The Neelum Valley is a 200 kilometre-long, bow-shaped thick forested region in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and named after the Neelum River, which flows through the length of the valley.
The Valley is known as “PARASIDE OF KASHMIR”. This valley was named after a precious stone called Neelum. Neelum Valley is located in the Kashmir Region and to the North & the North East of Muzaffarabad and running parallel to the Kaghan Valley.

The Neelum Valley has beautiful and historic places, such as Sharda Peeth. Popular towns and villages in the valley include Kundal Shahi, Jura, Athmuqam, Kuttan, Keran, Dowarian, Dudhnial, Sharda, Tehjian, Kel, Arang Kel and Taobat. The valley’s major lakes include Chitta Katha, Shounter and Ratti Gali.

Loaction :

The district of Neelum valley starts 43 km from Muzaffarabad. The area is also famous for its mineral mines.

Major Villages in Neelum Valley :

1 Kundal Shahi Village
2 Dosut Village
3 Kel
4 Taobat
5 Keran
6 Halmat

Languages Spoken In Neelum Valley :

There are many languages in this region. Among which Hindko is the most widely spoken language, spoken by about 78 percent of inhabitants. However, other languages spoken by the people are Kashmiri, Punjabi, Kundal Shahi, Gujri, Shina. Urdu understand in all over the valley.

Weather Of Neelum Valley :

In summers, the weather is hot in the daytime due to the sun while at the night, it is quite cold. People even wear sweaters at night in summer. On the other hand in winters it is extremely cold. People also witness snow falling in winters.

Handicrafts :

People of this valley make good handicrafts aswell which include Carpet, Namda, Gubba. They are also famous for their Silk Woolen Clothing. People also make Woolen shawls. Besides all these they are also good at Wood Carving and in making Rugs

Local Dishes :

The area is famous for its dishes like Gushtaba. The Kashmiri people love this food and are their most favorite. People eat rice a lot. They don’t consider a luch or a meal with not having rice. Tabak Maaz is also quite eaten in this valley and the preparation of which is considered an art and a point of pride in Kashmiri culture.

Why Neelum Valley is Famous?

This land also has many local fruits which are of great taste including Apples, Apricots, Walnuts and Plums which are famous. A large number of tourists visit it in summers. The whole valley gives fascinating and beautiful scenery. There is also a mountain “SARWALI” (6326 meters) which is one of the highest mountains in Azad Kashmir. The valley has lush green forests and high altitude lakes. It makes the surrounding heavenly. The snow capped mountains and the fast flowing Neelum river all make us believe that we are in some part of Switzerland. The river is also famous for its fishing and it has Trout fish in abundance.

Some Important Tourists Destinations In Neelum Valley :

1 KUTTON

Kutton is located at a distance of sixteen kilometers from Kundal Shahi and has a tourist department that facilitates visitors throughout the country. This region is spread through Jagran Valley and Baboon Hills. It connects many other tourist spots including Rati Gali Lake and Patlian.

2 AUTHMUQAM

This valley town is very unique in its beauty with respect to the other places we had yet visited, it is also significant as it marks the beginning of control line with Indian Held Kashmir in Neelum. Most people are government employees, rest are in different fields.From here upwards emerges typical Kashmiri living pattern with houses built of wooden logs, most of them double storied.. Hiking tracks for surrounding mountains are traced by peoples and tourists.

3 SHARDA

Sharda is another tourist site of the valley. The peak of the mountains presents the beautiful scenery of the entire valley. It is located at a distance of thirty kilometers from Dawarian.

The region is covered by natural greenery, forested mountains, and a number of streams of blue water which adds to the natural beauty of the region and attracts tourists to visit the place.

4 ARANG KEL

It is also one of the attractive places of the valley neelum. One of the fact is the there is a long track goes towards Nanga Parbat. People can actually see this Nanga Parbat mountain from there and it is a beautiful sight for everyone who visit it.

Conclusion :

The valley is a great place to visit specially with frends and family. Visitors enjoy the beautiful places and the nature aswell. The local dishes and the fruits also avilaible here. It can be a really good summer outing location where one can spend his vacations to relax and enjoy the wild thick forest and in that way being close to the nature.

Hotels in Neelum Valley :

There are Hotels and rental car available in the valley. Local people provide good servies for visitors.