Heavy Kaghan Valley snowfall on Monday covered the hill stations in white, drove temperatures down sharply, and left the main tourist road slippery for drivers. Police temporarily stopped traffic between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan on the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad (MNJ) Road—the mountain link that runs through the valley—because conditions were unsafe.
Where snow fell and how roads were managed
Snow began early Monday morning at Babusar Top, Saiful Muluk Lake, Battakundi, Basal, Lolosar Lake, Naran and other parts of the valley, and continued off and on through the day. A police official said clearing crews had made the road passable for traffic up to Naran, the commercial hub of Kaghan Valley. Police nonetheless kept tourists from travelling beyond Naran toward Babusar Top until the weather improved.
That means day-trippers and hotel guests could still reach Naran under the rules then in force, while the higher, colder stretch toward Babusar remained off-limits for ordinary tourist movement. The same hazard that closed the KP–Gilgit-Baltistan corridor also explains why drivers were warned to treat the cleared section with care.
What local officials told travellers
Hussain Deen, chairman of the Kaghan Valley Hotel Association, said visitors were still coming to enjoy the snow because authorities had allowed traffic as far as Naran. He asked motorists to drive carefully between Balakot and Naran on slippery surfaces and to avoid reckless driving.
Abdul Rasheed Tanoli, sub-divisional officer of wildlife in Kaghan Valley, said the snowfall had pushed temperatures down across the region. He added that four-wheel-drive vehicles could still use the road linking Naran with Saiful Muluk Lake, and that tourists were continuing to arrive to see the scenery.
Taken together, the official picture on Monday was a valley open for limited tourism around Naran, with tighter control on higher ground and a clear safety message for anyone on the MNJ corridor.
What travellers should expect next
Access past Naran toward Babusar Top depended on further improvement in the weather, according to the police restriction already in place. Until that changes, anyone planning a Kaghan trip should treat Naran as the practical outer limit, allow extra time for ice and snow between Balakot and Naran, and favour vehicles suited to wet, slippery mountain roads where the Saiful Muluk link is concerned.
A fresh kaghan weather update from local authorities will matter most for whether the Babusar stretch reopens and whether the KP–Gilgit-Baltistan suspension on the MNJ Road is lifted. For now, the Kaghan Valley snowfall has reshaped the day’s travel map more than it has emptied the valley of visitors.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Somwar ko Kaghan Valley mein bhari barf bari hai aur mausam bohot thanda ho gaya. Police ne Naran tak sadak khol di hai, lekin Naran se aage Babusar Top ki taraf tourists ko nahi jane diya. Balakot se Naran tak sadak phisal rahi hai, is liye ahista aur ehtiyat se gaari chalayen. Jo log barf dekhne ja rahe hain, woh abhi Naran aur us ke qareeb ke ilaqon tak hi sochen.
