By It was a challenge planning a winter trek below the snowline. I first tried to locate a suitable venue close to Islamabad. The inquiry, however, took me to a trekking route along the Indus River from Thakot to Darband spanning Battagram, Torghar and Mansehra districts in KP. This is not a known trekking venue and the google map helped with its orientation.
It revealed a relatively better developed road network along the Indus left bank up to the upper end of the Tarbela Dam reservoir. District Shangla extends along the river’s right bank with very few roads. Being uncomfortably hot for the outdoors during the summers the region, therefore, does not qualify as a tourist venue.
| Indus near Thakot |
Aligned somewhat parallel to the Hazara Expressway, the River Indus flows at a navigable pace along this route with wide expanses at places. Its water at this time of the year is the pleasing glacier fed turquoise blue as opposed to the silty texture during summers. Though less in volume but we saw boats plying in it. The adjoining mountains tend to rise abruptly on the Shangla side, whereas their rise is comparatively gradual along the left bank, which has more population. The river allows limited trekking options along its sandy banks as at places the adjoining rocks and terrain is shaped in steep configurations, which are difficult to negotiate.
I hired the services of a guide, Mr Aamir Jan Shirazi (03038806644), who works in the scenic Allai Valley and in the Battagram district. He also promotes tourism and local culture in the social media. Myself, Asad, Imtiaz and Adnan travelled to Mansehra on 2 March 2022 afternoon and onwards to Thakot in mild rain. We lodged for the night at Peace Hotel just across the Indus bridge.
By about 0830 hours on 3rd March, we commenced the trek from Thakot along a paved road that runs parallel to the Indus River along its left bank. In about three hours we crossed Dowar Mela and then the road goes along a loop into the mountains. It was not comfortable to walk along the paved road and on the advice of the jeep driver whom we had hired to carry our baggage, we crossed the river along a narrow wooden bridge opposite village Jatkol in the Shangla District. The aim being to continue with the trek on the river’s right bank along a non-paved route.
| The Trekkers |
The trek became a mini adventure as it entailed a variety of experiences. We treaded across sandy patches next to the river, negotiated rocks set at a difficult incline and walked through the rural landscape towards its latter part. For me negotiating some of the steep patches posed a challenge and I seriously considered swimming across the very cold River at one point. However, my younger trekking colleagues negotiated these patches with comparative ease. It was an engaging 40 odd kilometres trek and by the evening we reached Judba, the headquarters of Torghar District.
I cancelled the last leg of our planned trek, from Judba to Darband on the following day, again along the paved road. We headed back to Mansehra late at night and returned to Islamabad the following day. So, what do we conclude form the experience?
| Boat in the Indus close to Judba |
Seen in the context of adventure tourism, the Indus left bank constitutes an interesting biking route in a scenic setting. However, considering the poor quality of the road, use of the mountain or hybrid bikes is recommended. Secondly, the River Indus along this stretch allows convening water sports like speed boating, white water rafting and perhaps more. It certainly requires a professional determination consistent with the accepted standards.
On trekking, our experience suggests pre-determination of the suitability of the venue. Services of a local guide should have been hired with respect to the trek along the Indus right bank where we could have adopted a challenging yet negotiable route. Lastly, the region is saved from the ravages of mass commercialism less Thakot where you find more grey than green with commercial spaces lining along the Indus, and of course polluting it.
This write-up provides a bird’s eye view of a scenic part of the upper Indus Valley with reference to our trekking experience.
Summary:
| Access | Logistics | Treks | Safety | Cost | Aesthetics |
| Easy | Not an issue | Moderate degree of difficulty | Safe. Local guide is recommended. | Approx Rs 1300 per head to include guide and the jeep hiring | Pleasing |