6-day trip to Kaghan Valley and Hunza Valley in the north of Pakistan

I completed a 6-day round trip this past week with some members of my family travelling from our home village in Pakistan (situated around 100km south-east of Islamabad) northwards up to Sost. We were supposed to go a further 90km north-east up as far as Khanjereb Pass to touch the Pakistan-China border but we were running tight for time so decided to cut our trip a little short. You can find below some highlights of our trip as well as some tips which you'll find useful if you're planning on doing a similar trip. For pictures see here.

Highlights

• Mountains
• Rivers
• Good organic food and fruits (apricots abound)
• Nice friendly people living pure, simple lives
• Bumpy mountain roads!

Tour operator

We travelled with a Lahore-based tour operator named The Trekkerz. We contacted and got quotes from a number of tour operators ahead of time. All the quotes we got were in the range of 200,000 to 300,000 Pakistani rupees for a 6-day, 5-night, 8-person trip travelling in a new Toyota HiAce Grand Cabin. The price included a driver who doubled up as a tour guide, 3-room hotel accommodation, breakfast and entry to some but not all sites of interest. We decided to travel with The Trekkerz in the end not only because they had good online reviews but because they were the only one to be recommended to us by somebody we knew.

Day-by-day breakdown

Day 1 – We set off early in the morning from our home village (Arha) and arrived at Naran in the evening. We passed Islamabad, Murree, Muzaffarabad and Balakot along the way. We stayed the night at Naran Mountain Chalets.

Day 2 – We did a jeep ride up to Saif-ul-Maluk Lake in the morning and then set off for Hunza Valley. We passed Lulusar Lake, Babusar Top, Chilas and Gilgit along the way. We stayed the night at Hunza Embassy Hotel.

Day 3 – We visited Altit Fort in the morning, did a trek in Hopar Valley down to a glacier in the afternoon and then set off for Sost in the evening. We stayed the night at Sost Embassy Motel.

Day 4 – We made our return back to Hunza Valley passing Passu and stopping for some boating (at Attabad Lake), fruit picking and dried fruit shopping along the way. We stayed the night at Osho Thang Hotel.

Day 5 – We were supposed to proceed down to Naran but the road was blocked due to a local protest and so we had to take the longer road homewards which passes Dasu and Besham City. We stayed the night at Besham Continental Hotel.

Day 6 – We proceeded with our return journey home passing Mansehra and Abbottabad along the way.

Essential items to pack

• Travel sweets or chewing gum to stop you from throwing up because the road sure can get bumpy at times.
• A Chilly's water bottle (or equivalent) and cooler bag which keeps your water and snacks cool in the heat.
• Sunglasses and sun cream.
• A mixture of warm and cool clothes because the weather fluctuates between hot and cold from place to place.
• Pakistan national identity (NADRA) card for swift passage through police checkpoints.

12-day trip to Oman: Muscat, Sur, Nizwa

Below is a write-up of my 12-day trip to Oman with my wife. I'll start with a summary and some essentials and then proceed on to our trip itinerary.

Summary

12 days，7 hotels ，6 destinations, clear open roads and a good mix of land, sea, sun, mountains and deserts in the north of Oman. A highly recommended trip for the adventurous and nature lovers. Pictures of our trip here, here, here and here.

Essentials

1. Rent a car for the duration of your trip. The best way to get around is by car and finding parking in Oman is never a problem. A four wheel drive vehicle is a must if you're going to head for the mountains or the desert.
2. Have a cooler bag in your car to keep your snacks and drinks cool because it gets very hot in the car.
3. Keep your sunglasses and sun lotion with you at all times.
4. Purchase a mobile data plan on arrival at the airport.
5. Download at least two offline mapping apps on your mobile device. We found no one app was good enough to rely on entirely. The two we tended to use the most were Google Maps and MAPS.ME.

Itinerary

Day 1 (Thursday 5 April)

Arrived in Muscat from London Heathrow flying via Munich. (We booked with Lufthansa Air for £440 per person.) We bought a couple of Omantel Hayyak 2GB mobile data packages for 7 OMR each on arrival, set them up and then picked up our SUV (Hyundai Tucson) from the Europcar/Interrent desk at the airport. (We booked our car with arguscarhire.com for £467 including insurance.) Once our phones and car were all set up we drove to and checked into Lana Villa in Muscat.

