Travel :A visit to Kaghan valley

 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.

Malika Parbat

 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!.''

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.