Nobody talks about Sharan the way they talk about Hunza or Skardu.
That’s exactly why you should go.
Sharan Forest, tucked in the Kaghan Valley district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, is Pakistan’s quiet masterpiece. No Instagram influencer crowds. No jeep convoys. No overpriced “luxury glamping.” Just dense deodar forest, mountain meadows, cold streams, and a silence so complete it feels physical.
I discovered Sharan by accident in 2022 — on a group ride where we took a wrong turn above Paras and found ourselves on a forest road that seemed to be heading nowhere in particular. We followed it anyway. An hour later, we emerged into Sharan.
We stayed three nights. We’d planned for one.
Getting There — The Road Is the Adventure
The route from Paras (off the Kaghan main road) climbs steeply through switchbacks into the forest. The road is narrow, unpaved in sections, and absolutely beautiful.
Deodar cedars — Pakistan’s national tree — tower on both sides. Their trunks are massive, ancient. The road is carpeted with fallen needles. In the morning the mist hangs between the trees and the light comes down in shafts. I stopped the motorcycle every hundred metres on the way up, not because I needed to, but because each view was different from the last.
The road is technically manageable on most motorcycles, but a bike with some ground clearance makes it more comfortable. We had a mix of 150cc commuters and bigger adventure bikes on the group ride — everyone made it, though the 150s earned their glory.
The Forest — What Silence Actually Sounds Like
Sharan’s forest is old. Not the thin, scrubby forest you see on lower slopes in Pakistan — this is cathedral forest. The trees are fifty, sixty, perhaps a hundred years old. They block out the sky. You ride through them and the temperature drops five degrees immediately.
Somewhere in there, riding with the engine cut through a particularly quiet section, I realised something: the forest is not actually silent. It’s full of sound. Birds I couldn’t name. Wind moving through the tops of the deodars in a way that sounds almost like water. A stream somewhere below the road. The creak of an old tree.
What’s absent is human noise. And that absence, after months of Lahore traffic and group ride WhatsApp notifications, felt like medicine.
The Meadows — A Reward for the Climb
Above the tree line, Sharan opens into high alpine meadows — flat, green, almost impossibly peaceful. In summer these meadows are dotted with the tents of Gujjar nomads who bring their herds up for the grazing season. The Gujjar are warm and curious — they will invite you for chai without a second’s hesitation.
I sat in one such meadow on our second afternoon with a group of my riding companions. We’d made a fire. Someone had brought instant noodles. The sun was setting behind the ridgeline and the sky was going orange-pink over the peaks.
Nobody was on their phone. Nobody was talking much. We’d all independently arrived at the same conclusion: this was enough. This exact moment, this exact place.
Practical Notes for Riders
- Access route: Balakot → Paras → Forest Road to Sharan (approx. 2–3 hours from Balakot).
- Road condition: Paved to Paras, then forest track. Passable but take it slow.
- Accommodation: PTDC Motel Sharan exists (basic but functional). Camping is the better experience.
- What to bring: Firewood-buying money (available locally), warm layers (temperatures drop sharply at night even in summer), and patience. There is no rush here.
- Mobile signal: Expect minimal to none. Tell someone your plan before going.
I’ll admit it. I cried.
The dirt track up to Eagle’s Nest is not for the faint-hearted. It’s steep, loose-gravelled, and narrow enough that two motorcycles cannot pass each other. I nearly dropped the bike twice. But the top — the top is something else entirely.
From Eagle’s Nest, you see Hunza Valley the way a bird sees it. The silver thread of the river below. The apricot orchards glowing gold in October. The Passu Cones on one side, Rakaposhi dominating the south, and Ultar Sar so close it feels like you could lean your ladder against it.
I don’t know if it was the altitude, or the exhaustion, or just the accumulated weight of everything I’d ridden through to get there. But sitting on that ridge at sunset, I felt something release in my chest. Like a breath I’d been holding since Lahore.
Practical Notes for Riders
- Best time to ride: May–October. The KKH at Attabad can be icy and dangerous after October.
- Fuel up in Gilgit — pumps get sparse. Carry at least 5 litres extra.
- The road from Gilgit to Karimabad is mostly paved but has stretches of gravel near Nomal. Take it slow.
- Altitude note: Hunza sits around 2,400m. If you’re coming from the plains, give yourself a day to adjust before doing the Eagle’s Nest climb.
- Stay at: Hunza Serena or Old Hunza Inn for budget — but honestly, any rooftop guesthouse in Karimabad will give you a view that costs a fortune elsewhere in the world.
Why Sharan Changes Group Rides
I’ve done dozens of group rides. Sharan did something different to ours.
When you remove signal, comfort, and convenience, people relax in a different way. Conversations go longer. Laughter is louder. Strangers become friends faster. The forest seems to strip away the version of yourself you perform for the city and leaves the quieter, more honest one.
Every rider I’ve taken to Sharan has asked: why don’t more people know about this?
I give the same answer every time: let’s keep it that way.