Unique Places in Pakistan

Bonjour from Peshawar,

It is feasible from Chitral, across Shandur pass 3800 m, some 14 to 16 hrs drive from Chitral to Gilgit, stay overnight
At Medina Guest house
Lost Horizon guest house

2 hrs drive from Gilgit to Raikit bridge on KKH, towards Islamabad, the local jeeps are operated to Jehl, some 3500 to 4000 Pkrs, an hour drive.

Jhel, the moderate trek, hike begins, 2, 3 hrs to Fairy Meadows 3300 m, pretty feasible in May.
Stay at
Raikot Sarai
with Rehmat Nabi.

Enjoy the marvels of Pakistan.

Imran Schah

Photos of my adventures in Pakistan
http://www.flickr.com/photos/imranthetrekker

So, if you are fed up with ordinary tourist attractions and not-so-ordinary off-the-beaten-paths and your wish-list has started stretching to Poles then here is something to satiate your adventure instincts: Pakistan claims to have world’s highest and largest active mud volcanoes which invite enthusiasts and nature lovers to observe a very unique phenomenon…

Located in the province of Balochistan along Makran Coastal Highway, these volcanoes – 80 in numbers – are hard to reach to and virtually inaccessible without reliable off-the-road vehicles. Keeping in view other Makran Highway blues, only give it a try when you have some good appetite for adventure and possess planning skills upto a threshold.

As a bonus you can watch splendid natural – sphinx link – rock formation on one side of the highway. The trip can not only be done as a day trip from Karachi but can also be clubbed together with Malir Khand beach and/or Ormara.

Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia for reference:

“In Pakistan there are more than 80 active mud volcanoes, all of them in Baluchistan province; there are about 10 locations having clusters of mud volcanoes. In the west, in Gwadar District, the mud volcanoes are very small and mostly sit in the south of Jabal-e-Mehdi toward Sur Bandar. Many more exist in the north-east of Ormara. The remainder are in Lasbela District and are scattered between south of Gorangatti on Koh Hinglaj to Koh Kuk in the North of Miani Hor in the Hangol Valley. In this region, the heights of mud volcanoes range between 800 to 1550 feet. The most famous is Chandaragup. The biggest crater found is about 450 feet in diameter. Most mud volcanoes in this region are situated in out-of-reach areas having very difficult terrain. Dormant mud volcanoes stand like columns of mud in many other areas.”

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Skardu is one of the famous tourist hubs of the Northern Areas of Pakistan, and the gateway to K2 - the world's second highest peak after Mount Everest. Karakoram Highway, KKH, joins other parts of Pakistan to Northern Areas including Skardu. In summers, Pakistan International Airlines, PIA, also operates subsidized flights from Islamabad to Skardu. One Boeing 737 flies daily, subject to weather conditions, from Islamabad and this flight is truly considered as one of the most dangerous commercial flights in the world.

As soon as the plane takes off, one can feel the chill of the thrill to come, it takes no time during this one hour journey that the plane enters into the Himalaya Range of mountains with the plane cruising between snow covered peaks. Subject to clear weather, one can see the Naked Mountain "Nanga Parbat", the ninth highest mountain on Earth which is commonly known as Killer Mountain for obvious reasons, from inside of the plane enjoying a hot cup of coffee on a comfortable economy plus seat. The plane frequently goes in and out of heavy clouds creating a hustle and bustle throughout the plane. In order to have better views, sitting on right hand side seats is highly recommended, and fortunate ones like me get the window seat!

Climax of this adventure starts as the captain announces the arrival of Skardu and requests passengers to fasten their seat belts for landing. And then the plane starts descending without giving a slightest clue to those who start looking down, in panic, from the window in search of the landing strip, or the runway, as it is called in other parts of the world! Even smaller rocks can be seen with details as the plane tilts to either side in order to descend so much so that people who were not looking downward initially start making strange sounds, may be out of excitement. A river bed appears as the plane approaches the landing strip only to make the outside view more heavenly. And finally the wheels touch the ground with an eruption of clapping out of mixed emotions of being lucky to survive and the appreciation of undoubted proficiency of PIA pilots from the passengers who were holding their breaths tight for last several minutes.

