18 Reasons to take a trip Arang Kel at least once In your life

[ghazi52]

18 Reasons To Take A Trip Arang Kel At Least Once In Your Life
Situated at 8,379 feet, the picturesque village of Arang Kel, also known as the Pearl of Neelum Valley, is located in Azad Kashmir. It is one of the villages that are most difficult to reach. It is a two-hour hike from the Village of Kel, roughly 1500 foot climb from the Neelum River, but it’s worth every step!

The bow shaped Neelam Valley is surrounded by thick green lush pine trees and such natural beauty that one does not have words to describe it. The pictures will have to do that.

Here are 18 reasons why a trip to Arang Kel is a must.

1. Trek to Arang Kel






2. Entering Arang Kel






3. Birch Forest, habitat of the endangered Musk Deer






4. The valley surrounding the village






5. Arang Kel Village





6. Kashmir Mountains




t

7. Arang Kel village school





8. Lush green valleys of Arang Kel



f

 

[ghazi52]

9. Unique Homes: Families live on the top floors & animals are stored in bottom




10. Musk Deer Resort




11. Wheat Fields




12. Lund Sar Lake




13. Sky full of stars





14. Arang Kel village under the light of full moon






15. Sunset




16. Arang Kel Waterfall



d

 

[ssethii]

Been there, done that.

 

[ghazi52]

17. Arang Kel in the winter



18. The people of Arang Kel

 

[war&peace]

Can you please provide more info about how to reach this beautiful place and I mean the nearby big city/airport and then availability of jeeps or helicopter/airplane safari

 

[ghazi52]

Can you please provide more info about how to reach this beautiful place and I mean the nearby big city/airport and then availability of jeeps or helicopter/airplane safari

Arang Kel a Breathtaking, Lush Green village and tourist spot in Neelam valley, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. It is located on the hill top near Kel at the altitude of 8,379 feet (2,554 m) feet. One have to track 2 km hike to reach the beautiful place .This piece of utmost beauty, one can find in Kashmir, listed among the most beautiful places to visit in the world.
The village is accessible by a 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) trek from Kel.


Neelum Valley Tour
3 Day(s)
03 Jun 2016 - 05 Jun 2016


Price from

Rs. 8,400
per person



http://trekkso.com/tour/MTUw/neelum-valley-tour

 

[Zibago]

Been there, done that.

Me too did you visit Sharda ruins?
Its been years i dont remember all the names and places

 

[Arsalan]

Yet to explore Kashmir properly and this seem a good place to start with. What is the accommodation situation there? or is it to be planned as a day trip leaving early in the morning?

 

[Jaam92]

Arang Kel and Taobat is my Dream Place I will InshaAllah visit these Places soon,

 

[ssethii]

Me too did you visit Sharda ruins?
Its been years i dont remember all the names and places

We started our journey from Islamabad in early morning, after 12-14 hours of drive we reached Sharda, stayed there for the night and took a jeep in the morning and left for this Kel after about 3-4 hours of drive we reached there. From there it's about 40-50 min trek to this beautiful meadow know as Arang kel. We fell in love with it as soon as we reached there and planned to stay there for the rest of the trip.

Yet to explore Kashmir properly and this seem a good place to start with. What is the accommodation situation there? or is it to be planned as a day trip leaving early in the morning?

Accommodation is really cheap, people are really hospitable and the place is like heaven. Actually it's a small village which thrives on tourism.

 

[Arsalan]

Accommodation is really cheap, people are really hospitable and the place is like heaven. Actually it's a small village which thrives on tourism.

Cheap is good news but i was actually asking for its existence. Is there any accommodation available there or should the trip be planned as a day tour only?

 

[krash]

Yet to explore Kashmir properly and this seem a good place to start with. What is the accommodation situation there? or is it to be planned as a day trip leaving early in the morning?

Cheap is good news but i was actually asking for its existence. Is there any accommodation available there or should the trip be planned as a day tour only?

You can't start Kashmir with Arang Kel. It's the last spot that you can drive to and the second last if you hire a jeep.

TBH, there isn't any good accommodation beyond Keran. Shardah is a large town which is in need of a serious clean up while Kel on the other hand is a small town, clean yet without any reasonable accommodation. There are quite a few truckers' hotels in both the towns but trust me you don't wanna stay there. There is a large military presence in both the towns, 38 FF in Kel and 31st in Shardah (if I remember correctly). The soldiers will try to convince you to rent one of the army's "rest houses". Do not fall for this, they are nothing like the regular army rest houses that you might have seen before. These are literally guard rooms and regular jawan mess rooms that they rent out to earn a little extra pocket-money. No need to mention that they are beyond awful. There is only one doable hotel in both the towns and its the AJK Tourism Hotel. After entering the town just ask for the way to the army base. You'll take a right from the middle of the bazaar and then another right and then a left. Now just before the next left which will take you up the hill to the army base you'll see the hotel on your right, you can't miss it, there isn't much there anyway. It's no resort but it is clean, the food is good, the people are nice and you get running hot water at all times, a far cry from all the other places up there. Even the AJK Tourism Hotel in Shardah isn't worth staying at. Its from Kel that you trek up to Arang Kel and the situation there isn't any better.

