Our Swat Kalam tour is 5 days and 4 nights in a private car for two, from Islamabad up the Swat valley to Kalam and back. You have your own GLI car, driver and fuel, and a private jeep for the day at Mahodand Lake.
The first and fourth nights are at the Serena hotel in Saidu Sharif, and the two nights in between are at Walnut Heights, on the slope above Kalam. On the first day we visit Marghazar and the White Palace before checking in.
On day two we drive up the Swat River through Madyan and Bahrain to Kalam, which sits at about 2,000 m. Day three is for the jeep track to Mahodand Lake, 35 to 40 km and two and a half to three hours each way, with Ushu Forest on the same trip. On day four we come back down to Saidu Sharif, and on day five we see Malam Jabba before the drive to Islamabad.
The hotels, the Mahodand jeep, a bonfire on the first night and road taxes are included. Meals are not, so you can eat where and when you want.
From
PKR 55,000 / person
Day by day
Times are a guide and can shift with the road and the weather.
Your driver picks you up in Islamabad at 8 am and drives to Swat. From Lahore the car leaves at 4 am and passes Islamabad at about 8:30 am. Before checking in at the Serena in Saidu Sharif, we make a short visit to Marghazar and the White Palace, the old summer palace of the Wali of Swat. There is a bonfire at the hotel in the evening.
After breakfast we drive up the valley along the Swat River, stopping in Madyan and Bahrain. Kalam is about three hours of driving from Mingora, plus the stops. You check in at Walnut Heights in Kalam for two nights.
After breakfast at Walnut Heights, a private jeep takes you up the Ushu valley to Mahodand Lake. The track is 35 to 40 km and takes two and a half to three hours each way. You stop in Ushu Forest on the way, and come back to Kalam in the evening.
After breakfast we drive back down the valley to Saidu Sharif and check in at the Serena for the fourth night. The rest of the day is free.
After breakfast we drive up to Malam Jabba. If snow or the road stops the car, a jeep takes you up at no extra cost. From there we head to Rawalpindi or Islamabad, where the tour ends. Lahore guests are home late at night.
The full package
Everything covered by the price — and the few things to budget for separately.
Travellers' Voices
PKR 110,000 per couple from Islamabad, or PKR 55,000 per person, and PKR 140,000 per couple from Lahore. That covers the private car, driver and fuel, four hotel nights, the Mahodand jeep and road taxes. Meals are not included.
Yes. The GLI car and driver are yours for all five days, and the jeep to Mahodand Lake is a private one, not shared with other guests.
Two nights at the Serena in Saidu Sharif (the first and fourth) and two nights at Walnut Heights in Kalam (the second and third).
Yes. The car and driver then come from Lahore, leave at 4 am on day one and bring you back to Lahore late on day five. The price from Lahore is PKR 140,000 per couple, PKR 30,000 more than from Islamabad, for the extra fuel, tolls and driving. The days in Swat and Kalam are the same. Drop-off is in Rawalpindi or Islamabad on day five, or Lahore late that night. Private tours can start from any city in Pakistan: tell us where you are when you book and we will plan the pickup from there.
No. Meals are not included on our honeymoon tours, so you can eat at the hotel or stop at a restaurant on the way.
Warm clothes, even in July, because Kalam and Mahodand are cold at night. Bring comfortable shoes for the lake and the forest, sunscreen and any medicines you take.
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.
June to September is the best time for this tour. Mahodand Lake and the upper valleys around Kalam are under snow until late May and again from November, and the jeep track can close. July and August are the busiest months in Kalam and also the monsoon, so we check the road with you before you leave. The August 2022 floods destroyed several riverside hotels in Bahrain and Kalam and parts of the road. Much has been rebuilt, but some stretches are still slow, so the drive to Kalam can take longer than planned.
Our 3-day Swat honeymoon tour uses the same private car and two nights at the Serena, but stays in lower Swat around Mingora and Malam Jabba and does not go to Kalam.
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