This is our Swat tour package for 3 days from Lahore, the standard group trip and the cheaper of our two Swat weekends. It covers Malam Jabba, Bahrain, Kalam and Mahodand Lake in two nights, with a shared room and a standard hotel.
The coaster leaves Lahore at 11 pm from Thokar Niaz Baig or Barkat Market, and Islamabad guests get on along the way. The drive from Lahore to Mingora takes about seven hours on the M-2 and the Swat Motorway, so we arrive in time for breakfast. From Mingora we go up to Malam Jabba, then drive along the Swat River to Bahrain for the night.
On the second day we go further up the valley to Kalam, about three hours above Mingora. You walk in Ushu Forest, pass Matiltan and take a jeep up to Mahodand Lake before an evening in Kalam Bazaar and a second night in Bahrain. On day three we leave after breakfast and are back in Lahore around 11 pm.
The price covers the coaster, two nights in Bahrain with 3 to 4 people per room, breakfast and dinner as per the itinerary, a BBQ night with a bonfire, road tolls and a guide.
From
PKR 15,000 / person
Day by day
Times are a guide and can shift with the road and the weather.
The coaster leaves Lahore at 11 pm the night before from Thokar Niaz Baig or Barkat Market, picking up Islamabad guests on the way. We reach Mingora in the morning for breakfast and drive up to the Malam Jabba ski resort. The chairlift is optional and the ticket is paid separately. In the afternoon we carry on up the valley to Bahrain, check in and have dinner at the hotel.
We leave Bahrain early after breakfast and drive to Kalam. From Kalam we visit Ushu Forest and Matiltan, and local jeeps take us up the 35 to 40 km track to Mahodand Lake, about two and a half to three hours each way. If the track allows, we also stop at Saifullah Lake. We come back through Kalam Bazaar in the evening and return to Bahrain for dinner and the night.
Breakfast is at the hotel, and then we start the drive home. Islamabad guests are dropped in Islamabad, and the coaster reaches Lahore around 11 pm.
The full package
Everything covered by the price — and the few things to budget for separately.
Travellers' Voices
PKR 15,000 per person in a room shared by 3 to 4 people. Children aged 3 to 9 pay PKR 10,500 and children under 3 travel free. A couple who want their own room pay PKR 35,000 in total.
At 11 pm from Thokar Niaz Baig or Barkat Market in Lahore. Departures run through the season, so WhatsApp us for the next date and we will confirm the pickup point.
Yes. We pick up Islamabad guests on the way north and drop them back on day three. The price is the same as from Lahore. The pickup point is near the motorway or GT Road so the coaster stays on its route, and we share the exact spot with booked guests before departure.
A standard hotel in Bahrain, booked by availability for your dates. We confirm the name a few days before departure. Rooms are shared by 3 to 4 people.
It is not in the inclusions list. The coaster cannot go up the Mahodand track, so we arrange local jeeps in Kalam and tell you the current fare when you book.
A warm jacket, because Kalam and Mahodand are cold in the evening even in July. Bring comfortable shoes, sunscreen, a cap, a power bank and any medicines you need.
A 30% advance confirms the booking. Cancel more than 7 days before departure and we refund 75% of what you paid; 5 to 7 days before, we refund 50%. Cancellations in the last 4 days, and no-shows, are not refunded.
Mingora, the main town of Swat, is about seven hours from Lahore on the M-2 and the Swat Motorway, leaving the motorway at Chakdara. Bahrain is further up the valley road, and Kalam is about three hours above Mingora. That is why we drive overnight on the way up: you sleep in the coaster and arrive with a full day ahead.
April to October is the season for Swat. For Kalam and Mahodand Lake, June to September is best, because the lake and the jeep track are usually under snow until late May. July and August are the busiest months and also the monsoon, so we check the road between Bahrain and Kalam, which was damaged in the 2022 floods, before each trip.
This is our standard Swat trip: a coaster, a standard hotel and shared rooms for PKR 15,000. We also run a luxury version of the same 3-day route at PKR 18,000 per person, in the same coaster with the same guide, but with a better hotel in Bahrain and better food.
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