Srinagar to Bangus Valley – How to Reach, What to See, Itinerary

The total distance from Srinagar to Bangus Valley is about 100 kilometers and it is ideally a 2 day-trip. The travel time can be anywhere between 7 to 8 hours which means that it is not possible to plan this as a day trip from Srinagar. You will have to spend a night either somewhere closer to Bangus Valley or in Kupwara. If you want to properly explore this region and visit other destinations like Lolab Valley, Keran, Teetwal, etc, as well, then you would need at least 4 to 5 days.

Bangus Valley, and the entire Kupwara district for that matter, has remained largely restricted and an unfavorable tourist spot due to the armed conflicts that affect this area, and also due to the lack of infrastructure. Things are now slowly starting to change with efforts being made to bring the valley onto the tourist map. However, it is far from being a popular tourist destination still.

What this means is that even finding a good hotel to stay in this area is a major task. You would still need permission to move around in this region and will have to properly plan your trip to avoid any unnecessary hassles. With all that being said, it is a part of Kashmir that remains untouched by the tourist mania and is sure to charm you with its natural beauty and tranquility.

Srinagar to Bangus Valley Road Trip

I recently was on a road trip to Kashmir and spent about 5 days in and around Kupwara, visiting the tourist attractions here. The post below is a brief narration of our visit to Bangus Valley and also provides several necessary details that can be of help in planning a trip. To read the previous parts of the travelogue, please follow the links below.

Journey So Far:

• Delhi to Pahalgam – Day 1
• Achabal Mughal Garden – Day 2
• Daksum Valley – Day 2
• Sinthan Top – Day 2
• Chatpal Valley – Day 2
• Betaab Valley & Aru Valley – Day 3
• Kalaroos Caves & Satbaran – Day 4, 5 & 6
• Sightseeing in Lolab Valley – Day 6

I first heard the name of Bangus Valley almost a decade ago. I was curious to see it but at that time, most of the tourist places on the Kupwara side were off-limits for tourists because of militancy-related problems. So a trip to this offbeat destination never really materialized.

But a couple of years ago, authorities decided to open this area for tourism and also make efforts to drive more visitors here. So finally, my plan to visit Bangus Valley also came true. We went on a day trip to the valley and realized that every word of praise that I had heard about it was absolutely true.

About Bangus Valley

The name Bangus Valley is said to be derived from the Sanskrit words Van (Forest) and gus (grass). It is basically a huge meadow spread over a large area, much larger than what you see in Gulmarg or even Doodhpathri. The average elevation of the valley is approximately 10,000 feet (3,000 meters) and it is blessed with a diverse variety of flora and fauna.

The meadows and the slopes of the side plateaus are covered with a wide range of flowers and medicinal plants. As many as 14 streams of water flow through the valley, of which Roshan Kul, Tillwan Kul, and Douda Kul are notable.

The water of these streams also inhabits several types of moderate-size fishes. The valley’s forests and plains serve as the breeding, feeding, and protection grounds for many wild animal species including the musk deer, antelope, snow leopard, brown bear, black bear, monkeys, red fox, and a large number of residents and migratory birds.

Below is a video of Bangus Valley that I shot during our visit. You can take a look at it to get a better idea of the place, and the road conditions, and decide whether or not you want to include it in your Kashmir itinerary.

Day 7: Chowkibal to Bangus Valley

It was the 7th day of our trip when we planned a day trip to Bangus Valley. We were staying in a J&K Government Rest House near Chowkibal, in a small village called Reddi. It was a well-maintained and nicely located rest house where we stayed for a total of 3 nights.

I really enjoyed my stay in this Dak Bungalow and will highly recommend staying here if you are planning a trip to this side of Kashmir. The rest house has a kitchen as well and you won’t have to go out to have food. You can just let the caretaker know and he will cook for you. You can read a detailed review of this rest house at J&K Dak Bungalow – Reddi, Chokibal. If you want to book this rest house for your trip, you can contact Iqbal at 9682649223.

Bangus Valley was only at a distance of about 28 kilometers from this rest house. Our permits were also sorted as we had already arranged those a couple of days in advance. So in short, we had an entire day to properly explore Bangus Valley and spend some time there.

The day started a little later than usual. Since our destination was only about an hour away, there really was no need to hurry. By the time we drove out of the rest house on our way to Bangus Valley, it was already 8 am.

How to reach Bangus Valley from Srinagar

There are two different routes that you can take to travel from Srinagar to Bangus Valley. The first and easiest route is via Kupwara and the second route is via Handwara.

