Flags and banners in favour of independence groups like the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) outnumbered those of hard-liners who want all of Kashmir to belong to Pakistan.
"Kashmir is our land and we will decide its future," read one.
AJK Prime Minister Sardar Sikandar Hayat and other senior politicians hugged the leaders at Chakothi town near the Line of Control.
A police band played national tunes while a crowd released pigeons and hundreds of multi-coloured balloons, before they were driven to Muzaffarabad in a convoy amid tight security.
The entire route from Chakothi to Muzaffarabad was decorated with welcoming bunting and banners. People lined up along the route cheered the leaders by waving flags.
"A very huge process is in place. I think we have to move forward. I am in Kashmir, I left home and I have arrived home," Abdul Ghani Bhat told journalists on arrival in Azad Kashmir.
"I am remembering my colleagues who have been martyred," Mohammad Yasin Malik, chairman of the JKLF, said as he crossed the bridge.
"We have proposed triangular talks between India, Pakistan and Kashmiris," Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the chief of the moderate faction of Hurriyat, said.
"We know that bilateralism miserably failed in the past because Kashmiris were not involved in India and Pakistan talks," he told a joint press conference.
He added that the APHC "supports" the peace process.
"We have come on Pakistan government's invitation for talks with the Kashmiri leadership here. We hope our discussion would help in seeking a solution of the Kashmir issue, acceptable to all parties," he said.
A senior Hurriyat leader, Abdul Ghani Bhat, told the press conference the two countries had realised the involvement of Kashmiris in the peace process was "vital."
Malik echoed other Hurriyat leaders when he told a news conference in Muzaffarabad that Kashmiris wanted more say in shaping their destiny.
"We hope that this visit will not disappoint us and Kashmiris will be included in talks to decide their future," he said.
"The Kashmir issue has come out of the battlefield and is now on the table," Mirwaiz Umar Farooq told Reuters.
"But I want to tell the people of Kashmir that the visit is the first step and they should not expect miracles."
Delegation member Bilal Ghani Lone said he was happy and excited to be in Azad Kashmir.
"There is a hope and today's journey is the first step," he said on arrival at Chakothi.
"Let us hope this first step brings peace and best hopes for the people of India, Pakistan and especially the people of Kashmir," he said.
The Hurriyat leaders will hold talks with the political leadership in Azad Kashmir on Friday.
"The visit is a major breakthrough in the ongoing efforts to resolve the Kashmir issue," said Raja Farooq, political advisor to the AJK government here.
Veteran Kashmiri politician, Sardar Abdul Qayyum described the visit as part of "step by step movement in right direction."
The Hurriyat leaders are also expected to meet President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Saturday, a foreign ministry official said in Islamabad.
The United Jihad Council, an alliance of around a dozen Mujahideen organisations based in Azad Kashmir, said it would not meet the separatist leaders.
India gave the green light to this unprecedented trip after Pakistan last week invited leaders of the grouping made up of two dozen political groups, as well as other prominent leaders seeking Kashmir's merger with Pakistan or independence.
The hard-liners declined the invitation. They are angry over what they see as Pakistan offering too many concessions to India over Kashmir without anything in return from New Delhi.
"Pakistan's present leadership is deviating from the country's basic stance on Kashmir. We've decided not to go to show our unhappiness," said APHC's hard-line faction leader Syed Ali Geelani.