A visit to Skardu would be incomplete without a visit to Manthoka Waterfall. For us, it came at the end of a very long day where we explored a LOT of northern Pakistan. We started the day visiting the mosques of Khaplu, ventured deep into remote Pakistan to a place called Machlu Valley in search of beautiful landscapes, taught an English lesson and saw one of the clearest lakes in the world with turquoise tone; Sogha Lake. We were also gifted apples before we visited Manthoka waterfall.

In truth, the visit to Manthoka waterfall began long before we even stepped foot in Pakistan; we heard about an interesting little project occurring in Skardu where treehouses were being constructed and planned to visit when we were in the area. As we were about to leave Manthoka waterfall, it dawned on us that perhaps the treehouses we saw out of the corner of our eyes belonged to this unique project we had been talking about for months. It was.

You’re always where you’re meant to be.

I love that saying, as you know, as it’s written a lot, especially when I talk about our Pakistan Travel series.

After leaving the incredible Sogha Lake and munching on our gift of apples, we continued to the next step of our journey from Khaplu to Skardu, which was the Manthoka waterfall. On your visit to Skardu, you will see images of Manthoka Waterfall scattered everywhere. It is a must-visit destination in Pakistan, so it can be costly to visit. We were quoted 10,000 PKR for return travel between Skardu and Manthoka Waterfall. A better approach would be to travel to Khaplu by public transport on a bus which costs 300 PKR, and then hire a car back to Skardu for 6,000 PKR and visit Manthoka Waterfall that way. You’ll also witness an epic bus journey, enjoy some of the best food in Pakistan and see an incredible place in Pakistan known as Khaplu.

The light was fading fast, and we were stuck behind a convoy carrying the electorate of Gilgit Baltistan. He was also scheduled to visit Manthoka Waterfall and slowed down our journey considerably. As usual, car journeys in Northern Pakistan are exceptionally scenic, and this was no exception. It was no Machlu Valley picturesque or even Shigar Fort scenic, but it WAS scenic, nevertheless.

The first place you approach is, of course, a parking lot. As mentioned before, your means of transport is integral if you wish to explore Skardu. Don’t worry, you will be able to find transportation easily, and I cover a lot of FAQs here so check that out if you want more information about hiring transport in Skardu, Pakistan and what options are open to you. It’s also the blog post on our first excursion (spoiler alert, it’s Shangri-La-la Lake) after landing in Skardu. Well worth a read and watch over on our YouTube channel.

After yet another scenic car ride in Pakistan, you’ll approach the parking spot and pay an entry fee of 30PKR before you are allowed to park up. From here on out, you’ll be able to hear the incredible Manthoka Waterfall.

We saw some geese and put the drone up after exiting the car. The wind was something else, so, unfortunately, the drone couldn’t get as far or as high as we wanted it to; it struggled this entire trip to be fair on account of the altitude. Regardless, you don’t need a drone when visiting Manthoka waterfall; it makes such a thundering sound and looks incredible check out the full vlog here.

After leaving the Parking area, which is directly in front of the waterfall, you pass some beautiful treehouses on the left (more about them later), and there’s a reasonably priced restaurant serving up some decent fries and, of course, the chai is delicious! To the restaurant’s right, a rickety bridge will enable you to get closer to Manthoka Waterfall. The rickety bridge is an integral part of the experience when travelling Pakistan, and will you have an adventure when you travel Pakistan!

After the bridge, a little hop, jump, and skip will get you right in front of the falls, and you’ll be able to experience the thunderous might of water crashing down 100 metres! Even though we visited Manthoka waterfall eight months ago, I can still hear the jarring sound right now! Take your photo shoot and hop out of there back onto the rickety bridge; it’s now time to experience the treehouses of Manthoka Waterfall!

I won’t ruin it for you. You’ll need to watch the vlog for a complete tour of these brilliantly constructed and elegantly designed treehouses, but I will let you know that we visited whilst they were still in construction. Isn’t it funny that if Natalie had never sent out a message to a filmmaker in Pakistan over Instagram, perhaps we wouldn’t have ever made it to the treehouses of Manthoka waterfall?

I’m about to repeat my favourite saying.

Toodles

USEFUL TIPS FOR BACKPACKING PAKISTAN:

How to Visit Manthoka waterfall in Skardu, Pakistan

This sounds like it would be a complicated journey, but in truth, it’s pretty simple. As is the norm in this area of Pakistan, you will first need to head to Skardu, Pakistan. Skardu will be the central point for a lot of your excursions. Skardu certainly was for us, as you can tell from the numerous videos we have filmed there. We documented our flight from Islamabad to Skardu, showing you how to do that journey.

Once in Skardu, you have two options if you want to visit Manthoka Waterfall; I’ll talk you thru them both.

Option 1 – You can travel to Manthoka Waterfall directly from Skardu. There is no public transport option, so you’re only option if you want to visit Manthoka Waterfall from Skardu is to hire a driver. We were quoted costs of 15,000 PKR, so we decided on option two instead.

Option 2 – This is the option we chose on how to travel to Manthoka Waterfall. We jumped in a taxi and got a great taxi driver; it was a much better experience than the majority of uber drivers we found in Lahore and Islamabad. I’m going off, anyway, the taxi guy or your hotel will get you on to the bus to Khaplu. We cannot give you a pinpoint location because there isn’t a bus station for departures going to Khaplu. You won’t find any schedules online, nor will you find an actual bus station. The buses depart for Khaplu on the edge of town, and your hotel and or friendly Skardu taxi driver will direct you there.

Bus tickets to Khaplu from Skardu will cost 300PKR per person for the minibus with a food break after an hour or so, and if you’re lucky, your bus won’t break down as ours did. Trust us, take the bus and enjoy the most amazing Pakistani food on route to Khaplu. You’ll have a chance to visit the colourful teeny tiny village of Gol, which serves up some of the best food in Pakistan!

Once in Khaplu, your accommodation will be able to sort you with a driver for the day. To go around Khaplu, 1,000 PKR is more than a fair price, and for the drive back to Skardu, it should be around 6,000PKR with stops at Machlu Valley, the beautiful Sogha Lake, Saling and Manthoka waterfall. I wouldn’t recommend you miss any of them, it takes a lot to get into this area, and those four areas are well worth visiting. Just aim for clear days.

You can see why we chose option two, it’s more economical than option one plus you get to visit more of this beautiful country. Pakistan is worth a visit!

Enjoy! and don’t forget to tag Calamity Travels on Instagram. We’d love to see if you enjoyed backpacking Pakistan as much as we did!