• Route 1- Via Kupwara: Srinagar – Sopore – Kupwara – Kralpora – Drangyari – Tee Pee – Bangus Valley = 130 kilometers
• Route 2 – Via Handwara: Srinagar – Sopore – Handwara – Wadipora – Bangus Valley = 100 kilometers

The route via Kupwara may be a little longer but is also easier than the second one. The road conditions are also better on this route. Going this way will also make it easier for you to explore other places in this region like Lolab Valley and Keran Valley.

The problem with the route from the Handwara side is that it is under construction and in bad condition. I am not sure why but usually, the Army does not allow people to enter Bangus Valley from that side. Tourists are usually sent back and asked to go via Kupwara.

So your best bet is to skip this route entirely. Otherwise, there is a high chance that you will be about to reach Bangus but will get sent back by the Army. You will then have to circle back again to Kupwara and then approach Bangus via Chwokibal and Tee Pee.

Maybe in the near future, once the roadwork is complete, people will be allowed to enter the valley via Handwara as well but as of now, it is really a gamble. You may get allowed or you may not get allowed. So make sure that you are planning your trip from the Kupwara and Chowkibal side only.

Also Read: How to Plan a Trip to Kashmir – A Complete Travel Guide

By Public Transport

Planning this trip by Public transport will be tricky and is not advised. You may be able to find a bus from Srinagar to Kupwara but there is no regular bus service beyond Kupwara to places like Bangus Valley, Lolab Valley, Keran, and Teetwal.

In Srinagar, depending on where you are staying, you will first have to reach Parimpora. That is where you will get either a bus or a shared cab to Kupwara.

You can travel from Srinagar to Kupwara by Bus but after that, it is best advised to look for a private taxi. The Kupwara bus and taxi stand are right there in the main market. You can go there and ask for a bus or shared cab to Bangus Valley but I highly doubt that you will find one. You may find a shared cab for Kralpora or Chowkibal at most but not for Bangus.

If you want to rent a private taxi for your trip, you can plan this in two ways. The first one is that you hire a private taxi from Srinagar itself. This will cost you anywhere between Rs. 5000 to Rs. 8000 for a two-day trip to Bangus Valley.

The second way is that you first go to Kupwara by public transport and hire a cab there. This will cost you anywhere between Rs. 1500 to Rs. 2000 for a trip to Bangus Valley lasting 5-6 hours approximately. For more details, please take a look at Taxi Union Rates in Srinagar.

Permits for Bangus Valley

Before I continue with the travelogue, let me also provide some information on how you can get the permits for Bangus Valley. There are two ways to do it. The first one is online and the second one is in person from the Kralpora police station.

To get your permit online, please visit the Online Portal of J&K Government.

Once the page opens, scroll down and click on Apply Online. On the next page, select Citizen in the ‘Applying As’ dropdown and hit Next. On the next page, you will need to fill in all the required details, upload your Aadhar Card copy, and click on Submit Application.

If you are traveling in a group, then hit ‘Add More Person’ at the bottom of the page and enter details of people traveling with you one by one. Once the permit is generated, take a printout and ensure that you are carrying 4 to 5 photocopies of it with you.

To get the permit in person, you will have to first reach the Kralpora Police station. First of all, find a stationery shop there or a photocopy shop. They usually keep printouts of applications handy in the following format.

Just buy an application, fill in your details, go to the police station, and get it stamped. After that, go back to the photocopy shop and get a few photocopies made.

If you were not able to find a stationery shop or did not get a copy of the application, just write it on a piece of paper by hand and get it stamped. That will also work fine.

Chwokibal

Now coming back to the travelogue, we started from our rest house in Chowkibal at around 8 am. After a brief drive of about 10 minutes, we reached the main Chowkibal market and stopped for a minute to get something to eat. I knew that there would not be anything available in Bangus Valley so we decided to carry some snacks with us.

We also ordered some tea and while we were sipping that down at the tea-ship, I started talking to some locals to get more information about Bangus Valley and what is it that we should see there or on the way.

The names of the places in this area are quite interesting. Ustad is the one I liked the most.

After having some tea, we continued our journey, crossed the Chowkibal market, and reached this spot.

I was confused here for a minute because the road to the left looks like it is going into an Army base. We weren’t sure which way to go, straight or left. So we stopped again to ask and found out that the road to the left was the one we were supposed to take. This is the one that went to Bangus. The road straight goes to some village.

