Area guides / Azad Jammu and Kashmir / Muzaffarabad & Leepa
Area guide
Muzaffarabad & Leepa
AJK's capital, the Jhelum Valley and the rice terraces of Leepa
Region
Azad Jammu and Kashmir
When to go
March to November for the city and Jhelum Valley
Getting there
Muzaffarabad is 2.5-3 hours by road from Islamabad via the Muzaffarabad Expressway. Leepa is a few hours further on a winding seasonal road over the Reshian Pass; check conditions before setting out.
Spots
4 key places
Overview
About Muzaffarabad & Leepa
Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, stands where the Neelum meets the Jhelum. East of it the Jhelum Valley road leads toward Leepa, a fertile valley of terraced rice fields and carved wooden houses about 83 km from the city, reached over the Reshian Pass.
Muzaffarabad is 2.5-3 hours by road from Islamabad via the Muzaffarabad Expressway. Leepa is a few hours further on a winding seasonal road over the Reshian Pass; check conditions before setting out.
Muzaffarabad
For most travellers the city is a gateway, but the Red Fort above the Neelum and the half-day climb to Pir Chinasi make it worth a night. The Neelum road north starts here.
Jhelum Valley and Leepa
The Jhelum Valley road follows the river upstream past Chikar's side road toward the Leepa turn. Leepa is divided into five sectors, Nowkot, Kasirkot, Dao Khan, Leepa and Chananian, and sits close to the border; check access before travelling.
Field Guides
All places →
Muzaffarabad
Muzaffarabad is the capital of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, sitting at the confluence of the Neelum and Jhelum rivers where the Hazara-Kashmir Syntaxis bends the surrounding hills into a dramatic amphitheatre. For most travellers it is a gateway rather than a destination in itself, the last major town before the Neelum Valley road narrows and climbs, and a natural overnight stop to break the drive from Islamabad.
Leepa Valley
Leepa is one of Azad Kashmir's most beautiful and most isolated valleys, a fertile bowl of terraced rice fields, carved wooden Kashmiri houses, and pine-clad slopes roughly 83 km from Muzaffarabad, sitting at around 3,000 m and hemmed in on almost every side by the border. Formerly the princely territory of Karnah, part of Kupwara district before Partition split the valley from the rest of Kashmir, Leepa saw hard fighting in the 1971 war and its aftermath, and today feels like a place recovering into peacetime rather than one that has always known it, orchards and terraces where army positions once stood.
Jhelum Valley
Jhelum Valley is one of AJK's most important travel corridors, yet it is often treated only as the road toward Leepa — it deserves its own journey. Leaving Muzaffarabad, the road follows the Jhelum upstream as settlement gradually thins and the surrounding mountains rise, with side roads climbing toward Chikar, Reshian, and the higher Leepa country. The experience is less alpine than Neelum Valley but more layered: river scenery, working towns, forested slopes, and routes branching into several distinct mountain regions.
Pir Chinasi
Pir Chinasi is a hilltop shrine and viewpoint at 2,900 m, about 30 km east of Muzaffarabad, built over the resting place of the Sufi saint Syed Shah Hussain Bukhari, who is said to have died around 1337 CE after meditating in a nearby cave. What began as a simple mausoleum grew into a formal shrine complex that, by the 19th and 20th centuries, had become one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Today it draws both devotees seeking blessings and day-trippers for the sweeping panorama over Muzaffarabad, the Neelum and Jhelum valleys, and the Himalayan ranges beyond.
Red Fort (Muzaffarabad Fort)
The Red Fort sits directly above the Neelum River in Muzaffarabad, its weathered sandstone walls dating to the 16th century. Smaller and less restored than the Hunza forts, it remains a working ruin rather than a museum piece, walkable ramparts with genuine river-gorge views rather than curated exhibits.
Resorts
All resorts →GreenPak stays in this area are listed on the region guide.