Day 2 (Friday 6 April)

Stayed in and explored Muscat. We caught the Friday prayer at Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque and then drove on to Qurum Natural Park and Qurum Beach.

Day 3 (Saturday 7 April)

Drove to Sur from Muscat and stopped by at Bimmah Sinkhole and Wadi Shab along the way. After that we proceeded to and checked into Sur Grand Hotel.

Day 4 (Sunday 8 April)

Stayed in and explored Sur. We stopped by Bilad Sur Castle, Sunaysilah Fort, the fishing harbour for the sunset and then Al Ayjah Lighthouse where we sat and enjoyed a multitude of Adhans being called for Eisha in every direction.

Day 5 (Monday 9 April)

Drove from Sur to the southern part of Wadi Bani Khalid near the villages of Sabt and Sayq but we didn't find any water so we turned back and proceeded on to Wahiba Sands and checked in to Golden Palm Oasis for an overnight desert experience.

Day 6 (Tuesday 10 April)

Drove to the northern part of Wadi Bani Khalid near Muqal where we got some good swimming in. Proceeded on to Nizwah where we checked in to Al Diyar Hotel.

Day 7 (Wednesday 11 April)

Visited Nizwa Souq and Al Hoota Cave and then proceeded up Jebel Shams and checked in to Sama Heights Resort.

Day 8 (Thursday 12 April)

Drove around the top of Jebel Shams near our accommodation, caught site of some good deep canyons and went for a nicely paved walk from Al Khitaym.

Day 9 (Friday 13 April)

Drove to Musannah and checked in to Millennium Resort Mussanah. The initial plan was to pass through Wadi Al Hawqain and Al Rustaq on the way to Musannah but we got caught in some tough mountain roads so we bailed on Wadi Al Hawqain and simply passed Al Rustaq on the way to Musannah. The resort was a little too much on the luxurious side and we only stayed here because there were no other accommodation options in the area. In hindsight we should have just gone straight from Jebel Shams to Muscat.

Day 10 (Saturday 14 April)

Drove to Muscat. Checked in to Behlys Boutique. We visited Muscat Grand Mall in the evening but it's nothing to write home about. Just another fancy mall.

Day 11 (Sunday 15 April)

Hung around and did some activities in Muscat. We caught the dolphin watching boat ride from Marina Bandar Al Rowdha (we didn't enjoy the dolphin watching experience), some jet skiing in Azaiba Beach and then some gift shopping in Mutrah Souq.

Day 12 (Monday 16 April)

Dropped off our rental car and caught our return flight from Muscat airport.

Trip to Makkah and Madinah in the first ten days of Ramadhan

Went with my wife to Makkah and Madinah for the first 10 days of Ramadhan. We stayed in Makkah for the first 4.5 days (5 nights) at the Elaf Al Mashaer Hotel and then in Madinah for the second 4.5 days (4 nights) at the Rove Al Madinah Hotel. Both hotels we booked ourselves via the booking.com website. We flew via Saudi Airlines which we also booked ourselves direct from the saudia.com website. Car transfers we arranged with a Pakistani (not Arab thank God!) company called Al-Falah Transport Services (contact details in the comments) which was on point: good prices, good communication and good service overall. The visas we arranged with a London based company called Hassan Hajj Tours. Overall the total cost of the trip for two persons not including clothes and dates shopping was £3300 (accommodation [£1500], flights [£1100], visas [£300], transfers [£200], food [£200]).

