Brutal Offroad to Camping in Serene & Wild Sharan Forest EP.02 | North Pakistan Motorcycle Tour
Just don't break it while trying to fix it. Where did you find this? It was on the road. That was the edge. You can see these water springs; one after the other. We are pitching our tents right here. What an awesome place this is.
There's a dense forest at one side... Assalam Alekum. Namaste. Good morning. Sat Sri Akal... To everyone... From Balakot. We got here around 10 pm last night.
We had a tiring ride yesterday. We couldn't even get up in the morning. That's why we got up a little late. Because we have already covered a lot of distance yesterday. We have left the busy traffic area behind to say the least.
The plan is to Sharam Forest from Balakot. That's one of the most beautiful forests in Pakistan. We'll try to showcase it for you. It will take almost two hours on this Balakot Naran road. Then we'll reach a place called Paras. That's where the off road section starts.
And the whole ride will take around 6 hours. We'll comfortably get there in the second half of the day. And there we'll be camping tonight. But before anything else, let's do our breakfast. And then we'll start our ride. Our breakfast has been served.
Let me give you a glimpse. We have potato chickpea curry and some other thing with potatoes as well. I'm not sure what's this. We'll find out when we try. This is half fried egg. We'll try to have a light breakfast today. Got tea as well.
Ali has got some bread. We also had a meal here last evening. That was good. This breakfast looks good as well.
Since it's a buffet, you can eat as much as you want. But we'll keep it light. Because we have a long way to go.
Bismillah... In the name of Allah... Thank you so much... *Prayer for the journey* May Allah make this a safe and memorable day for us. Just see how beautiful our morning is. It was raining quite heavily last night. But it's somewhat hot at the moment.
It's not unusual in Balakot to have hot days. Unless it's raining... or it's a cloudy day. In that case, it will be rather pleasant.
For now, we do feel the heat in sunlight. You can now find famous restaurants like Butt Karahi and many more, here. Not very long ago, there weren't many facilities here. But now the whole area is full of restaurants. I think that's because this is a top tourist destination. And the peak season lasts for 3 to 4 months.
You won't find as many tourists in any other place in Pakistan. Except may be in Murree and Nathiagali. This is Balakot city.
The previous area, as I may have mentioned last evening, is called New Balakot. That's where all the hotels and resorts are. I think this is the only section that might take some to cross. Ready? We are now at the start of the off road section. Ali told me that there are tracks on both sides. But this one is better.
So we are choosing this one. Lets pray it turns out to be good. Because a number of people have, sort of, scared me about this road. Like, it's a very tough road. People mainly travel in jeeps here. I'm actually feeling somewhat anxious.
But God willing, we'll be safe. We hope to enjoy this ride. As soon as we are off the main road, we can see some really stunning views on our right. Look at the river down there.
I think I have heard a sound. From my motorcycle. Seems like something's wrong. Look at that...
Our bag has fallen off. No harm done. There are some scratches though. But it's not torn or anything. We do have some extra bungee chords.
I'm gonna tie it with them now. What's wrong? Narrow escape. The bag slipped backwards in the very first section.
Did the bag slip or the motorcycle? Just the bag... It started brushing against the wheel. I heard a sound so I thought to check it. We may not have tied tight enough. Probably.
Not good enough for off road. Lets check the stuff inside. It has really important stuff in it. Quite heavy too.
Open it from here. Check the top. These off roads are not easy, man. So, we have taken care of the bag now. The tripod was causing the problem.
Because of that, the bag got a bit loose. We have used the spare bungee chords and changed the position of the tripod. But our registration plate is broken now. Just don't break it while trying to fix it. Good Lord... I think it has survived the damage.
If it gets pressed towards the other side once more... Then it will definitely get broken. Anyways... let's get going. Up till now... there's still gravel. Lets how it's gonna be.
There are two many loose rocks here. Quite steep... That's a rather tough track... For those of you who want to visit... take note. I can see proper villages back there.
That means it's not just a place for tourists. You can also see local villages here. That's the second village here. We crossed the first one a little while ago.
These are small villages with just a few houses. That's all I have seen till now. It's a tough track.
Well.... That was not entirely unexpected. I put the rear wheel at an awkward point. No worries.
I thought I was gonna do this without falling... but anyways. We'll have to pick it from this side. A little more force... It will be back up... we just need to use more force. No, lift it from below. Can I help? Not from that side.
Do it here. Push.. Push... I think there's too much load on it. You are not able to put your hand at the right spot. Exactly. Hurry... I can see fuel leakage. You can easily find fuel here.
We'll manage. Did it fall hard? What? Was it a gentle fall? Yes. Guess we are really low on energy. What's your name? Zain Shah. Is that your sister? Yes. What's her name? Halima Bibi.
You live here? What's the name of your village? Bella Sacha Turn it on. The tank is down to half now. Let's move. Assalam Alekum Planning everything on Google is always the easiest bit. I can go there... I can do that...
But you come to your senses, when you get a track like this on your first day. You realize that your plans were only good on paper. This is the path to Chinar Resort. And... Lets wait here for Ali. He was behind us.
Our plan is to do camping... That point is a little ahead. These mobile numbers suggest that there will be network coverage here. So.... Chinar Resort?
Where did you find this? It was on the road. Well... So, we are going to Chinar resort for a short break. You are a dangerous man, Ali.
You always take me to such difficult off roads. Shall we? We decided to take a break here. We can get a good meal here... And also...
