Azad Jammu & Kashmir Getting there & around

Getting there & away

See the boxed text for details on the bureaucratic hurdles that foreigners need to navigate to enter AJ&K. Entry to Muzaffarabad district is from Mansehra (crossing at Gahri Habibullah) or Murree (crossing at Kohala). At times of high Kashmir fever you’re probably less likely to be turned away coming from Murree. Direct routes from Rawalpindi to Poonch district via Dhalkot and Azad Pattan are off limits to foreigners as they run close to the Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science & Technology (Pinstech); the same may be true of the Karote crossing to Kotli district. Other roads enter Mirpur district from Jhelum over Mangla Dam, and from Gujrat to Bhimber.

At the time of research, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) had suspended flights from Islamabad to Muzaffarabad and Rawalakot, though it’s worth checking to see if they have been reinstated.