2021 video of a traffic jam in Pakistan shared as recent footage from Kedarnath

What is the claim?

A video depicting a long traffic jam on a hill road is circulating on social media with the claim that it was captured in Kedarnath, a town in the North Indian state of Uttarakhand, renowned for its Kedarnath Temple.

In the 16-second clip, accompanied by background music, aerial footage reveals a sea of vehicles caught in a long traffic snarl. Overlaid Hindi text on the video translates to, "To reach Kedarnath, traffic congestion stretches as far as the eye can see." Furthermore, another Hindi text translates to, "The journey continues until November; please be patient."

On Instagram, the video was shared with captions such as "Kedarnath Yatra 😱😱" and hashtags like "chardhamyatra2024" and "Uttarakhand," among other hashtags. Archived versions of these posts are available here and here.

Screenshot of the viral post. (Source: Instagram/Modified by Logically Facts)

The same video was uploaded on YouTube with Hindi text overlaid on the footage, translating to "Anyone can go to Kedarnath Jam now? Har Har Mahadev 22 may 2024 update," and captions like "The biggest jam till date in Kedarnath Dham." Archived versions can be found here, and here.

The Char Dham Yatra, also known as the pilgrimage to the Kedarnath temple, commenced on May 12 and is set to conclude on November 2, 2024. On May 20, responding to the substantial influx of pilgrims during this peak season, the Haridwar Police  (archived here) announced the temporary suspension of offline registration for the Char Dham Yatra. This measure, effective immediately and continuing until May 31, aims to manage the overwhelming surge in tourist numbers.

However, the viral video is not from Kedarnath but shows vehicular movement in Pakistan's Kaghan Valley. 

What did we find?

Upon conducting a reverse image search on one of the keyframes from the viral video, we found that the same video was uploaded on an X (formerly Twitter) account called Destination Pakistan (archived here) on July 25, 2021. The post captioned the video: "Situation at Balakot-Naran Road. Too many tourists heading towards the northern areas after EID."

Screenshot of the X post by Destination Pakistan in 2021. (Source: Screenshot/X)

Furthermore, multiple Pakistani media outlets from 2021 reported that the video showed a traffic jam in Naran and Kaghan Valley in Pakistan.

A news bulletin uploaded on YouTube by the Pakistani news channel ARY News (archived here) on July 26, 2021, featured the same video in a news segment titled "Heavy traffic jam in Naran and Kaghan Valley. Road stalled."

The video report mentioned that in Naran, hundreds of thousands of cars were stuck in a traffic jam, with the vehicles' line stretching as far as the eye could see. The news outlet highlighted the challenges faced by those stranded, including families and children, as petrol ran out in many vehicles during the prolonged traffic jam.

Pakistani newspapers Dawn and Daily Times also reported on the situation in July 2021, carrying a video and a screenshot of the video, respectively, on their websites, stating that the visuals showed the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad road, which leads to Kaghan Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Mansehra district.  

According to the report by Dawn published on July 25, the picturesque valley experienced an extraordinary surge in tourist numbers during the Eid ul Azha (the Feast of Sacrifice) weekend. This influx led to hundreds of thousands of vehicles congesting the roads, resulting in significant traffic disruptions. Speaking to the newspaper, District Police Officer Asif Bahadur said that approximately 7 million vehicles had entered the valley during this period.

Moreover, on comparing the viral video with Google Earth visuals of the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad road, we found signs of resemblance between the actual road’s layout and that seen in the clip.

The hairpin bends seen in the viral video closely resemble the layout of the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad road, as observed in a Google Earth image. (Source: X/Google Earth)

In 2021, the same video was shared with a false claim that it was captured in Himachal Pradesh (HP). Then, Himachal Pradesh Police (archived here) had clarified that the viral video did not originate from their state.

The verdict

The viral video, showing a massive traffic jam on a mountainous road, does not originate from Kedarnath, India. It is from Pakistan's Kaghan Valley, when tourists swarmed the tourist destination during Eid ul Azha festivities in July 2021.