It
is quite hot in Multan during the summer season. June and July are the hottest
months. Heat wave lashes the people and even claims a few lives. People remain
indoors lest they should suffer a heat-stroke. The schools and colleges are
closed down and the students are given summer vacation. It enables them to make
a trip out of Multan. When heat becomes unbearable in Multan, people think of
spending some days at some hill station. There is no dearth of hill station in Pakistan. The most popular hill stations
are Murree, Swat, Naran in the kaghan Valley, etc.
Last
year, we planned a visit to Naran in the Kaghan Valley during the summer
vacation. As there is unprecedented rush of people going to hill station, we
got our seats reserved in advance by Khyber Mail in second class two tiers
sleeper compartment. We boarded the train at Multan and reached Rawalpindi next
morning. The real journey was quite comfortable. We slept well.
From
Rawalpindi we boarded a bus bound for Balakot. The journey from Rawalpindi to
Balakot is very pleasant because one can see beautiful scenery on both sides of
the road. We passed by Jangal Mangal and Jabba, over 20 Kilometres from
Mansehra. Around Jabba, there was a thick forest. We were spellbound by its
natural beauty. In fact, the beauty of the landscape was simply breathtaking.
The journey by bus was however, tiring because there were very sharp hairpin
turns on the Batrasi road.
The
hills around looked beautiful with clouds clung their top. There was a rope
bridge over the Kunhar near Shoham. It was a beautiful scene. We took a number
of snaps of the scene.
At Balakot, there was a noise of rushing river
water. It was really strange experience to hear that noise. You could find that
noise, no matter where you were. The noise was everywhere. If you were in a
mosque, in a shop or on the road, the noise dominated everywhere. When I was
trying to have a sleep in the hotel, I was still conscious of that particular
noise. The next day we went to the outskirts of Balakot and we visited Shah
Ismail Shaheed's grave there.
Next
day we left for Kaghan. The road to Kaghan was in a bad shape. It was high in
the upper half of the high mountain slope and the river Kunhar looked like a
ribbon far belows. The driver has to be expert because he has to negotiate sharp
turns every now and then. One gets bumps and jerks all the way.
Naran
is 7,890 feet above sea-level. Logs were floating in the river. The water of
the lake was fresh, cool and clear. We were told that the water of this lake,
if taken regularly, can help in improving the health. We not only tasted the
water but also brought some in our flasks. The lake is 10,537 feet above
sea-level and over 12 kilometres from Naran. We returned to Multan after
spending one month in the Kaghan Valley.
Though
the visit was only for one month, yet it improved my health a lot. I will never
forget this visit for the beautiful valley Kaghan.
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