We crossed the bridge and stopped at the checkpoint immediately after. Our permits were checked, entries of our names were made in a register and we also had to submit a copy of our permits here. Since I was the one driving, I also had to produce my driving license.

Drungyari

Bangus Valley was only about 25 kilometers from Chowkibal but it still took us 2 hours to complete because our drive was very relaxed. We were taking breaks way too often to click as many pictures as we could. The road started to climb up after we crossed the check post and we crossed a few villages on the way.

The ascent was not that steep though. There were a few twists and turns in between but mostly, the road was gaining altitude gradually. With the increase in elevation, the views also kept getting better.

We noticed this pipe by the side of the road in one of the villages. Our car had gotten very dirty after the drive in the last few days so we decided to give it a wash. While we were busy cleaning the car, we also ordered some Maggie from a nearby restaurant.

With our bellies full and the car washed clean, we once again continued our journey. The drive remained pleasant and the condition of the road was good. In a short while, we had finally reached Drungyari.

Drungyari, also spelled as Drangyari, is a forest area and is one of the most scenic parts of this drive. The views here with the river flowing through the valley are simply amazing. We took a few breaks to enjoy the views and finally reached Tee Pee.

Tee Pee

For the last couple of days, I had heard the name Tee Pee a few times and even read it on the board in Chowkibal. All this time, I was thinking that Tee Pee must be an Army post or a checkpoint. But upon reaching there, I realized that Tee Pee was actually the name of a village.

This is where the road to Bangus Valley bifurcates, the one that is marked with the arrow. We came from the right side in this picture and were supposed to turn left on the marked road to reach Bangus. The road straight climbs up Sadhna Pass and then goes down to the border villages of Tangdhar and Teetwal.

We had no plans to go to Tangdhar or Teetwal but I wanted to go at least to Sadhna Pass which was about 15 kilometers from this point. So we decided that we would go to Bangus Valley first and on our way back, we would also pay a short visit to Sadhna Pass before going back to Chowkibal.

There were a couple of small dhabas at this place and we took another break to get something to eat. After sitting here for almost 30 minutes, we started on our final lap of the journey to Bangus Valley.

Bangus Valley

The rest of the drive was uneventful. We drove for about 10 kilometers, took a couple of small photography breaks in between, and finally reached Bangus Valley. The condition of the road remained good throughout but deteriorated a little as we got closer to Bangus.

This is the spot where we reached. Vehicles are currently allowed only until this point. You will have to park your car here and explore the rest of the valley on foot.

Right in front of us was Bangus Valley, a beautiful sight indeed.

We parked our car, got out, and just as well started walking, I noticed a couple of guys waving at us from the top of a hillock, asking us to go over to them. By the way, they were yelling and waving, I knew that this must be a checkpoint and they were asking us for our permits.

I was right. It was indeed a checkpoint. Lavish walked up the hill, entered our names in a register there, and provided a copy of our permits to them.

Chhota Bangus

Bangus Valley is divided into two parts, Chhota Bangus and Bada Bangus, or Lower Bangus and Upper Bangus. In the local Kashmiri dialect, it is pronounced as Lokut Bangus and Boud Bangus. Both parts of the valley are connected by motorable roads from Kupwara and Handwara.

The place where you reach by car is Chhota Bangus. Bada Bangus is about 3 to 4 kilometers from that spot and you will have to walk the remaining distance. It is mostly a flat walk though that involves no steep climbs.

Bangus is basically a meadow, a large lush green ground. Out here, you just walk around, see the sights, rest, relax, and enjoy. There is nothing else to do here.

We started walking through Chhota Bangus, enjoying the views and having a good time  There was a water stream that we went down to and it was a good spot to click some pictures.

Bada Bangus Trek

After spending some time in Chhota Bangus by the water stream, we decided to trek all the way to Bada Bangus. We asked around the way and were told that if you wanted to go to Bada Bangus, just keep walking straight ahead, following the water to the right side.

That is exactly what we did. Other than us, there were a lot of local families as well that were walking in the same direction which in itself was a confirmation that we were on the right path.

You will notice some villagers, kids playing around, and some shepherd’s houses on the slope of the mountain. Just keep walking in that direction, straight ahead, and it will take you to the upper Bangus Valley. If you weren’t sure of the way, just ask any of the local shepherds.

It can easily take you anywhere between 60 to 90 minutes to reach Bada Bangus from the parking spot. If you do not want to walk that much, you can hire a pony as well. You will have several pony owners approaching you asking if you want to hire them.