Makkah

In Makkah because of the heat and the crowds it's not so easy going back and forth between the Mosque and the hotel for each Salah. Thus the routine that we gravitated towards over the course of our stay was as follows:

• Fajr (4am) – we would go to the Mosque half an hour before the Adhan, pray and then make our way back to the hotel half an hour after Salah.
• Between Fajr and Dhuhr – this is when we would get our longest stretch of sleep.
• Dhuhr (12:30pm) and Asr (3:30pm) – we would make our way to the Mosque half an hour before Dhuhr, pray Dhuhr, hang around until Asr, pray Asr and then make our way back to the hotel half an hour after Salah.
• Between Asr and Maghrib – we would get some rest at the hotel, freshen up and pack our Iftaar snacks.
• Maghrib (7pm) – we would get to the Mosque (sometimes inside and sometimes outside) a few minutes before the Adhan and break our fast with dates, yoghurt drink and whatever other little goodies we had with us (croissants, Loacker wafers etc).
• Between Maghrib and Eisha – we would get in a Tawaf on the first floor. Sometimes we would do the first few circuits on the ground floor and then head up to the first floor when it got too busy and congested.
• Eisha (9pm) and Tarawih (9:30pm) – we would finish Tawaf before the Adhan, continue half a circuit more to the opposite side of the Mosque and then find a good spot to pray on the mats.
• Between Tarawih and Fajr – we would go to the third and fourth floors of the Clock Tower building to get some dinner and to purchase some snacks from Abraaj Hypermarket for the next day's Iftaar, then proceed to our hotel to do our social media browsing for the day and then on to the hotel's dining area for some pre-Fajr breakfast.

Madinah

In Madinah it wasn't as strenuous as it was in Makkah to go back and forth between the hotel and the Mosque and so we tended to come and go between each Salah. Restaurants and takeaways close to the Mosque are in very short supply so we highly recommend arranging breakfast and dinner at your hotel if this is an option. Lastly, for clothes (Jubbas, Jilbabs etc) and dates shopping, Taibah Commercial Center outside the Mosque has plenty of options. You don't need to go anywhere else. There's a Bin Dawood supermarket in here also for you to stock up on snacks and fruits.

3-day trip: Cotswolds, Forest of Dean, Wye Valley

Headed to the West of England this week with my wife for a short 3-day trip (Monday morning to Thursday afternoon). We based ourselves in Howle Hill, Ross-on-Wye for the evenings and hopped between the Cotswolds, Forest of Dean and Wye Valley in the daytimes. Below is a full itinerary of our trip:

• Monday morning – we caught the GWR train from London Paddington to Gloucester station. (We booked the train a month before the trip for £68 return trip for 2-persons.)
• Monday afternoon – we picked up our car for the trip from the Europcar office which was a 20-minute walk from the station. (We booked the car a month before the trip for £50 for three days plus £10 for roadside assistance plus £12 for car insurance which we booked separately with iCarhireinsurance.) After picking up our car we headed to the Sainsbury's right nearby to stock up on all our food for the trip.
• Monday evening – we settled in our accommodation (Ivy Studio) on Howle Hill in Ross-on-Wye and went for a short walk around the surrounding area. (We booked our accommodation a month before the trip via Airbnb for £172 for three nights inclusive of the £22 Airbnb service fee.)
• Tuesday morning – we drove out from our accommodation to Bourton-on-the-Water in the Cotswolds. It was meant to be an hour's drive according to Google Maps but turned out to be over an hour-and-a-half. Longer than we would have liked.
• Tuesday afternoon – we picked up our hired cycles from Hartwells Cotswold Cycle Hire (£14 per-bike for full day hire) and then cycled our circular route from Bourton-the-Water to Lower Slaughter to Upper Slaughter to Lower Swell and then back to our starting point. Our experience was that the area is better for walking than cycling. The cycle paths were non-complete and we found ourselves on the roads and footpaths more than we would have liked.
• Tuesday evening – we drove back to our accommodation.
• Wednesday morning – we drove from our accommodation to the Forest of Dean. This was a much shorter drive than the previous day. Just 30 mins.
• Wednesday afternoon – we picked up our hired cycles from Dean Forest Cycles (£18 per-bike for full day hire) and followed the circular route suggested by them passing Cannop Ponds and New Fancy View along the way. This was a much more enjoyable cycle ride than the previous day. The cycle path was clear, well-connected and well-signposted all the way through.
• Wednesday evening – we stopped off at Symonds Yat on the way back to our accommodation for a beautiful view of the Wye Valley. Well worth the stopover.
• Thursday morning – we drove back to Gloucester from our accommodation and returned our car.
• Thursday afternoon – we walked to the train station through Gloucester town centre and caught the train back to London Paddington.

