Home » Kashmir » Shounter Top | Neelum Valley | Azad Kashmir
Shounter Top
Shounter Top

Shounter Top | Neelum Valley | Azad Kashmir

Neelum Valley

Shounter is located in Neelum valley which is to the north and north-east of muzaffarabad. The elevation of the valley is 4,000 metres (13,123 feet) above sea level. It lies along the bank of the meandering river Neelum. Tourists can enjoy agnificent scenery, breathtaking splendour, a panoramic vista, and sky scraping hills along the road. The lush green dense forests, lovely streams and spellbinding surroundings make it a top tourist destination. The valley extends its majestic treasure like a Heaven on Earth. Neelum valley has multiple sub-valleys, all of which are equally magnificent and superb.

Shounter Valley
Shounter Valley/Credits: Mobeen Mazhar

Shounter Valley

The Shounter is a part of upper Neelum valley. Tourists can get there through a jeep track from Kel, which is operational for a few months of the year. Shounter Pass lies at an elevation of 4,420 metres (14,501 feet) above sea level. There is a small but picturesque spoon-shape lake in the Shounter valley. The valley is basecamp for Sarwali Peak. It is also a crossing point for the Shounter Pass into Astore valley. The Top (Pass) opens into Astore valley from Rattu village.

Shounter Lake

Shounter is a well-known lake in the Shounter valley. The elevation of the valley is 10,200 feet (3,100 metres) above sea level. The source of the lake is inflow of glacial water from neighbouring snowy tops of the mountains. The lake reflects the peaks, vegetation and specimens of Iris hookeriana that give it a spectacular look. A jeep route leads from Kel, Neelum valley to the lake.

Accessibility

Best time to visit Shounter valley is between May and August. Otherwise it remains snow-covered most of the year. Tourists can access there by a Jeep route. The route is operational for four or five months during the summer. For rest of the year, trekking is the only alternate. The entire valley is famous for its lakes. The beauty and serenity is quite stunning.

Shounter Valley, Azad Kashmir
Shounter Valley/Credits: Kashif Furqan

Routes and Treks

Tourists can reach Naran from Sharda via Noori-Nar Top. Ratti Gali, on the other hand, is another lovely lake. The journey to Ratti Gaii begins at Dowarian and ends in Naran. Tourists can approach Chitta Katha lake from Domel in the Neelum valley. They can travel from Shounter village to Astore valley in 2 or 3 days by crossing Shounter Pass. It is a less known region of the valley, yet it offers a promising experience to discover. Its beauty and charm are well described in travelogues. The best months for travelling are July and August.

Further Elaboration

There is another route from Jagran to Baboon valley. Tourists can travel to Makra and then go down towards Shogran on their way to Bhairi in two days. There is an additional trek from Bhairi that leads to the Neela Pahar and Ganja Pahar. Machiara National Park lies in the same which was established to safeguard the peculiar and precious endangered wild-life species.

Author: Fehmeeda Farid Khan

About Fehmeeda Farid Khan

A freelancer, blogger, content writer, translator, tour consultant, proofreader, environmentalist, social mobilizer, poetess and novelist. As a physically challenged person, she extends advocacy on disability related issues. She's masters in Economics and Linguistics along with B.Ed.

17 comments

  1. this i like this place so much special Hari Parbat Peak

  2. I feel this is one of the most important information for me.

    And i’m satisfied reading your article. But should remark on some general issues, The site taste is great, the articles is truly great :
    D. Excellent job, cheers

  3. It’s really a nice and helpful piece of info. I’m happy
    that you just shared this helpful information with us.
    Please keep us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing.

  4. Hurrah! In the end I got a weblog from where I be able
    to actually get useful data concerning my study and
    knowledge.

  5. naturally like your web site however you have to check
    the spelling on several of your posts. Many of them are rife with spelling issues and I in finding
    it very troublesome to tell the reality then again I’ll surely come back again.

  6. Hassaan Javaid

    Excellent….I am extremely impressed I have visited rattu. May I get road (track) map from rattu to Kel and surrounding areas…

  7. Hi, I feel that I saw you visited my website so I got here to go back the desire. I’m trying to to find issues to enhance my
    website! I assume its adequate to use some of your ideas!!

  8. If some one desires expert view on the topic of running a blog afterward I recommend him/her to pay a visit this webpage, Keep up the fastidious work.

  9. You made some decent points there. I checked on the web for more information about the issue and found most people will go along with your views on this website.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *