I’ve led trips to Saif-ul-Malook more than forty times. I’ve seen it in sunshine, sleet, fog so thick you couldn’t see across the water, and once in a thunderstorm that broke fifteen minutes after we got back to the jeeps. The morning I want to write about happened in early June this year, after a hailstorm came down on Naran the night before.
Why the hailstorm mattered
The road from Naran town to Saif-ul-Malook is a 30-minute jeep ride that feels longer. After heavy rain or hail, parts of it become genuinely sketchy — loose rock, washed-out switchbacks. Our jeep team called me at 5 a.m. and said the road was clear and we’d be the first group up there that day. We woke our nine guests, gave everyone fifteen minutes, and were rolling out of the hotel by 5:45.
What we saw at the top
We reached the lake at 7:10 a.m. There was no one else there. The hailstones from the night before were still scattered across the bank like white pebbles. The water was completely still. The reflection of Malika Parbat in the lake was so clean it looked like a folded photograph.
One of our guests, a man in his late fifties who had told me on day one that he wasn’t really an “outdoors guy”, just stood at the edge for about ten minutes without talking. When he came back he asked if we could give him the GPS coordinates so he could come back next year with his daughter. He did.
What I tell every group about Saif-ul-Malook
- Go early. By 9 a.m. there are 200 people there. By noon, 800. The lake is best before the crowd.
- Don’t take the boat at peak hours. The boatmen overload in summer. We arrange a private boat in the morning slot.
- Bring a jacket even if Naran is warm. Saif-ul-Malook is at 3,200 m. It’s always 10°C colder.
- Skip the “Lake on the way” tea stalls. Sit at the lakeside instead and have your flask of tea. Quieter, prettier.
The Lulusar option
If you have an extra day, push north to Lulusar Lake on the road to Babusar Top. It’s less famous, less crowded, arguably more beautiful, and the drive is one of the prettiest in the country between mid-June and September.
What this tour costs
Our standard Naran weekend (Friday evening to Sunday night) for a group of 10 is PKR 28,000 per person, double-occupancy. Includes hotel in Naran, all meals, transport, jeep ride to Saif-ul-Malook, and a guide for the day at the lake.
What I’d still change
I’d cut the Friday-evening departure. Reaching Naran at midnight makes Saturday morning hard. We’re moving to a 5 a.m. Saturday departure on future weekends — longer but everyone arrives rested.
Want to come with us?
We run small-group tours every week from April to October. Transport, hotels, meals, and a real local guide — all included.
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