I've uploaded some pictures of the trip to my Flickr account here.

3-day family trip to Brecon Beacons

I went to the Brecon Beacons National Park last weekend with the family (9 of us; 2 cars). We booked our accommodation in the eastern part of Brecon Beacons in a place called The Beast House Barn. The barn is located right near a village called Cwmdu with the towns of Crickhowell and Abergavenny just a short drive away. We found the barn to be very easy to get to from London (it's a 3.5 hour drive with no stops; or 4.5 hours with a couple of short stops along the way). Our itinerary for the trip was as follows:

Sun 28 Aug morning: We set off from home around 8am and arrived at the barn around 12:30pm.

Sun 28 Aug afternoon: We had a short rest at the barn, unloaded our baggage from the car into the barn, had some lunch and then set off for a walk. We drove up from the barn on the A479 following it north for 10 minutes to a car park that comes just before the village of Pengenffordd. From there we set off on a walk eastwards up the hills towards Waun Fach. It was nice and secluded; there were just a few walkers around.

Sun 28 Aug evening: Back to the barn for dinner and sleep.

Mon 29 Aug morning: A slow wakeup and breakfast.

Mon 29 Aug afternoon: We drove for an hour to the south-west of Brecon Beacons for the famous four waterfalls walk. We stopped at the first and fourth of the waterfalls (Sgwd Clun-Gwyn and Sgwd-yr-Eira) but didn't have enough time to stop by the second and third (Sgwd Isaf Clun-Gwyn and Sgwd y Pannwr). It's a long walk (4+ hours) so: if you have kids with you, bare that in mind. 

Mon 29 Aug evening: Back to the barn for dinner, toasted marshmallows and sleep!

Tue 30 Aug morning: Another slow wakeup and breakfast followed by clearing up of the barn and loading of our baggage back into the cars.

Tue 30 Aug afternoon: We drove down to Cardiff to get a feel for Wales beyond the Brecon Beacons. We caught the afternoon (Dhuhr) prayer at Dar-ul-Isra Mosque before heading on to Pontcanna Fields for a picnic and a splash in the River Taff.

Tue 30 Aug evening: Back home alhamdulillah!

For a small selection of pictures from our trip, see here.

2-day trip: Devil's Dyke, Truleigh Hill, Shoreham-by-Sea, Brighton

Had a pleasant 2-day trip from London to the south of England last weekend with the wife. We set off from home on Saturday around 12pm and drove to Devil's Dyke in the South Downs. The drive – including a break for lunch and Dhuhr... and traffic – was around 3 hours in total. We chose one of the car parks right besides Devil's Dyke to set down our car and immediately saw a sign for a farm cafe (Saddlescombe Farm) a short walk away... and thus we followed suit! After cakes at the cafe (which were very nice... the Banana Flapjack especially) we walked back to the main part of Devil's Dyke and chilled there for a couple of hours before heading back to our car.

From Devil's Dyke we drive to our accommodation for the night: Truleigh Hill YHA. The distance from Devil's Dyke to Truleigh Hill is only 3 miles but there's no direct road so it's a half-hour drive. We chose to camp out on one of the fields besides the YHA (£13 per person per night) rather than booking one of the rooms. Our spot had an excellent view of the sea to the south and we were lucky in that the field was pretty empty that evening. We set up our tent, got out our disposable BBQ and heated up the chicken that we had pre-cooked at home earlier in the morning. It was a pleasant day and, as ever, it was a joy praying Asr, Maghrib and Eisha in the outdoors.

The next morning – after breakfast at the YHA and packing away our tent – we drove down to Shoreham-by-Sea (half-hour drive) and sat on the pebbles by the sea for a good hour or so. Always a joy to find an empty beach and not have naked people all around! There weren't many people around at all. Just a few people fishing by the pier and a few people out walking their dogs. Maybe it wasn't busy because it wasn't too hot and summer holidays haven't started yet?

