Sharan Forest: Three Nights Under Cedar Skies

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Sharan is the tour our team argues about the most. Some of us think it’s the best thing Destino Ventures runs. Others think it’s too unpredictable to keep on the calendar. After three nights up there in early June with a group of sixteen, I’m firmly in the “best thing we run” camp. Here’s why.

What Sharan actually is

Sharan is a cedar and pine forest at about 2,800 m, sitting between the Kaghan and Siran valleys in Mansehra district. There’s no electricity. There’s no mobile signal. There’s a tiny PTDC rest house, a handful of wooden cabins, and a meadow at the top where most groups pitch tents. The road in — from Paras — is a 4x4-only jeep track for the last 12 km. It takes 90 minutes to cover those 12 km.

The drive in (and why we use local jeeps)

People underestimate this drive. It’s not just rough — it’s steep, with switchbacks that have a real drop on one side. Every season, somebody’s rented Vitara gets stuck and a local jeep has to be called in. Save yourself the trouble: hire one of the Paras jeep operators at the bottom. They know every metre of this road, and many of them have been driving it since before they had driving licences.

Setting up camp

We arrived at the Sharan meadow at about 4 p.m. on day one. The sky was clear, the temperature was 12°C in the sun and probably 5°C in shade. We had four six-person tents, a kitchen tent, and a sit-around tarp. Setup took ninety minutes with everyone helping. By dusk we had a fire going and chai brewing. By 8 p.m. the temperature had dropped to about 2°C and everyone had pulled out the woollens they’d laughed about packing.

The thing nobody prepares you for at Sharan is the silence. Karachi guests in particular keep saying “it’s so quiet”, then ten minutes later, “no, but really, listen.”

Day two: the walk to the hidden meadow

There’s a meadow about 45 minutes’ walk from the main camping spot that almost no day-trippers reach. We had it entirely to ourselves. A group of locals from Paras passed through with a small herd of goats and stopped to share kahwa with us. This is the kind of thing that happens when you go slow and stay long. It doesn’t happen on a day trip.

The night sky — the actual reason to come

If you’ve never seen the Milky Way without light pollution, Sharan is one of the easiest places in Pakistan to do it. On a clear new-moon night, you can see the band of the galaxy run end to end across the sky. We’ve had guests cry. It’s that kind of sky.

Food: what worked, what didn’t

• Worked: A proper karahi made over an open fire on night two. Took two hours. Worth every minute.
• Worked: Breakfasts — paratha, omelette, doodh-patti chai. Simple, hot, fast.
• Worked OK: Pasta on night one. We won’t do it again. Too much effort for too little payoff in a forest.
• Mistake: Underbooked snacks. People nibble constantly at altitude. Double whatever you think you need.

Honest warnings

• No mobile signal means no Google Maps, no UberEats, no calling for help easily. Carry a satellite messenger or InReach if you’re going independently.
• Weather can flip in twenty minutes. Pack rain shells even if the morning is bright.
• Sharan is not for very young children or anyone with respiratory issues. The altitude is mild but the cold at night is real.
• Leave no trace. We carry out every wrapper. If you come on our tour, you will too — that’s non-negotiable.

What this trip costs

Three nights, double-tent, all meals, two 4x4 jeeps from Paras, full camping kit, two guides and a cook: PKR 38,000 per person for groups of 12+. We don’t run Sharan for groups smaller than 8 — the logistics don’t work out.

When to come

Mid-May to late September. June and September are my favourites — clearer skies, fewer day-trippers, the wildflowers in June are everywhere. Avoid mid-July to mid-August if rain bothers you.