Places to Visit in Naran: Lakes, Meadows and Passes

The places to visit in Naran fall into two groups. Up the valley are the high sights: Lake Saif-ul-Malook, 45 minutes to an hour by jeep; the Lalazar meadows above Batakundi, about an hour; Lulusar Lake, about an hour and a half by car; and Babusar Top at 4,173 metres, two to two and a half hours away. Down the valley are Kaghan town, the Manoor valley and Kiwai, the turn-off for Shogran, which are easier to see on the drive in or out.

Below, each place is listed with the time from Naran bazaar, how you get there and what it is like, followed by how to fit them into two or three days.

Times are for a normal day in season. At Eid and on summer weekends, add time for traffic and jeep queues.

Up the valley: the lakes and the pass

Lake Saif-ul-Malook

The lake that most people come to Naran for. It sits at 3,224 metres about 9 km north of the bazaar, below Malika Parbat, at about 5,290 metres the highest peak in the valley. Local jeeps climb a rough track from Naran in 45 minutes to an hour; the official return fare in 2026 is PKR 5,500 per jeep. Fit walkers can go up on foot in half a day.

It is busiest from late morning to mid-afternoon, and the track is prone to closure after heavy rain. Our Saif-ul-Malook visitor guide covers the jeep, the walk, what to do at the lake and when to go.

Ansoo Lake

A small, tear-shaped lake high above Saif-ul-Malook, reached only on foot. The round trip from Saif-ul-Malook takes seven to nine hours of steep walking, often over snow, and it is best done in late summer with a local guide. It is for fit trekkers, not a side trip from the jeep stand.

Batakundi

The first village up the Babusar road, 16 km and about half an hour from Naran. The valley opens out here, with the Kunhar running beside the road, and there are hotels, camps and tea stalls along the river. It is quieter than Naran and a good lunch stop on the way back from the upper valley. Batakundi is also where the jeep track to Lalazar starts.

Lalazar

A high meadow of grass and pine forest at 3,123 metres, on a shelf above Batakundi. You reach it by jeep up a steep, narrow, unpaved track, about half an hour from Batakundi or about an hour from Naran. The official return fares in 2026 are PKR 4,500 from Naran or from Batakundi, per jeep. Normal cars cannot manage the track.

Lalazar is less crowded than Saif-ul-Malook, and good for a picnic and an easy walk on the meadow. Go early or late in the day for the best light and fewer jeeps.

Jalkhad

About an hour from Naran, where the valley splits. It is a small roadside settlement, and a common tea stop on the way to Babusar. From here a rough jeep track climbs over Noori Top, at close to 4,000 metres, and down to Sharda in the Neelum valley of Azad Kashmir. It is usually passable only from July to September, and only in a local 4x4 with a driver who knows it.

Lulusar Lake

At 3,410 metres, Lulusar is the source of the Kunhar river: a long, narrow lake right beside the road, about an hour and a half from Naran. Because there is no jeep or walk involved, it is the easiest high lake in the valley to see with small children or older parents. Stop at the viewpoints along the road, but don't block the carriageway on the bends.

Besal and Dudipatsar

Just below Lulusar, the hamlet of Besal is the start of the walk to Dudipatsar Lake, at about 3,800 metres in the Lulusar-Dudipatsar National Park. It is a serious trek: six to seven hours up for most walkers, and many people camp at the lake or on the way rather than doing it in a day. It needs good weather, proper gear and ideally a local guide.

Gittidas

The last settlement before the pass, between Lulusar and Babusar Top, with high summer pastures at around 3,678 metres. Most visitors pass through on the way to the top, but the meadows are worth a stop if the weather is fine and you want somewhere quieter than the summit.

Babusar Top

The pass at 4,173 metres, where the Kaghan road crosses into Gilgit-Baltistan, about 65 km and two to two and a half hours from Naran. The road is paved, and a normal car in good order can make it in season. On a clear morning the views stretch across the surrounding ranges, and Nanga Parbat can be seen from near the top.

A few things to know:

• It opens late. Babusar reopened on 23 May in 2025 and 25 May in 2026, and snow can close it again for days in late May and early June.
• Daylight only. In 2025 the police banned traffic between Naran and Babusar Top from 6 pm to 6 am, and in 2026 the authorities again told travellers to cross only in daylight. Leave Naran by 8 am and start back by early afternoon.
• Altitude. At over 4,100 metres, keep your stop short, walk slowly and watch children and older relatives for headaches or dizziness.
• Fuel. Fill up in Naran; don't count on finding fuel above it.

Down the valley: on the way in or out

Kaghan town

About 45 minutes below Naran, with a small bazaar and the river. It is where the valley's winter limit usually sits: from about December to April, visitors can go no further than Kaghan town. In summer it is a short stop rather than a destination.

Manoor valley

A side valley that turns off the main road at Mahandri, south of Kaghan town, with a rough road climbing into forest and villages. After flooding and landslides, the 8 km road into the valley was closed for seven months and reopened in July 2026. It is a quieter alternative for anyone who likes jeep tracks and forest walks; ask locally about the road before going in.

Kiwai, Shogran and Siri Paye

Kiwai, about two hours below Naran, is where tea stalls set tables in the stream below a waterfall, and where the jeep road to Shogran turns off. Shogran, at 2,362 metres, is a forested hill station on a plateau above the Kunhar, and Siri Paye is the open meadow above it. The official return jeep fares in 2026 are PKR 4,500 from Kiwai to Shogran, PKR 8,000 from Kiwai to Siri Paye and PKR 5,500 from Shogran to Siri Paye.

Shogran works best as a half-day on the way up or down, or a night of its own. It also stays open in winter, when Naran does not.

The Kunhar river

The river runs beside the road for the whole length of the valley. Commercial rafting operates on stretches of it in summer; check the operator's life jackets and helmets before you get in. Anywhere else, keep children well back from the bank: the Kunhar is fast, very cold and rises quickly after rain.

How to fit it into two or three days

The upper valley divides naturally into two days out from Naran:

1. Saif-ul-Malook day. The lake in the morning, back in Naran for lunch, and an easy afternoon in the bazaar or by the river. Add Lalazar in the afternoon if everyone is keen.
2. Upper valley day. Leave by 8 am in your own car for Babusar Top, stop at Lulusar and Gittidas on the way down, and have lunch in Batakundi. Take a jeep up to Lalazar from Batakundi if you didn't go the day before.

Kaghan town, Kiwai and Shogran fit into the drive in or out. Our three-day Naran and Kaghan itinerary sets out how this works from Islamabad, with driving hours for each day.

Which places suit whom?

• Families with small children or older parents: Lulusar and Batakundi by car, and Saif-ul-Malook by jeep on a weekday morning. Go to Babusar only if everyone is well, and keep the stop at the top short.
• Couples and friends: Lalazar and Saif-ul-Malook for the scenery, Babusar for the drive, and a night in Batakundi if Naran is too busy.
• Walkers: the walk up to Saif-ul-Malook, Ansoo Lake with a guide, or Dudipatsar from Besal.
• Drivers heading north: Babusar is the road to Chilas and Gilgit-Baltistan. Our guide to driving from Islamabad to Fairy Meadows covers the crossing and the descent.

When each place is open

Naran itself is open from about late April to November. The upper sights open in stages after it: the lake track and the road to Batakundi from late April or May, and Babusar from late May. Monsoon rain in July and August can close any of them for a day or longer; in 2026 flash floods shut the Saif-ul-Malook track for a week in early August. Our guide to the best time to visit Naran goes month by month.

If you would like us to plan which of these fit your dates, send us your plans.

Frequently asked questions