After Shoreham-by-Sea we continued our drive on to Brighton. We parked up right outside Medina Mosque (24 Bedford Place), prayed Dhuhr there and then had lunch at a burger place called Chinoz and ice-cream next door at a place called JoJo's Gelato. Plenty of Halal eateries on Western Road right beside the Mosque! We couldn't stay long in Brighton because the parking spot we had was for up to 2 hours and because it's pretty expensive to park around there! £6.20 for 2 hours. So, a word of caution, if you want to go to Brighton, you're better off taking the train.

Here's a small selection of pictures from our trip:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/adilson05uk/albums/72157668500141744

4-day trip to Ireland (Dublin and Galway)

Went to Dublin and Galway in Ireland with the wife for four days last week. Here's the itinerary of our trip:

• Thursday 27th morning flew over from London Stansted to Dublin airport with Ryanair.
• Thursday 27th afternoon picked up our rented car from Europcar at the airport and drove to our hotel (Aspect Hotel Park West) located west of Dublin town centre near Park West and Cherry railway station.
• Thursday 27th afternoon got the train from Park West and Cherry railway station to Dublin Heuston railway station and then the Luas tram on to the town centre (Abbey Street) from where we started our walk south to Dublin Mosque passing Trinity College, Merrion Square and St Stephen's Green en route.
• Thursday 28th evening prayed Asr and Maghrib at Dublin Mosque and had dinner in between in the Mosque canteen.
• Friday 28th morning drove down to Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland for Jumuah and then had lunch at the Mosque canteen following Jumuah. What a Mosque!
• Friday 28th afternoon drove further down south to Powerscourt Estate Garden and Waterfall. Highly recommended! 
• Friday 28th evening drove back up to Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland for Maghrib and a light dinner and then on to our hotel.
• Saturday 29th morning returned the car in the town centre and then caught the train to Galway.
• Saturday 29th afternoon walked around Galway town centre and caught a very nice crafts and food fair on Church Lane just off Shop Street.
• Saturday 29th afternoon picked up our rented car from Budget and drove along the coast to our B&B (Summerville B&B) and then on to Spiddle town, stopping along the way a couple of times and catching the views.
• Saturday 29th evening drove back into Galway town centre for dinner. We went to Pearla Na Mara restaurant and found it to be very nice!
• Sunday 30th morning drove along the coast back into Galway town passing and stopping at Salthill en route before returning our car.
• Sunday 30th afternoon got the train back from Galway to Dublin Heuston railway station and then the Luas tram on to Abbey Street to pick up some goodies before getting the Airlink 747 bus from Busaras to Dublin airport.
• Sunday 30th evening got our return flight from Dublin airport back to London Stansted.

Good trip overall alhamdulillah. We could have done with an extra day in Dublin to ride the DART local train to explore the east coast and an extra day in Galway to explore Connemara National Park... but I guess that leaves us things to do should we return!

Here are our pictures from the trip:

• Dublin (5 photos)
• Powerscourt Estate and Garden, Wicklow (3 photos)
• Galway (5 photos)

Day trip: Wendover station to Coombe Hill

Went on a day trip with the wife, niece and nephew last bank holiday Monday. We got the train from London Marylebone station to Wendover station in the Chiltern Hills (around 40 minutes). And then we walked from Wendover station to the top of Coombe Hill, chilled there for a while and then back to the station. It's a nice easy walk which takes around 40 minutes each way if walking at a reasonable pace and not taking breaks. The view from the top of the hill is very nice on a clear day like what we had. If you use Ordnance Survey maps, it's the Chiltern Hills North (181) map which you want (grid reference '86 07' to '84 06'). 

Some pictures from the walk here.

2-day trip to Marrakech, Morocco

Went to Marrakech, Morocco for a couple of days last week with my wife. Good destination for a short break.

We landed late on Thursday night and went straight to our hotel. On Friday we prayed Jumuah Salah in the main, central masjid (Masjid Koutoubia), we then had lunch in a restaurant by the main square (Jemaa el-Fnaa), explored the endless markets north of the main square and then returned to the square for dinner at the food stalls. The square really comes to life in the evening. Be sure to be there in the evening for barbecued dinner and bizarre entertainment! As for the market, you'll have to be patient and employ your bargaining skills. Expect to be quoted five times the actual price. And don't be flattered when they tell you it's "just for you, Muslim price"!

