Naran vs Kalam: Which Should You Visit?

Naran vs Kalam comes down to what you want from the trip and when you can go. Choose Naran for high lakes and big open mountain country in summer: Saiful Muluk, Lulusar and the Babusar Pass are all a short drive or jeep ride away, but the upper Kaghan valley is only open from about May to November. Choose Kalam for forest, river and a longer season: it is lower, greener and open in winter too, though its lakes take more effort to reach and the last stretch of road is badly broken.

Both are popular summer trips from Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar, and both are packed at Eid. This comparison covers the drive, the lakes, the forests, crowds, cost and season, and ends with a plain recommendation for different kinds of traveller.

The short answer

If you are going between June and September and the lakes are the point, Naran gives you more for less effort. Saiful Muluk is about 9 km from the bazaar, Lulusar sits right beside the Babusar road, and the pass itself is a half-day trip. Few places in Pakistan let a family reach 4,000 metres in a car this easily.

Kalam is the better choice if you want trees, water and walks from the hotel door, or if your dates fall outside summer. The deodar forests of Ushu and Kalam, the river at the meeting of the Ushu and Gabral streams, and the side valleys of Utror and Gabral give it a softer, greener feel than Naran's bare upper valley. It is also the only one of the two you can visit in winter.

Getting there: which drive is easier?

Naran

The route to Naran takes the Hazara Motorway (M-15) north past Abbottabad to Mansehra, then the N-15 through Balakot, Kiwai, Kaghan and on up the Kunhar river. From Islamabad it is roughly 260 to 280 km and 6.5 to 8 hours. Mansehra to Naran is about 119 km, and those last kilometres are the slow part: narrow, winding and busy through Balakot, with landslides after heavy rain.

The road itself is paved throughout in the season, so an ordinary car manages it without trouble. The problem is traffic. On summer weekends and at Eid the queue into Naran can add hours, and the bazaar itself jams.

Kalam

For Kalam you take the M-1 and the Swat Motorway (M-16) to Chakdara, then the N-95 through Mingora, Khwazakhela, Madyan and Bahrain. It is roughly 320 to 330 km from Islamabad, and 7 to 9 hours with stops. Mingora to Kalam is only about 99 km, but expect three to four hours for it.

The weak link is the upper valley. The 2022 floods damaged the N-95 at several points, and in mid-2026 close to 5 km was still reported as badly damaged, at places including Madyan, Bahrain bazaar and Asrait near Kalam. The federal government approved PKR 1 billion for its rehabilitation in June 2026, but for now it is a slow, rough drive with single-lane sections. Flash floods can still cut it without warning, as one did for a time at Mankiyal, near Bahrain, in September 2026.

The verdict on access: Naran is shorter and smoother, but its traffic is worse. Kalam is further and the last hour is harder on the car, but the queues are usually shorter outside Eid.

Lakes: where Naran wins clearly

Naran is the lake trip. Three of the best-known sights in the Kaghan valley are within easy reach of the bazaar:

• Lake Saiful Muluk, at 3,224 metres, about 9 km from Naran up a steep jeep track. In 2026 the Balakot administration fixed the round-trip jeep fare from Naran at PKR 5,500 per jeep. Fares are reviewed each season, so check the current notice in Naran.
• Lulusar Lake, at 3,410 metres, beside the road to Babusar and the source of the Kunhar river. You can drive to it in your own car.
• Babusar Top, at 4,173 metres, the pass into Gilgit-Baltistan. It is the highest point in the valley that an ordinary car can reach.

Kalam's lakes ask more of you. Mahodand Lake is about 35 km beyond Kalam, through Ushu, and most of that is a rough jeep track with river crossings; allow 1.5 to 2 hours each way and a half day in all. Kundol Lake, at about 3,030 metres in the Utror valley, needs a jeep ride and then a proper walk. Both are lovely, but neither is a quick outing.

If your group wants three different lakes in two days without long walks, Naran is the answer.

Forests, rivers and walking: where Kalam wins

Above Kalam the valley splits. The Ushu road runs north through thick deodar forest to Ushu and Matiltan, where the view opens onto Falak Sar, the highest peak in Swat at 5,918 metres. The Utror and Gabral valleys run west, with meadows, small villages and the jeep route over the Badgoi Pass to Kumrat. You can spend days here on walks from the road.

Naran is different country. The town sits where the forest is thinning out, and above it the Kaghan valley is mostly open grass, scree and snowfields. The best forest in the Kaghan valley is lower down, around Shogran and Siri Paye, which many people visit on the way up.