Getting a seat on this flight is not less an adventure than the experience itself because of its virtually inelastic demand curve. Purchasing process is the same as of any other flight booking process but the voyage starts when one comes to know that the ticket needs to be reconfirmed otherwise it may end up as a useless piece of paper. It is not to mention that this painstaking job is more than worth it, provided the plane lands successfully. At times, the captain, upon arriving to the Skardu Valley, refuses to land because of host of reasons, such as lack of visibility, strong winds, thick cloud cover, etc and takes the plane back to Islamabad Airport. However, passengers are always given a choice to get 100% refund, if they do not wish to give it a second try, only the succeeding day. This 100% refund is applicable whenever one wishes to withdraw from their booking, but obviously before reconfirmation.
Now coming back to the Reconfirmation Ordeal; all the passengers are expected to reconfirm their ticket from Northern Areas Counter of PIA Rawalpindi Office, located at Mall, a 20 minutes drive from Isalmabad Airport. This reconfirmation needs to be done 24 hours in advance and this is not as simple as it sounds. The "ticket" needs to go there physically to get stamped, and without this stamp the staff at airport may refuse to even recognize this harmless piece of paper, unless one has special reasons and resources. To make things less simple, if not complicated, reconfirmation can only be done if the preceding flight would have landed successful at Skardu Airport. Otherwise, the passengers of the failed flight will get priority over next day's flight. Usually, the flight lands no earlier than 12 noon at Skardu, so going to Rawalpindi Office early may be futile and requires one more visit or one has to wait until the flight lands and the staff is done with their lunch and prayers. It is also recommended to confirm, via phone, if the preceding flight has been landed at Skardu Airport to avoid futile visits. There is no standard procedures at Northern Areas Counter and has to be continuously on the look for the right person and proactive.

There is only one plane allocated for this route, so the plane that had landed the day before at Skardu must have come back in order to take you to Skardu. Keeping in view the vagaries of weather, this kind of permutation can only tilt in favour of lucky ones, and I was one of them! On the day of flight, at airport, passengers are not given with the boarding cards, until the plane has come back from Skardu, and the pilot is convinced of flight-able and land-able weather conditions. Keep your calm once you get the boarding card until they announce that the flight is ready for boarding. And once you board-in and the flight takes-off you are not required to keep your calm at all!!!

This flight is a trip in its own capacity and in my humble opinion, it should be recognized by VT as a tourist destination!

Taxila, situated approx 32km/20miles from Islamabad and Rawalpinda, is surrounded by archaeological sites dating from the 6th century BC to the 5th century AD. A world heritage site, there is also a very good museum.

See my Taxila pages for more information

Nanga Parbat (the "Naked Mountain") is the ninth highest mountain in the world, and the second highest in Pakistan, after K2. It is the highest Himalayan peak in Pakistan, and stands at 8126m (26,660ft) tall. It lies just south of the Indus river, south of the town of Gilgit, and is visible from the Karakorum Highway.

From the KKH at Raikot Bridge you can travel to Fairy Meadows, from where you can get closer to Nanga Parbat.

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As the names suggest, both of these lakes - i.e. Lower Kachura Lake and Upper Kachura Lake - are situated in Kachura, a small town near Skardu, half an hour drive (16 km) from Skardu Airport and one hour drive (33 km) from Skardu city. This couplet is a true gift of nature, which is away from easy approach, and therefore still provides their visitors with a lovely natural touch. If you are in a need to heal your soul after a period of endless pursuit of commercial happiness than this is a perfect place to have a break and explore some of the -out-of-the-world natural treasures.

Lower Kachura Lake: Lower Kachura Lake is just one example of the splendor my country has to offer. The lake is surrounded with fruit laden trees, forests, and 'high-rise' snow-covered mountains. In summers, it provides with an excellent opportunity to have a break and refresh one's body and soul with some magnificient natural scenery all around and the refreshing innate air to inhale. It is a perfect place to make a base for a trip of week or so with day trips to places like Upper Kachura Lake and Khush Nala, Deaosai Mountains, Satpara Lake and Buddha, etc. Walks, trails, and treks around the lake are quite refreshing, during which one can also enjoy fresh and seasonal fruit picking such as Apricots and Cherries.

