Who wants to visit Switzerland or Paris for honeymoon when we have better places in our homeland? If you disagree with me then trust me you have not witnessed the real beauty of Pakistan. Take a break from your tough routine and plan a weeklong trip to some exotic locations in North Pakistan. Explore the beauty of your homeland and praise Almighty for this beautiful blessing that many of us are unaware of. 

Let’s explore the most famous and beautiful “must visit” Naran Valley in this article. Many of you must have heard about it but have no idea about the exciting things we can do there. We will also make a quick glance on how to visit Naran. 

How to reach Naran?
Naran is the most scenic location of Pakistan, situated in upper Kaghan valley in Mansehra district of KPK province. If you are travelling from Mansehra it is 119 kilometers away. You can take Naran road from Mansehra. Naran Valley is the base station that connects to the some of the attractive locations like Noori valley, Purbi Valley, Lake Saif ul Mulook, Lalazar, and Babusar Pass. Seems interesting isn’t it? Every year, many visitors and tourists across the globe especially from Europe and Americas visit Naran and are astonished with the beauty of our beautiful Pakistan. The tourist season in Naran Valley is from June to August. You can use public transport that runs on regular basis to reach Naran, although it becomes difficult to approach Naran in winters as the road leading to Naran is blocked due to excessive snowfall. 

Road travel to Naran – A guide
You can enjoy travelling to Naran via road rather than plane. Group of friends or family can hire any personal conveyance and can follow some these routes towards Naran:

Route 1:
If you are travelling from Islamabad go to Hasan Abdal then Haripur. This might take approximately 75 to 90 minutes depending on the traffic. 
There are three possible routes from Islamabad to Haripur; you can pick and choose accordingly:
• You can go via Islamabad-Peshawar Motorway. Exit on the Burhan Interchange. Drive a few kilometers towards Hassan Abdal and take the Karakoram Highway (KKH) towards Haripur. The road condition is perfect for travelling and it is the most recommended route although a bit lengthy. 
• Take G.T Road from Rawalpindi-Islamabad and reach Taxila. From here turn towards Hattar-Haripur road. The road condition is satisfactory here too.
• You can turn towards the Khanpur-Haripur road from GT Road before reaching Taxila. This is the shortest path but you have to compromise on road condition.

Route 2:
This is another possible road route that comes from Haripur to Havelian via Abbotabad via Mansehra. This route is longer than previous and can take 2 hours to reach. The road is narrow but in better condition and experiences traffic loads. The expert driver can easily overtake to reach faster. 

Route 3:
The third route is from Mansehra via Balakot to Kiwai. This takes approximately 1 hour 45 minutes on normal driving speed. If you leave KKH and turn towards Balakot the road is in a perfect condition with lesser traffic and you can easily enjoy your ride. 
From Mansehra-Balakot the distance is 48 kilometers.
From Balakot-Kiwai the distance is 24 kilometers.
KIWAI is the destination to decide your route either towards Naran or Shogran. 

Route 4:
The fourth route is Kiwai –Shogran. It takes approximately 30 minutes covering 7 kilo meters, the shortest route to reach Naran. 
Another route is Kiwai -Paras – Mahandri – Kaghan –Naran. This route can take approximately 2 hours. There are few disturbances in this route due to land sliding which comes after crossing Paras. 

iking and trekking in Naran
If you are a hiking and trekking fan then Naran valley gives you ample of choices to entertain. Let’s discover them one by one:

Lake Saif-ul-Maluk
Heard a lot about Saif ul Muluk from various sources, but never got a chance to visit it. From Naran to Lake Saif Ul Muluk there is a dusty jeep track which is approximately 9 km lengthy with various hiking tracks ranging from easy to medium levels. From jeep this location can be reached in one Hour. Net elevation gain is around 700m. Best spot for tourist and trekkers!
 

Ansu Lake
Ansu is high-altitude Lake situated near to Malika Parbat. It can be reached via 11 km trail starting at Saif-ul-Muluk. This route can be divided in two steps. a) 7 km walk till base of Malika Parbat. b) 4 km hike up the mountain with net elevation around 1000m. This route can be trekked within 4-5 Hours. Ansu Lake can be accessible in June till late November, but later bad weather makes it difficult to approach. 

Lalazar Trek
Lalazar is a renowned plateau full of beautiful wild flowers and soothing pine forests. The incredible and enchanting view of Malika Parbat and lush meadows make it eye soothing. Lalazar track can be reached through a muddy jeep path of 1 hour starting from Battakundi. Most of the tourists prefer trekking over riding the jeep. The moderate trekking starts from Lake Saif-ul-Muluk through Hans Gali ends at Lalazar.

Unleash the adventure by making a trekking trip to Naran Valley and capture the beauty of your homeland as a part of your memories!