On Saturday we joined a day tour of Ourika Valley in the Atlas Mountains organised by M'Hamid Travel. On the tour we visited a Berber village where we had some fresh green tea, a herb garden where Argon oil and other herbal medicines were grown/made, we had lunch by the river, walked over a bamboo bridge built over the river, ascended a mountain to see a beautiful waterfall, and on the way back to the city we stopped by a pottery workshop where we made a memorable Wudhu from a clay pot :-)

Extra bits: We flew with Ryanair, the hotel we stayed at was Hotel Les Trois Palmiers and the airport-hotel transfer company we used was Ma-Navette. All above par and met our expectations.

Here's some pictures from our trip:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/adilson05uk/sets/72157644442639179/

6-day trip to Central Scotland

Went up to Scotland for a week with the wife last week. Very nice trip. We got the train from London Euston to Glasgow Central (~£50 per person, ~4.5 hours) and then a cab (~£50, ~1 hour) onwards to our first stop for the trip: the Rowardennan Hotel.

We stayed at the Rowardennan Hotel (~£50 per person per night) for a couple of nights (Tuesday evening to Thursday evening). The hotel is itself is okay but it's the location you're after. It sits right beside Loch Lomond (a large, lovely lake) and the path leading up to Ben Lomond (a mountain 974 metres high). We climbed the mountain on Wednesday and rested around the hotel on Thursday.

We returned back to Glasgow on Thursday evening via cab (~£50, ~1 hour) and stayed for a couple of nights at the Alexander Thompson hotel (~£50 per night) located right beside Glasgow Central train station. The location of the hotel was fantastic and the hotel itself was pretty decent too. Good value for money. In Glasgow, we walked around the various squares, shops and small parks as well as walking along the river and checking out Glasgow Central Mosque. One of the best Masjids I've seen with regards to not only size but also outreach with the wider community.

We caught the train (~£12 per person, ~1 hour) from Glasgow Queen Street station on Saturday afternoon on to Edinburgh where we stayed for a couple of nights. We stayed at the Tune Hotel (~£50 per night) located right outside Haymarket railway station and just a ten minute walk away from central Edinburgh. Our main day for exploration was Sunday and we pretty much walked the whole day catching all the main sights: Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile, Edinburgh Central Mosque and a bit of Holyrood Park. Edinburgh is beautiful! You can't live in the UK and not visit Edinburgh!

We returned back to London King's Cross on the train from Edinburgh Waverley (~£50 per person, ~5 hours) and back home for work the next day, recharged and refreshed :-)

You can find a small selection of pictures of our trip on my Flickr account here: Rowardennan, Glasgow, Edinburgh.

Cave Hill

Cycled up to Belfast castle (5 miles from my place of residence in south/central Belfast) yesterday and then walked up to McArt's fort, on the summit of Cave Hill (elevation 370 metres). A couple of pics above.

Belfast, Whiterock Road

Headed for the mountains west of me today for the first time since moving over to Belfast. Went down Eglantine Avenue, then over Tates Avenue, up Donegall Road, and lastly up top of Whiterock Road where the road ends and I wouldn't have been able to go further even if the road continued because of the two pesky dogs barking at my feet!

Noticed a massive change in atmosphere when I got up top of Donegall Road: political artwork on buildings all over commemorating those who lost their lives in the troubles not so long ago.

First show of snow

Went out for Fajr and didn't spot a thing,
got up and out for work a couple hours later
and noticed the hills to my left were covered in snow!

Eglantine Avenue, Belfast

The hills in view
stepping out of my room,
crossing the road,
looking to my left,
feeling seduced.

Turkey - Istanbul, Ankara, Cappadocia, Safranbolu

Had a really pleasant week-and-a-half break in Turkey. Went from Istanbul to Cappadocia to Safranbolu and back again to Istanbul passing Ankara located in between the three on each transit. All three towns were awesome in their own ways and the reception received from the locals (on seeing a group of young, Asian/Black, visibly practising Muslims) in the masjids and market places of each of the three places especially beautiful. There was something about Safranbolu though out of the three which really filled me with a sense of serenity. Some pics from the trip uploaded to my YouTube account here, here and here.