Bagh

Bagh is a mountainous and lush green area of Azad Kashmir in the Himalayas and Pir Panjal Range with an average elevation between 1,500 to 2,500 meters. Its landscape is mostly covered with coniferous forests and living place for various wildlife.

Accessing Bagh District

Bagh is located at the distance of 88km from Muzaffarabad via Sudhan Gali along the Mahl River with several rivulets. It is also connected with Kohala with Bagh Highway, and is located at a distance of 160 km from from Islamabad and accessible via Kohala-Muzaffarabad road and Kahuta-Rawalakot road. Drive through the Murree Express Highway by crossing the Kohala Bridge to turn right side on the Kahuta-Rawalakot road. It takes nearly 5 to 6 hours to reach there.

Bagh is bounded by Muzaffarabad, Hattian Bala, Haveli, Poonch, and Rawalpindi districts. It is also attached with the Baramulla district in Indian-occupied Jammu & Kashmir. It was part of Poonch district before 1988, when it was given a status of district.

Sudhan Gali

Sudhan Gali is situated at an elevation of 7,000 feet at a distance of 24 km from main Bagh town. Local jeeps are also available there. Road ascends through the dense pine forest toward the high ridges. It is a beautiful and scenic location surrounded by pine forests in Azad Kashmir. Several tourists visit in summer season due to its pleasant and cool weather. It is also the base camp to perform the trek for Ganga Choti. Few rest-houses are available to spend night there, otherwise one can perform camping. Sudhan Gali is also famous for rare forest of hundreds of years old.

Ganga Choti

The Ganga Choti, having altitude of 9,989 feet, is famous place for hiking. It is one of the best places for hikers in Azad Kashmir. It is famous due to iconic cone-shaped shining peak. It is also the highest place in the district. A 7km trek leads toward the Ganga Choti from the Sudhan Gali Road. It takes two to three hours to complete the scenic ridge trek to reach at the summit. From the top, one can get 360 degree panoramic view of Kashmir mountains.

Las Danna & Bedori Top

For more adventure, one can plan the trek to Las Danna and Bedori Top to explore the high altitude pine meadows. Las Danna is a famous high-altitude tourist resort at an elevation of 8,612 feet. It is located at a distance of 15 km from Bagh town. From there, a hiking trek leads through the scenic views to Bedori Top.

Snowfall in Winter

Sudhan Gali and Las Danna also receive considerable amount of snowfall in winter season, so one can also plan to visit in winter season to enjoy the snowfall. Low temperature in winter season makes these areas much cold.

Haji Pir Pass on LOC

The Haji Pir Pass is located in the Pir Panjal Range at the elevation of 8,661 feet above sea level in Azad Kashmir on the Line of Control. It was captured by Indian Army in 1965, but returned to Pakistan after five months due to international pressure. Due to heavy rainfall in winter season, it becomes impossible to cross.

Panjal Mastan National Park

The Panjal Mastan National Park is situated at an elevation of 9,186 feet above the sea level in the Bagh district. It is the highest plain in the Bagh and covered with wildflowers in the spring season. It is reserved area due to its rich flora and fauna of the Pir Panjal Range. It is a place of some rare animals such as leopard, rehesus monkey, fox, wild boar, and different species of birds including kalij pheasant and cheer pheasant.

Dhirkot - Mountainous Valley

Dhirkot is a small beautiful village in the Bagh district on the Bagh Highway. It is mountainous valley with lush green trees with scattered colorful huts.

Weather in summer season is hot and warmth, whereas weather is cold in winter season. It also receives some snowfall on high altitude locations.

There are two mini nallahs, Mahi and Mahlwani, in this area, flowing all over the year. Due to this, the weather of this city moderates all year.

Searching another high-altitude hill station in AJK, explore our complete Neelum Valley Travel Guide.