Day 4: Jalkhat to Chillas

Author: Nawab Tanweer Ahmad
Date of Trip: September 2015

The road to Chillas goes above the mountains and passes through the highest point in Kaghan Valley, the Babusar Pass, which is the highest peak in the Kaghan Valley (13,700 ft.). Equally, we were going upward on the mountain the weather is getting colder & colder. Riding for almost 5 hours, we reached the Babusar Pass. We were told by our jeep driver that this place has frequent snowfall and rain all around the year, except for winter when it is completely blocked. At the time when we were on that point, the weather was sunny but windy and the temperature was very low making us feel really cold.

We are at the highest peak of this route, now the road toward Chillas started ascending. Our journey along the beautiful route continued until we reached ‘Dalain’ and we settled to end there for tea. Having tea and snacks at the river bank in this cold weather makes us feel so fresh. The place is amazing and the surrounding was breathtaking.

Running up & down, left & right, crossing bridges & water flowing along the road from the mountains, mesmerizing the green plains, the trees and the potato & corn crops harvested by the locals we reach Chillas in 6 hours. We have turned over half way of our journey and stop for a lunch in a local eatery. We stay there for an hour and had Biryani for the lunch. Our jeep driver took the jeep to a nearby shop for some maintenance and we stretched our legs in the hall of the motel. Chillas is a town serving as the lodging and resting area for those travelling on Karakorum Highway, the Highway is connecting Pakistan and China. The weather at Chillas was too hot, but we were prosperous as the motel hall was air conditioned.

We stay for two hours at chillas before proceeding our journey toward Gilgit again.