Finally, after walking for about an hour, we reached Bada Bangus.

See that road over there, on the left side in this picture, on the slope of the mountain. It is still under construction. Once completed it will run through the Bangus Valley, connecting both upper and lower Bangus to Handwara town. This road right now is not complete and may take a couple of years more.

Bada Bangus

Like Lower Bangus, there is nothing to do in Upper Bangus as well, other than to enjoy the natural beauty of the place. Sit, relax, click pictures, walk around in the grass, and that is mostly it. There are several small dhabas here where you can get something to eat.

What you see here is just a small section of the valley though. The principal valley of  Bada Bangus has an estimated area of about 300 square kilometers, imagine that. To explore it properly, you will have to go on a trek lasting 2 to 4 days and will have to rent ponies for it.

But for regular tourists, what you see here is charmingly beautiful and sufficient enough. You should try to capture some timelapse videos here. They will come out great.

We spent almost 2  hours in Bada Bangus, clicking pictures, and shooting videos and time-lapses. There were several dhabas there, contrary to my thought that we wouldn’t find anything to eat in Bangus. We ordered several bowls of Maggie and had a fun time walking around in the meadow.

Camping in Bangus Valley

If you want to stay in Bangus Valley, you can camp here for the night. But for that, it would be best to bring your own gear. I did notice about 4 or 5 small tents while I was there. However, I am not sure if those were available for rent or if belonged to someone who was doing self-camping.

Since tourism in this area is just getting started, it will be some time before proper campsites come up here so for now, bring your own tents.

Other than that, the small dhabas can also provide a bed to crash for the night but you will have to talk to them. Most of these belong to the local shepherd villagers so do not be surprised if they instead ask you to come to their homes and stay as a paying guest.

Also Read: Clothes for Kashmir Trip – What to Pack

Mobile Network and Data Connectivity

Irrespective of which network you are on, your phone will work fine as far as the parking spot in Lower Bangus. We were carrying Airtel and Jio connections and received strong connectivity with 4G data speed. In fact, I had Google Maps on the entire time we were on our way to Bangus.

But once you get out of your car and start walking through the meadow, you will lose network immediately. Even near the parking spot, there was an intermittent connection. We only received a stable network when we started to get close to Tee Pee again.

We did not have Vodafone or Idea connections with us but I doubt they will work near Bangus Valley. With these providers, you can hope to receive a network until Kupwara or Chowkibal at most but not beyond that.

BSNL / MTNL of course works pretty much everywhere in the country but their service is not as good as Jio or Airtel. Voice clarity will be missing and the date speed will be way too slow. For more details on this topic, please take a look at Mobile Network in Kashmir & Data Connectivity.

The Journey Back

After spending some time, we walked back the same way to our car. In total, I think we spent about 6 hours in Bangus Valley, including the time it took us to walk to Bada Bangus and then back to our car. Due to this, by the time we started on our way back, it was well beyond 5 pm.

We once again drove back to Tee Pee and stopped there again to get some tea. The plan to go to Sadhna Pass had already crashed by now. It was way too late to go that way. The clock read 6 pm while we were in Tee Pee. A visit to Sadhna Pass would need another couple of hours at least from Tee Pee and it was no point going there in the dark.

So we gave up the plan of Sadhna Pass for our next trip to Kashmir and started driving back to Chowkibal. It took us another hour to get back to the market where we stopped briefly to get a few more printouts of our permits that we were going to need for our next day’s journey to Keran Village.

• Journey Ahead: Keran Valley – One Village, Two Countries

Not much happened after that. We reached our rest house, rested for a while, had an early dinner, and went to bed. The plan for the next day was to go to Keran Village, a village divided between India and Pakistan. Out there, on one side of the river where you would be standing is India, and on the other side of the river, barely 10 meters away, is Pakistan. Hard to believe? Click on the link above to continue reading the next part of this travelogue and to find out more.

Srinagar to Bangus Valley – Conclusion

Our journey to Bangus Valley was fun and I truly enjoyed this day. If you are planning to visit Kashmir anytime soon and want to go offbeat, Bangus Valley is a destination that you should definitely include in your itinerary.

I hope the travelogue, pictures, and information above on traveling from Srinagar to Bangus Valley were of help.  If you have any questions, you can contact me on Instagram and I will be happy to answer. You can also consider subscribing to my YouTube channel and asking a question there.