In my previous post Road to heaven I received an overwhelming response from my fellow local guides and many of them have a lot of curiosity about Phander valley so I have decided to write its next part where I will tell you about complete guide of Phander valley.
I went there with my family Phander village is a small village with lush green pastures and lush Green Fields of different crops Turquoise green color of Gilgit River and Fruit trees every where, I have read 30 years before about Phander valley and want to go there but unfortunately my this dream will not come true for past 30 years in this summer I visited this valley with my kids.
It is less explored and even mostly Pakistani don’t know the name of this valley and about the beauty of this valley Hight of this valley is 9855 ft in this valley the crime rate is almost zero and there is no security issues you will remember it all your life if you visit this place I bet this.
I have decided to go there with my kids and believe me it was the most beautiful place in my life which I ever visited , I went there for only one day but I stayed there 3 days and 2 nights even then I wish to stay there more and everyday there was another reason to stay more. Now come to brief details about Phander valley.
What is the best time to visit ?
The best time to visit Phander valley is limited to April to October out of this range there will be no hotel open so it will be very difficult to stay there except these months I visited this place in last August and early September
I find this dates best for visit Phander valley. At this time we found apricots , grapes , apples ,Almond, walnut and fresh Fig to eat right from the farms even you can pluck it with your hands all along the way from Gilgit to Phander valley.
Another best season to visit thunder valley is autumn season which starts in early to mid September and you cannot believe on your eyes how the all valley turns in golden colour
How to go Phander valley:
Phander valley is 175 Km from Gilgit and it takes 5 to 6 hours. Phander valley is right on the way from Gilgit to Chitral highway if you you are travelling from Gilgit to Chitral you will be passed through Phander valley
The most reliable transport is NATCO bus from Gilgit you have to purchase its ticket in advance one day before you can purchase it from NATCO in Gilgit and a ticket costs 500 to 600 rupees and remember you will not tell the ticketing man that you will getting off at Phander you have to tell him that you are going to Mastuj there are also some high ace minivans which are slightly above then the NATCO bus
Where to stay in Phander valley
there are limited number of places to stay in Phander valley but these options are very much economical
here I will tell you some budget hotels like , Paradise Hotel & Restaurant Madina hotel Makkah hotel and Lake inn hotel I stayed in SadaBahar Hotel & Restaurant
which is also a budget hotel but they gave us a separate portion which was specific for family only their charges were 3000 Rs. but they gave us in only 1500 rupees for 6 bed on ground hall room. if you are camping lover the best place is to camp in Dream Island camping site
I will write a separate post for this camping site there are also luxurious options available in past PTDC Motel **Phander managed by government but unfortunately it has closed now.
Things to do in Phander:
There are lot of attractions in Phander valley the most important is Phander lake from Dream Island camping site to Phander lake you also can lost in the streets of villages where everyone wish to welcome you and host you and tea and fresh fruits like apricot, grapes, apples , cherries walnut and almond also available for your mouth tasting you also can go for one day trip to famous Shandur Pass Handrap Village and Handrap lake and up to Teru Village village there are also a lot of trout fish available in gilgit river you also can fishing there. We also taste fresh trout fish there in 1600 rupees per kg believe me it’s taste is best of the world There were no smell of water because it is fresh water fish .Climate and weather :
in Summer During day time 10 to 25 and Night 5 to 15i inwinter during day time 0 to 10 and night -5 to 5 degree
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Telecom companies in Phander valley:
Scom is the only network that works in Phander some other telecom companies just like Telenor and Zong also available but you cannot use 3G or 4G services you will get only 2G signal there and very slow net SCom only operates in Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan in other Pakistan you cannot get SCom Sim
There are a lot of more attractions in Phander valley I will write separate posts about Phander lake , Dream Island camping site , Phander wooden bridge and the hidden road of Phander please stay tuned for upcoming posts and if you wish that I will tag you in my upcoming posts please let me know these all pictures are taken by my mobile realme S5 if you want to go through my previous post of this tour you can check these posts here.
1- Babusar Pass
2- White water rafting a life time experience
4- Stone age houses still exist in Pakistan
