Where to Stay in Soon Valley: Resorts and Guest Houses

Soon Valley has very few beds. The realistic choices for where to stay in Soon Valley are the TDCP resort on Khabeki Lake, the eight-room Village Inn Hotel in Naushera, and three old government rest houses that need permission from the district administration. Anything else means camping, or sleeping outside the valley at Kallar Kahar and driving in.

None of these places publishes a dependable price list, so this guide does not print room rates. It sets out what each option is, where it sits in relation to the lakes, and how to book. For the sights themselves, see our Soon Valley guide.

How the valley is laid out

Soon Valley is in the north-west of Khushab district in the Salt Range. It runs from Padhrar village to Sakesar, about 56 km long and 14 km wide on average, and Naushera is its largest settlement. Khabeki Lake lies near the eastern end at about 740 metres above sea level, and Sakesar, at 1,530 metres, closes the western end.

That geography decides where you sleep. Visitors coming off the M-2 at Kallar Kahar reach Khabeki first, after about 64 km of hill road. Naushera is roughly 10 km further on, and Uchali Lake is about 14 km beyond Naushera. A room at Khabeki or Naushera puts every main stop within a short drive, which is why both the resort and the hotel are there.

TDCP Khabeki Lake Resort

The Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab lists a Khabeki Lake Resort among its properties on its website in 2026. It stands on the bank of the lake beside the boardwalk, which Dawn measured at 0.75 km, and it is the only place where you wake up beside the water.

Its history explains why accounts of it differ. When Dawn visited in January 2018, the newly built resort had no rooms for overnight guests, only a children's play area and a planned kitchen, and TDCP had taken over an old fisheries department rest house next to it. By October 2020 a Destinations magazine guide described rooms there as affordable and clean, with a restaurant menu, bicycles to rent for adults and children, and space to pitch your own tent. That guide advised booking at least a week ahead because space was limited.

We could not confirm the current number of rooms or the 2026 rate. Ask TDCP both questions when you call, and ask whether the kitchen is serving dinner on your dates. Our Khabeki Lake guide covers the boardwalk and boating.

Village Inn Hotel, Naushera

Village Inn Hotel is the valley's one conventional hotel that appears on international booking sites. It is in Naushera, between the two main lakes, about 10 km from Khabeki and 14 km from Uchali according to its own listing. The listing shows eight guest rooms, double rooms with private bathrooms and Wi-Fi, a restaurant, free parking and a front desk staffed around the clock.

Naushera is a working town with shops, fuel and places to eat, so this is the practical base if you want to cover Uchali Lake, Kanhatti Garden and the road up to Sakesar over two days. With eight rooms, one family group can fill a large share of the hotel, so do not expect to find space on a holiday weekend without a booking.

Government rest houses

Soon Valley has three colonial-era rest houses, at Naushera, Sodhi and Phulwari. They are government property, not hotels. A 2020 guide says they can be used with prior permission from the district authorities, with requests going to the district administration office for Khushab. We could not confirm the current procedure, charges or condition of the rooms.

Treat these as an option for travellers who have time to arrange paperwork, or who know someone in a government department. If you get permission, ask what is provided. A rest house may have a caretaker and beds but no kitchen service, so you may need to bring food or eat in Naushera.

Two other buildings are sometimes mentioned. Dawn reported in 2018 that an agriculture department rest house at Kanhatti was not yet operating, and that a hilltop camping site there, with benches and bonfire spots, was being developed and had no mobile signal. We found nothing more recent on either, so do not rely on them.

Staying outside the valley

If the valley is full, the nearest fallback is the TDCP Resort Kallar Kahar, also on TDCP's 2026 list and about five minutes from the Kallar Kahar interchange on the M-2. From there it is about 64 km to Khabeki. The routing estimate is under an hour and a half, but allow closer to two hours on the hill road.

This works for a single day in the valley, and it is the simplest plan if you are driving from Lahore or Islamabad and do not want to risk arriving to no room. It is a poor base for Uchali or Sakesar, which add another hour or more each way. Our comparison of Kallar Kahar and Soon Valley explains how the two differ.

Camping is the other fallback, and the Khabeki resort has allowed guests to pitch their own tents. See our camping in Soon Valley guide.

How to book and what it costs

• TDCP resorts: TDCP's website gives a helpline, 1421, a UAN, 042 111 111 042, and the email info@tdcp.gop.pk. Ask for the Khabeki Lake Resort by name and get the rate and the booking reference in writing.
• Village Inn Hotel: bookable through the large hotel booking sites, which show a price for your dates. Phone the hotel as well if you need extra mattresses or early check-in.
• Rest houses: apply to the district administration in Khushab well ahead, and carry the written permission with you.

We did not find a 2025 or 2026 published rate for any of these, so budget on the basis of a quote, not a figure from a blog. Carry cash for the whole stay, since we could not confirm card acceptance or a dependable ATM in the valley.

Book earliest for winter weekends. Migratory birds arrive on the lakes from October, and that is when visitor numbers rise.

Getting to your room

Routing data gives about 190 km from Islamabad to Khabeki Lake and about 295 km from Lahore, both via the M-2 and the Kallar Kahar interchange. From the south, Naushera is about 52 km from Khushab and about 98 km from Sargodha. Our Islamabad to Soon Valley route guide has the turn-by-turn detail.

Plan to arrive before dark. The roads inside the valley are narrow and unlit, and the 2020 guide advises limiting movement after sunset.

Which base should you choose?

Choose Khabeki if the lake is the point of the trip and you are content with one simple place to eat. Choose Naushera if you want a town around you and plan to see Uchali and Sakesar as well. Choose a rest house only if the permission is already in your hand.

Soon Valley does not suit travellers who want a choice of hotels, room service or a pool. No property here is luxury standard, and the total number of rooms is small. If that matters, stay at Kallar Kahar or treat the valley as a long day trip. Our two-day Soon Valley itinerary shows how one night changes what you can see.

Frequently asked questions