So, I'd suggest driving from Islamabad or Muzafarabad all the way to either Jagaran or Keran, spending the night there, waking up early and then driving all the way till Kel. Spend the night there at the hotel, wake up early and trek to Arang Kel. Spend half a day there and then trek back to the Kel hotel before dark. Spend another night there and then make your way back to Keran or Jagaran early next morning.

I must add the bit about Jagran. Not many people know that it's there. When you reach Kundalshahi (Just before Athmuqam) you'll cross a bridge into the town's market. You'll see a turn immediately to your left. Take it and drive all they way on that very narrow road, through that extremely narrow mountain gorge, along the Jagran nullah till you reach the town of Kuttan. Don't get enticed by the hotels and motels on the way, trust me. As soon as you reach Kuttan you'll see a gate on your left with "Jagran Tourist Resort" written besides it on a big board. This is the jewel in all of Neelum valley. A Swedish team came to install a hydro-power generation unit on the hill behind the town. They also built a colony for their engineers and workers. When they left, the AJK government converted the colony into a tourist resort and they did a magnificent job at it. You'll have a private hut with 1-3 rooms, a study room, a kitchen and 1-2 bathrooms. The colony is based on the side of a mountain and you get to see the town and the Jagran nullah running through it right below you. The resort is extremely clean and amazingly well maintained. Its also very secluded with a chain-link fence around its boundary making sure that you are safe to roam the resort at night as well (mostly concerning the animals). On top of it all, its at an extremely beautiful spot with thick forests all around you and snow capped peaks looking down at you. If there's one place to stay in Neelum then this is it.

The Tourism Department's hotel at Keran is also at an extremely beautiful spot with its backyard making the bank of the Neelum River across which is IOK. But the Jagran Resort is just a class apart.

ps: Book the hut 8.3, thank me later. Also, if you need contacts, let me know.

 

[ssethii]

Cheap is good news but i was actually asking for its existence. Is there any accommodation available there or should the trip be planned as a day tour only?

We stayed here and there are some other too providing accommodation. You can also camp here too.

10. Musk Deer Resort

 

[shumais]

@krash AoA bro!
Hope you are doing good.

I was going through this thread and looking for information regarding places to visit in Kashmir, after reading your post it seems that you are pretty knowledgeable about Kashmir and you have got me pretty interested in Jagran

So, I am planning a 4 days and 3 nights trip to Kashmir from Islamabad and we are going by car, it is a family trip, so there are obvious questions about the condition of the roads and hotels About the hotels, you have got it covered in your post, thanks for that but any more pointers would be more than helpful and welcome.

Right now, there are two spots that are on the list for long visit/stay and those are Jagran and Arang Kel, so we have two nights covered in these spots or somewhere extremely near to these spots, still have one night left and not quite decided on a specific place to visit right now, so if you could suggest a third spot for us to stay at then that would be great!

Could you also tell me how the roads are from Muzaffarabad to Kutton, from Kutton to Jagran and finally from Kutton to Kel (Arang Kel). Also, considering that this is going to be the first time any of us are going to any such mountainous area, would it be a safe drive with families? Is there any dangerously narrow patch of road anywhere, you know the kind where there is just enough space for a car to pass and a dangerous drop on one side of the road, I am asking because I am not sure whether all of us will be confident enough to drive through such a spot

Also is it possible to reach a point, park our cars somewhere safe and then take a jeep for the rest of the way?

Please feel free to share any other suggestions or advice that you have for first time travellers.

Thank You
Shumais

 

[krash]

@krash AoA bro!
Hope you are doing good.

I was going through this thread and looking for information regarding places to visit in Kashmir, after reading your post it seems that you are pretty knowledgeable about Kashmir and you have got me pretty interested in Jagran

So, I am planning a 4 days and 3 nights trip to Kashmir from Islamabad and we are going by car, it is a family trip, so there are obvious questions about the condition of the roads and hotels About the hotels, you have got it covered in your post, thanks for that but any more pointers would be more than helpful and welcome.

Right now, there are two spots that are on the list for long visit/stay and those are Jagran and Arang Kel, so we have two nights covered in these spots or somewhere extremely near to these spots, still have one night left and not quite decided on a specific place to visit right now, so if you could suggest a third spot for us to stay at then that would be great!

WS Shumais bhai! I'm good, how are you? Welcome to PDF! Hope you'll keep us company regularly here.

I'd advise making Keran your third stop. So stay the first night at the Jagran resort, then the next at Kel at the AJK Tourism Rest House (I'd advise against staying at Arang Kel, available lodging is poor. So make Arand Kel a day trek), then spend the last night on your way back at Keran at either the Tourist Lodge (AJK Tourism) or the AJK Tourism Rest Houses.