Management of a local hotel cum resort - Shangrial Resort - has bought most of the land surrounding the lake with few exceptions and has made this beautiful natural lake virtually a private property. Room charges in this resort are exorbitant, specially in summers, ranging from PKR 8,000 to PKR 12,000 (approximately USD 150) per night. If one is not staying at Shangrila and just want to visit and see the lake from Shangrila premises then they have to pay an entrance fee of PKR 200. Having said that, I must admit that Shangrila management is doing hard to maintain the landscape of this natural beauty, they have made cottages around the lake which are well spread out so that the essence of the place somewhat remains intact.

Apart from Shangrila, there is another small time hotel - Tibet Motel - located opposite to Shangrila Resort with some stunning views. This hotel is relatively less expensive (PKR 2,000: USD 25) and also provides for camping facilities (PKR 400: USD 5). One can enjoy their lake side lawn without any fee and order something to drink or eat. The management of Tibet Motel is building a multistory hotel - Karakoram Towers - to attract tourists. Structure of this hotel has been built, however, completion is pending as the sponsor is out of funds and tourism outlook is not that bright in the short run. Importantly, this structure has disturbed the natural landscape of the place.

Apart from these two commercial accommodations, there are located rest houses of various government departments, which can only be availed through advanced booking, which is not possible without direct links in these departments, namely Police, Army, and Public Works Department (PWD).

Upper Kachura Lake: Upper Kachura Lake is an approx 2 hours, mostly upward, trek from Lower Kachura Lake. This is also a beautiful natural lake without the menace of commercialization. A road also links Lower Kachura Lake from the Upper one.

There are not much accomodation options available at Upper Kachura Lake except for a very ordinary Ghazi Hotel (PKR 400: USD 5) with room and camping options. This lake is more natural than the lower one and a delight to spend one full day, the water is comparitively warm and one can see locals swimming overthere. We ordered the famous Trout Fish (PKR 800: USD 10 for two persons) at Ghazi Hotel on way to the lake and enjoyed the sumptous meal on our way back. The guy also offered us with fresh Apricots but on our demand.

For travelling options from Rawalpindi/ Islamabad to Skardu/ Gilgit, visist my Pakistan Page or copy following links on your browser:

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/120e17/6fb/9/

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/120e17/6fb/6/

If you have to travel to hills stations, do plan a hike through Ayubia National Park. I visited this park in 1989. Many people confuse it with the city of Ayubia on the hill top, but the park itself is located in the deep valleys in its neighborhood.

It is a comparatively small national park located about 50 kms from Islamabad in the Galliyats / Murree hills. The park supports one of the best remaining examples of moist lower Himalayan temperate forest in Pakistan. No official figures are available, but local estimates suggest that there are about 100,000 visitors per year to this beautiful.

If you are lucky, you may be able to see a Western Tragopan, Koklass; Kaleej and Cheer Pheasants, asiatic leopard, black bear, Yellow throated Marten, Kashmir hill fox, Red Flying squirrel, Himalayan palm civet, Masked civet and Rhesus Macaque. Birds in the park include Golden eagle, Himalayan Griffon vulture, Honey buzzard, Peregrine falcon, Kestrel, Indian sparrow hawk, Hill pigeon, Spotted dove and Collared dove.

Pakistan has a network of 225 Protected Areas comprising 18 National Parks, 99 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 96 Game Reserves, and 16 unclassified areas. The total area covered by these categories is 10.4% of the total land area of the country. Some of these are easily accessible from its major cities like Kirthar Range near Karachi, Margallah Hills near Islamabad, Chiltan-Hazara Ginji near Quetta, etc. These national parks are home to a diversified range of wildlife such as Muntjac or Barking Deer shown here, Chinkara Gazelle, Blacbuck, Snow Leopard, Black and Brown Bear, Asiatic Leopard, Markhor sheep, the blind Indus Dolphin, birds of prey, waterfowl, etc.