Book in Kaghan

Kaghan gives its name to the whole valley but is a modest village in its own right, roughly 25 kilometres below Naran on the Kunhar river at about 2,000 metres. It works as a base for travellers who want the valley without Naran's July prices, and as a break point on the long drive up. Hotels sit along the bazaar and the riverside, with a scattering of smaller guesthouses at Mahandri, Paras and Jared further down toward Balakot.

Rooms here run Rs 4,500 to Rs 9,000 a night off-peak and Rs 9,000 to Rs 18,000 through July and August, consistently below Naran for equivalent quality. Riverside rooms carry a modest premium. The trade-off is fewer restaurants, less reliable internet and a forty-minute drive up to Naran for jeeps to Saif-ul-Malook. For families driving up from Islamabad in one day, stopping at Kaghan rather than pushing on to Naran after dark is usually the better decision.