Dadrili pass

Dadrili Pass (4800 m) connects the Ghizar district of Gilgit to Swat valley. It can be started from Handrap village which is a few KMs away from PTDC rest house in Teru. In 5 days of trekking you end up at Lake Maho Dand in Swat while enjoying a camp in the shadow of Falak Sair Peak.

Basic Info
Trek Name: Dadrili Pass

Range: HinduKush

Maximum Height: 5030 m

No. of trekking days: 5

Trek starts from: Handrap village

Trek ends at: Maho Dand Lake

Total no. of days (Islamabad to Islamabad): 9

Best season: July through September

Reaching starting point
From Islamabad, you can reach Gilgit by road in 18-20 hours or take a flight to Gilgit. From Gilgit, you can reach Gahkuch by bus (Natco). From Gahkuch, you can arrange a Jeep for Handrap village. This is not far away from PTDC resort at Teru/Phunder, so you can consider spending a night there. Jeep takes around 1 hour to reach Handrap village.

Day 1: Handrap village to Handrap Lake.
it is a gentle 4-5 hours walk that will take you to the Handrap lake. This lake is known for tasty trout which you can enjoy if you are lucky to catch one after paying some tax. There are small villages around this trek with 'Gamal Daas' the biggest one. Fire wood is available on the route and at the Lake. The route is mainly grassy with occasional stone paths.

Day 2: Handrap Lake to Ambesh.
Next day you can walk from Handrap to a camp that is in base of the Ambesh peak. It will take you around 6 hours and you will gain some height also. At this camp site two Nallahs meet and you can also camp a bit further on the Nallah going towards the Top. There is also a Dhaara like place built by local people. The route is mainly on bolders.

Day 3: Ambesh to Base camp.
Next day, you can reach to the base camp of the Dadrili pass. You'll come across a lot of bolders and small lakes on the route. It will take you 7-8 hours to reach the Campsite which is a small sandy patch along side the Nallah. The site is after 3 big lakes on the route. Here you'll also find some Bakarwaals but no villages are around here. Fire wood is also not available this day.

Day 4: Base camp to Dadrili top to Base camp.
This is the toughest day, so start early. After reaching top in 5-6 hours, you can descend in similar time to other side's base camp. The descend is on slippery small size stones, so be careful. The base camp gives you a view of Falak Ser Peak. On your way up first half is on slippery stones and rest is on snow. However descend is around 65 degrees and you have to be very careful. After around 5 hours of desend you reach the grassy patch along with a Nallah where you can spend night. This is the toughest day of the trek and there is no possiblities of camping before the two base camps at either side.

Day 5: Base camp to Maho Dand Lake.
This day is a nice walk in green areas with lots of waterfalls and lakes and you can reach Maho Dand lake in 6-8 hours. On your way, you will also come across the meeting point of Dadrili river and Kachi kani rivers. After this piont, the path is straight forward and like a Jeep trek. The river looks like a lake at many places including the famous Maho Dand Lake.

Getting back
You can either spend your night at Maho Dand or take a jeep to reach Kalam. From Kalam, you can take van directly to Rawalpindi or take one for Kalam and then for Rawalpindi.

Trek Options
You can also take the opposite route where you start from Maho Dand Lake and end up at other side. Kachi Kani and Bashkhoro treks are also parellel to this trek but are on the Chitral side.

Costing Info
Provide your estimates of per person cost. And any info on Porter rates, jeep rates, rents etc. Average rate of a porter for one day is around 1500 Rs.

Contact Points
Zabar Khan is Guide cum porter at Handrap village.

Dr. Hadi of SPS has done it more than once.

Majd uddin, Naseer Ahmad Rushdi, Lateef Qaiser, Lutf ur Rehman and Atta ul Saqib Noor did it in 1998.

Tanvir Jogi of The Trekkers did it in 1992.