It was quite hot
in my city, Rawalpindi so in last week of summer vacations I planned to
visit Kaghan valley with my family. Kaghan valley is situated in
northern areas surrounded by mountains of Himalayas. From Rawalpindi it
is a five hours drive in a car.
We left at 7:00PM and entered
the valley via Abottabad at 12:15PM. The way grew steep and winding as
we moved ahead. There are springs and waterfalls after every few
steps. River Kunhar flows on one side of the road which is main source of
irrigation. This river is also famous due to its delicious fish Trout. In
this area only peas, potato and maize are sown in summer. Fruits like apple, pear, plum and peach are grown. They are of very good quality.
Our
next destination was Shogran. Greenery was softer and soothing in form
of more vast patches of grass. Meadows looked decorated with tiny
colorful wild flowers. Cattle were busy in grazing grass. A silence and
peace was reigning all over the environment. Hazara University is
situated in the midst of Mansehra.
As we reached Naran, we had to
travel in jeep because the way to lake Saif ul Maluk is muddy and
uneven. First scene of the lake was breath takining. We couldn't lay our eyes
away for many seconds. It was just like a wonderful painting, a bowl
in the midst of green, black and snow clad mountains surrounding it from
all sides.
That day the sky was dazzlingly clear. A cool
breeze was blowing. On the bank of the lake, wild flowers were tossing in the air. Ripples of water were also moving very slowly. While our boat sailed over
them, playing in my mind, was the flashback story of Prince Saif ul Maluk
who went following a fairy to 'koh e qaf' and never came back. We stayed
here for a night to capture different scenes of the lake at different
times. The snow clad mountain is Malika e Parbat standing with
its feminine elegance.
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Malika Parbat |
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After resting and roaming for an hour, we left for Naran
and then to Lalazar. Lalazar is heaven on earth. Flower beds of various
colors were blossoming there. The whole atmosphere was saturated with
fragrance. Butterflies of amazing designs and colors were flying over
sucking nectar. Honey bees were buzzing, making as much honey as they
could. My little niece shouted, ''WE ARE IN FAIRY LAND!.''
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Nanga Parbat | | |
Babusar(13,691ft
high) is the highest point of the area. It rains in Babusar daily with
occasionally hail storm. Here is the lake Lulusar. Its water is deeper ,clearer and calmer than the Saif ul Maluk. Few people dare to come
here because of its height. Its water has two shades, green and blue due
to colored rocks beneath it. All of a sudden another surprising scene came
before us. The most famous peak Nanga Parbat(10,578ft high) dubbed ''The Killer''
was standing high like the sky. In the descending lights of the sun, with the
background of darkness, it looked magnificent. Path filled with wild
flowers on both sides, led to Chillas and finally to Karakorum a few
miles ahead. This was the point where our journey back home started with a myriad of memories.