I'll put the contact number of this place in the description. You can call them before coming. I think this is a really good place for families. Because this is an amazing location.
Of course... I won't recommend families to come here on motorcycle. They can get a jeep and get here rather comfortably. I don't think it will take more than an hour if you rent a jeep. We have ordered club sandwiches for us. Along with hot tea.
Some fries as well. All of this has cost us almost PKR 2000. I haven't paid yet but that's what the bill says. However, this is a wonderful location. Very relaxing and peaceful.
I haven't seen any tourist here. I don't think many come here. Not many people know about this place. For now, we'll enjoy our cups of tea here. After that, we still have to go another 3 km. According to Ali, the remaining track will take almost an hour.
And I don't think it's gonna get any easier. It's getting cloudy. Lets see if it rains... Would be great if we could reach the camping site and pitch our tents before that happens. There are many small shops like this one, here. That means you don't have to worry about food here.
There's a lot of variation in this track. It's continuously changing. There are really high steeps on this side. You must have full coordination on the road. I can see some pods here.
Camping pods. Glamping pods actually. From here, you can have a view of the pods down there. Assalam Alekum Wow...
What a stunning forest this is... Low clouds... This scenery is truly amazing. That's a hard curve.
This track has become much more interesting now. We are getting truly forest vibes here. Real peaceful Of course we are on motorcycles.. so we are already loud enough. But the forest sounds that we are hearing... If you just listen to it... The sounds of a forest...
I hope it's gonna stay this way. I hope these trees will be preserved rather than getting cut down. This is a wonderful location. I am really happy.
And we haven't even gotten off our motorcycles. Look at the cows and goats. Here are some locals. Hello... It's really slippery here.
Need to pay more attention. That was the edge of the road. I barely survived because of a 5 cm gap. But I wasn't going too fast, so I was able to handle that. It's really muddy here. I think...
We are there... This is Pakistan Youth Hostel. You can see the tents.
I wanted to camp right there. You can now see water springs; one after the other. These are camping pods.
Assalam Alekum Ali, I think the camping section was back down there. This used to be the camping place. Not anymore. How much are you charging for the pod? The one with 2 beds is for PKR 4000/- The one with 4 beds is for PKR 8000/- Yes. This is Abrar.
Assalam Alekum Wa Alekum Salam How are you? I have watched all your videos. Thank you very much. The whole India Tour as well. Ayan What's your name? Arsal. That's a nice place. You can camp wherever you want. There are also some huts back there.
Then they have their own tents as well. You can rent them if you like. Or you can use your own tent.
There are quite a few options here. So, we are pitching our tent right beside them. I have got myself a new tent. Many of you ask which tent I use. This is MSR Hubba Hubba... It's a 2 person tent.
It has enough room for your luggage as well. Weight 1.5 kg. Let's pitch it now. Finally my tent is ready. I have used this tent for the first time. Since it's a brand new one, it took me some time to get hold of it.
But I have done well. I hope it can withstand rain. Many of my friends use this brand.
Ali's tent is right next to mine. And this is my sleeping mat. That's in my use for almost 10 years now.
Filling it with air is the most difficult part. But it's good after that. It's a small sized one. It proves to be really good in winter. Because of its insulation. It's gonna be a test of my lungs.
Here's my sleeping bag. I have changed this one too. Because the previous one was not doing well in cold. It's a little bigger. But it's good enough even for -10 degrees.
I have planned it according to this tour. The rain is getting heavier. However, all our luggage out here is water proof. It's raining properly now.
But we have finished our setup before it started. I have shown you my sleeping bag. This is my jacket but I also use it as my pillow. 2 in 1 I can wear it if it gets cold at night; otherwise it'll be the pillow. Ali.. please come a little forward.
Please show all this space. There's enough room for me to put my non-water proof items here. I can also place my important items near me. For instance, these are all the water proof items; so not to worry about these.
I have placed the jacket and helmet here. There's enough space for that. And there's a similar situation on this side as well.
The good thing about this tent is that it has two doors. So that you can use it for ventilation if it's hot. And when it's raining... you have enough room on both sides to place your luggage and still sleep comfortably.
So I have placed my bag on this side. My clothes are in this one. That's also placed here.
And these are my shoes. We can comfortably enjoy the rain now. Let's see if I can get some footage for you.
What an amazing place this is. A dense forest... Very few tourists... And on top of everything, this beautiful little water spring just beside our campsite. You can hear the beautiful sound of this water in your tent.
Imagine sleeping in the tent at night.... I hope not too many tourists are coming today. Because they can get really loud at times. In that case... One can't really enjoy the peace... Especially when you have traveled so far to be at this splendid location. So far, our experience here has been exceptionally good.
We'll only have light for another 15 to 20 minutes. We can easily return then. We have hardly come a 5 minute walk from our campsite. Although we have all the items needed for camping... And we can cook our own food.
But since we can get food here, we thought to avail this opportunity. Here we have daal mash and hot roti. Done with the dinner now. It was really delicious. I think being at a place like this brings extra taste to whatever you eat. We paid PKR 400/- for our dinner.
Now, here's our tent... And we are ready to sleep. We have lights here. They have a generator running at the moment. During the day time, they use solar panels for electricity. So that you can charge your mobile phones and other gadgets.
We'll capture some more shots for you in the morning. Time to sleep now. Hopefully we'll have a good night's sleep. Don't forget to Like, Subscribe and Share. Allah Hafiz.
2023-08-05 09:05