If the trees and the river are what you picture when you think of the north, Kalam will suit you better. If you picture open slopes and glacial lakes, Naran will.

Crowds and the bazaar

Both are crowded in the season. The difference is how the crowd feels.

Naran is essentially one long bazaar of hotels, restaurants and shops on the river, and at Eid and on summer weekends it is packed. The traffic got bad enough that in May 2026 the Balakot administration brought in a traffic plan: one-way traffic through the bazaar, entry only from the petrol pump end, no parking in the bazaar and no jeeps in the main street. It helps, but expect to walk rather than drive once you are in town.

Kalam is smaller and more spread out, with hotels along the river and up the Ushu road. It is just as full at Eid, and the Mahodand track is busy on summer mornings. Out of peak weeks it is noticeably calmer than Naran.

Our rule for both: avoid the three days after Eid if you can, and leave for the lakes early in the morning, before the day traffic.

Which costs more?

The two are close, and your own choices matter more than the valley.

• Hotels. Both have everything from basic rooms to large hotels, and both push rates up sharply at Eid and in July and August. Book early for peak weeks in either.
• Jeeps. Naran's popular jeep trips have fixed fares, so you know the price before you arrive. Kalam's main jeep trip, to Mahodand, is longer and rougher, so it usually costs more per jeep. Agree the fare, the stops and the waiting time before you get in.
• Fuel. Kalam is further from Islamabad and the last stretch is slow, low-gear driving, so budget a little more fuel. Both routes have motorway tolls.

If you are counting every rupee, travel on weekdays outside Eid. That saves more than choosing one valley over the other.

When can you go?

Naran is a summer-only trip. Snow closes the upper Kaghan valley during November, and in winter the hotels shut, the power goes and the police posts are withdrawn. The valley below, including Balakot, Kiwai, Shogran, Paras and Kaghan, stays open. In 2026 the road was cleared and Naran reopened to visitors around the turn of April and May, after more than five months, with the Saiful Muluk track following once its snow was cleared. Babusar opened on 25 May. In a normal year, plan on June to September for everything to be open.

Kalam works for more of the year. May to October is the main season for Kalam and the high valleys; the Mahodand track is usually closed by snow from December to early April. Kalam town itself can be reached in winter, and after snowfall it draws visitors for the snow, with festivals held at Kalam and Matiltan in early 2026. Heavy falls can still block the road: in January 2022 Kalam had about four feet of snow and the road was closed. For more on winter trips, see our guide to where to see snow in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

July and August bring the monsoon to both. In July 2025 a cloudburst on the Babusar road killed several people and left more than 200 tourists stranded, and in June 2025 a group of tourists having breakfast beside the Swat River near Mingora was swept away by a sudden flood. Check the forecast every morning in the monsoon, and never sit or let children play on the riverbank in either valley.

Altitude, cold and families

Naran is about 400 metres higher than Kalam, and the day trips from it go much higher. Nights in Naran are cold even in July, and Babusar Top at 4,173 metres is a big jump for young children, older parents and anyone with a heart or lung condition. Keep the stop at the top short, and turn round if anyone gets a bad headache or feels dizzy.

Kalam at about 2,000 metres is gentler. Evenings are cool rather than cold in summer, and the drives from town stay lower, apart from the high lakes. For a family with small children or grandparents who want fresh air rather than altitude, Kalam is the easier stay.

In both valleys the river is the real danger. The Kunhar and the Swat are fast, cold and rise quickly after rain upstream.

Which should you pick?

• Summer, two or three days, lakes are the point: Naran.
• You want forest walks and a riverside hotel: Kalam.
• Travelling between November and April: Kalam, or Shogran in the lower Kaghan valley. Naran will be closed.
• Small children or older parents: Kalam, or Naran without the Babusar day.
• Eid holidays: either, if you book early and leave before dawn. Naran's traffic is the harder of the two.
• You have a week: see both, but as separate trips. There is no road between them, and moving from one to the other means a very long drive back down through Mansehra and Shangla or via the motorways.

If you are also weighing up Swat as a whole against Naran, our Swat vs Naran comparison looks at the lower Swat valley and year-round trips. If Kalam's forest appeals but you want something quieter, Kumrat vs Kalam compares it with the forest valley over the Badgoi Pass. Our Swat Valley page has more on the whole valley, and if you would like help fitting either into your dates, send us your plans.

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