The Neelum Valley is the best known part of Azad Kashmir, with Keran, Sharda and Kel along the river, and Arang Kel and Ratti Gali Lake higher up.
The road follows the Neelum River for around 200 kilometres, in places across from the Line of Control, so permission and local advice matter. Villages of wooden houses cling to the slopes, and the river runs cold and green. Allow three or four days to see Kel, Arang Kel and Sharda without hurrying.
Late spring and early summer are lush, and September brings the first colour in the trees.
Highlights
- The drive up the river from Muzaffarabad
- Arang Kel above Kel
- Ratti Gali Lake
- The ruins at Sharda