the top, but keep the best of the scenery.

Day 3: Saif-ul-Malook and home

Driving: 1.5 to 2 hours by jeep, then 6.5 to 7 hours to Islamabad. The lake comes first, while it is quieter, and the drive home starts by noon so the valley road is behind you in daylight.

1. 8 am: jeep from Naran to Lake Saif-ul-Malook, 45 minutes to an hour up a rough track. Check out of the hotel first and leave your bags in the car.
2. 9 to 10.30 am: at the lake. Walk along the shore away from the jeep stand, where it is quieter, and take in Malika Parbat above the water. Boats and horses are available if you want them.
3. About 11.30 am: back in Naran.
4. 12 noon: leave Naran.
5. About 1 pm: Kaghan town.
6. About 2.30 pm: Kiwai, for a late lunch or tea.
7. About 3.30 pm: Balakot.
8. About 4.30 pm: Mansehra and the motorway.
9. 6.30 to 7 pm: Islamabad.

Two notes. After flash floods in summer 2026, the lake was reopened with visits allowed only between 9.30 am and 4 pm; if a rule like that applies when you go, take the first permitted jeep and push the rest of the timetable back an hour. And on a Sunday or the last day of Eid, the traffic down the valley is heavy from late morning, so consider the variant below.

Our Saif-ul-Malook visitor guide has more on the jeep, the lake and the walk up.

A variant: the lake on arrival day

If you reach Naran by 1 pm on day one and everyone feels fresh, go up to Saif-ul-Malook that afternoon. Then day three is simply the drive home, and you can leave Naran at 8 am and be in Islamabad by mid-afternoon, ahead of the Sunday traffic.

The trade-off is that the lake is at its busiest in the afternoon, and you arrive after six or seven hours in the car. It suits groups of friends better than families with small children.

If the road or the lake is closed

The upper valley opens in stages, and closures happen in every season. Check our guide to whether the Naran road is open or closed before you leave, and adapt the plan:

• Babusar still closed (usually until late May): on day two, drive up as far as the road is open, usually Batakundi or Jalkhad, and add Lalazar if its track is clear. You lose the pass, but the day still works.
• Lake track closed after rain: swap in Lalazar, Lulusar or a slower morning in Naran. In July 2026 flash floods washed away part of the Saif-ul-Malook track and it stayed closed for a week, so this does happen.
• Rain on the day you planned for Babusar: don't go. The descent is steep and the valley has seen fatal flash floods in the monsoon. Do the lake if its track is open, and take the pass another year.
• A landslide on the valley road: these are usually cleared within hours. Wait it out in Naran or at a tea stop rather than trying to get round it.

Where to sleep

Two nights in the same hotel in Naran is the simplest plan: no packing on day two, and both day trips start from the bazaar. Book ahead for weekends and any date near Eid, and choose somewhere with parking you can reach easily, because Naran bazaar now runs a one-way system with no parking on the main street.

If you prefer somewhere quieter, Batakundi, half an hour up the road, has hotels and camps by the river. It shortens day two but adds half an hour to each end of the trip.

What to pack

• Warm jackets and hats for everyone, even in July: Babusar Top is cold and windy, and Naran's evenings are cool
• Rain jackets and shoes with grip
• Cash for jeeps, meals and a spare night, withdrawn in Islamabad or Mansehra
• CNICs for the checkposts
• Water, snacks and any regular medicines, kept in the car
• Offline maps and a power bank, because signal is patchy above Naran

Is three days enough for Naran and Kaghan?

For the main sights, yes. You see Babusar Top, Lulusar, Lalazar and Saif-ul-Malook, and you spend two nights in the valley. What you give up is slack: there is no spare day for weather, and 17 to 19 hours of driving in three days is a lot for young children or a single driver.

If you can add a day, use it to split the drive in: sleep in Balakot or Shogran on the way up, and reach Naran fresh the next morning. That also gives you a margin if a closure costs you a day. Our list of places to visit in Naran shows what else fits, from Shogran to the walk to Dudipatsar, and our Naran trip cost guide sets out the budget for this plan. If you would like the itinerary built around your dates, send us your plans.

Frequently asked questions