Field guides / Azad Jammu and Kashmir / Banjosa Lake
Field guide · Nature
Banjosa Lake
Banjosa is a calm, pine-ringed lake at about 1,980 m in the hills near Rawalakot, in the Poonch district of Azad Kashmir, one of the most easily reached and family-friendly escapes in the region. It began as a dam across the Banjosa River, a tributary of the Poonch, and today covers roughly 1.
Banjosa is a calm, pine-ringed lake at about 1,980 m in the hills near Rawalakot, in the Poonch district of Azad Kashmir, one of the most easily reached and family-friendly escapes in the region. It began as a dam across the Banjosa River, a tributary of the Poonch, and today covers roughly 1.5 square kilometres of still water framed by dense pine forest and low mountains, with rest houses run by the AJK Tourism and Archaeology Department and the Pearl Development Authority strung along its shore.
Why go
- ✦Pine-ringed lake at 1,980 m
- ✦18 km from Rawalakot
- ✦Boating on the still water
- ✦Frozen lake and ice-skating in winter
- ✦Government resthouses on the shore
On the Water
Paddle boats and rowing boats operate from the shore in the warmer months, and short walking paths circle parts of the lake through the surrounding pine forest. The water is at its most photogenic in spring and early autumn, when the forest is green and the reflections are sharpest; by late summer levels can drop noticeably.
A Winter Lake
Banjosa is one of the few places in Pakistan where a lake reliably freezes solid enough to walk and skate on, a genuine novelty for visitors from the plains, though the resthouses and facilities thin out considerably once the cold sets in and most tourism shifts to the summer season.
Plan It with GreenPak
Banjosa pairs naturally with Toli Pir and the wider Poonch hills around Rawalakot. Use Plan a trip to combine the lake with Rawalakot and a broader Azad Kashmir loop.
Planning tip
When to go, April to October for mild weather and green pines; summer temperatures sit between about 16°C and 25°C. Winter is genuinely cold, the lake regularly freezes over from December to January, temperatures can fall to -5°C, and locals walk and skate on the ice.
Getting there, About 18 km from Rawalakot on a short, well-maintained hill road, an easy half-day outing by car or local transport.
Allow, A half day, or a night at the lakeside resthouse to catch the still water at dawn.