Could you also tell me how the roads are from Muzaffarabad to Kutton, from Kutton to Jagran and finally from Kutton to Kel (Arang Kel). Also, considering that this is going to be the first time any of us are going to any such mountainous area, would it be a safe drive with families? Is there any dangerously narrow patch of road anywhere, you know the kind where there is just enough space for a car to pass and a dangerous drop on one side of the road, I am asking because I am not sure whether all of us will be confident enough to drive through such a spot

Also is it possible to reach a point, park our cars somewhere safe and then take a jeep for the rest of the way?

The really narrow parts are all beyond Keran and a little patch on the road from Kutton to Jagran. I wouldn't worry too much about the Jagran road since it is in reasonable condition. So if your ok with driving on the narrower roads in Murree you'll be fine with this road. For the stretch from Keran to Kel, since it's your first time, I'd advise leaving your car either at Keran or at Jagran and just renting a jeep out to take you till Kel and maybe even till Taobat the next day if you can squeeze another night/day into your trip. You should definitely not take your car beyond Shardah. You can park your car at pretty much any tourism office (they'll provide you with jeeps as well) or any hotel with a reasonable parking lot.

As far as the conditions of the roads are concerned, luckily I've already written a somewhat thorough reply before,

" Really depends on where in Neelum Valley are we talking about. The Neelum river joins the Jhelum river right in the middle of Muzaffarabad; Neelum comes from the north and falls into the Jhelum as it comes in from the south-east and turns southwards. So technically, as soon as you cross the Quid-e-Azam bridge or cross Gojra on either the Abbottabad Rd or the Muzaffarabad bypass you are in Neelum Valley. As you exit Muzaffarabad northwards both the roads join and become the Neelum Rd. So 'technically', it takes you around two and half hrs non-stop from Islamabad to enter Neelum Valley.

Considering the fact that you would want to actually reach some place in Neelum Valley which is reminiscent of the pictures that you see on google, i.e. the famed Neelum Valley, with decent lodging then nearest two places would be Kuttan and Keran. Kutton/Kundal Shahi is around 6-7 hrs non-stop from Islamabad, from where both Jagran and Keran are only half an hour further.

As far as the roads are concerned, you'll first take the Murree Express Way till Lower Toppa, which I'm sure you know is a dream.

After reaching Lower Toppa the Express Way becomes the Muzaffarabad Rd which is a typical mountain road, narrow and a little bumpy, exactly like the old Murree road.

Around an hour after this you'll reach the Kohala Bridge. Going over this bridge you'll cross over the Jhelum River and enter AJK. The road here becomes a two lane highway. This road is newly built and amazing all the way till Muzaffarabad (barring any landslides of course). You'll need only around 45 min to reach Muzaffarabad from here.

From Muzaffarabad you'll take the north exit onto the Neelum Rd. This road begins as the road that brought you to Muzaffarabad but starts narrowing as you drive further. Still, it is in very good condition, except for the small stretch where the Neelum-Jhelum Power project is being built. It will take you around three and a half hours to reach Kundal Shahi from Muzaffarabad. From here you'll either take the narrow road up the gorge towards Kuttan (30-45 min) or keep driving for another half hour to reach Keran. Below is the kinda road you'll see all the way till Keran,

The road from Kundal Shahi/Kutton to Jagran is narrow and in one area almost gravel (due to a major landslide) but the route is spectacular (Lord of The Rings references everywhere) and the Jagran Resort is the place to stay at in all of AJK.

From Keran to Shardah and then onto Kel the road pendulums every which way, from OK-ish to terrifying. You'll see patches like this which are very doable,

Then patches like this which are somewhat doable,

And then long patches like this which aren't very doable by an average joe,

Last time I was there it took me an hour and a half to cover the last 4km till Kel because the road was only mud and I was finding it extremely hard not to let my car drift off the edge.

The road beyond Keran (till Taobat) is a jeep track and I'd advise against driving your own car there.

The good thing though is that contracts have already been finalized for the expansion of the Neelum Rd. So in a few more years it won't be a problem driving till Kel at all.

Although Neelum is extremely beautiful from the beginning, the spectacular areas that you see in pictures start from Kundal Shahi. So I'd sincerely advise driving till Jagran, spending a few nights there and then hiring a vehicle (if you're not seasoned enough to drive there) to take you till Kel. Then spend a couple of nights at Kel with a day trip to Arang Kael and another to Taobat on a rented jeep. Return to Jagran or Keran, spend a night there and then drive all the way back to Muzaffarabad or Islamabad the next day.

The weather in June ranges from good to awesome depending on the clouds. The temperature drops as you travel northwards. By the time you reach Kel, it'll be cool to cold even in the sun. So take some warm clothes with you."

https://defence.pk/threads/neelum-valley-azad-kashmir-pakistan.186890/page-3#post-8344954

Please feel free to share any other suggestions or advice that you have for first time travellers.

Thank You
Shumais

Book your rooms days in advance, stay at hut 8.3 at Jagran, if you can spare a couple of hours take the scenic jeep ride to the "glacier" behind Jagran (it's not a glacier but a really large and long chunk of perennial snow), don't expect a lot from the food, buy hand crafted silver jewellery from Kel for someone special, confirm that your room has running hot water where ever you stay, take a lot of pictures and, most importantly, have a blast!

And if you have anymore questions, feel free to ask.