Babusar Top or Babusar Pass is a mountain pass at the north of the 150 km (93 miles) long Kaghan Valley with an elevation of 4,173 meters or 13,691 feet above from sea level, connecting it with Chilas on the Karakoram Highway (KKH). It is the highest point in the Babusar Valley. The Babusar Pass connects Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Gilgit Baltistan.
History
Babusar Top was originally known as Babur Top, originating from the fact that the Mughal emperor Babur used to pass through this area in the early 16th century. Nowadays, however, it is commonly referred to as Babusar Top.
Best time to travel Babusar Top?
From the middle of July up to the end of September, the road beyond Naran is open right up to the Babusar Pass and remains closed in the rest of the months due to heavy snowfall. However, movement is restricted during the monsoon and winter seasons. The Kaghan area is accessible by road via the cities of Islamabad or Peshawar.
Things to know before you go
- Make sure your car is maintained and good in condition. Be very sure that the brakes of your vehicle are in perfect condition.
- From Islamabad 8 hours to Naran and from Naran to Babusar 2 hours maximum.
- You should start your journey early in the morning to avoid crowding. And leave Babusar before 5 pm. Babusar top close at 5pm.
- At the top, as we go up oxygen level lowers so, people with breathing issues should not hike the mountain.
- Take some warm clothes along with you and some snacks.
- Don’t forget to take the camera with you.
- There are no restrooms/washrooms and restaurant or fuel pumps on the top.
- Do not travel in rainy weather/in monsoon. There is a risk of land sliding and slipping of cars.
And definitely, for every trip you must prepare a checklist of things to be done before leaving your home, to avoid any kind of mishap during your trip.
A bit from my trip to Babusar Top
I visited Babusar top last year along with my family in September. It was a truly unforgettable and audacious tour. We headed our journey from Islamabad and stayed in a hotel in Naran. Our ambitious aim was to visit Babusar top. Babusar top is about 65.6 km (2h 28 min) from Naran via N-15. So, at very next day we departed from Naran at 7:00am. After 1 hour continuous drive we stopped at a restaurant on the roadside.
Kunhaar River
The landscape was marvelous, surrounded by lush green High Mountain with river Kunhaar flowing along the roadside the weather was very pleasant with tons of pure oxygen. We relaxed for a while took some pictures and resumed our joyful journey.
It’s not about the destination, it is about the journey.
But in my case, I would say that both the destination and the road to it are awe-inspiring and most stupendous views.
The road is fully carpeted, wide, and well-constructed, useable for all kinds of vehicles. On the way, there were so many small waterfalls where people were gathered and enjoying in cold water. We also stopped there for a while.
Lulusar Lake
At 48 km away from Naran on way to Babusar top a very pulchritudinous lake known as Lulusar Lake. Which was surrounded by lush green prodigious mountains. We stopped at this lake for some time to enjoy the scenes of nature with all its beauty and glory of nature dancing before our eyes. This heavenly place was really out of this world with zero pollution, zero noise, zero artificiality, and any kind of disturbance, just pure and completely natural environment.
It was calm, mind relaxing, quieter, and peaceful in the midst of mountains and greenish meadows and captivating scenery. After lying in the lap of nature for a while fresh up! and resumed our journey towards our destination.
After a very eager and adventurous drive, we finally reached our destination the great BABUSAR TOP! We reached there at 10:00am. This astonishing piece of nature with a breathtaking panoramic view of high altitude mountains was worth seeing and seemed like a dream. There were some tuck shops also. We hiked to the top of the mountain. There was a glorious bright blue sky with an enchanting view of clouds suspended in the sky.
Very beautiful panoramic sceneries on both sides of the top were awe-inspiring and stupendous with a cold breeze. With the bird’s eye view, the landscape was totally spectacular and astounding. The cold breeze with fresh oxygen which we inhaled, sanitized our souls for the rest of the years. After spending some memorable hours of joy and a euphoric sense of freedom. We packed our journey with heavy hearts and promised to visit this beautiful heavenly place again.
Adventurous activity
On the way back from Babusar top, we had done adventurous rafting in Kunhar River. It was such an adventure in the freezing water of the River. We enjoyed rafting a lot.
It is a must visit place, one should must visit this place once in life.
Conclusion
If you are in Kaghan valley must-visit Lulusar lake and don’t forget to do rafting, give it a try must.
If you ever visited this place, share your experience too. 🙂