Far far away in a Paradise

Azad Kashmir “Heaven on Earth” and “Switzerland of East” is known for its mesmerizing sceneries, tranquil waterfalls, flowering meadows, snow caped mountains and clear pure lakes. Each valley and district of Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK) is awe-inspiring and deserves to be appreciated for its natural beauty. When we decided to visit AJK we had to visit more than one place we find it unjust for rest of the Kashmir. We decided to visit Muzaffarabad piece of paradise for the sake of our own peace.

 Muzaffarabad

About Muzaffarabad:

It was named after the name of Sultan Raja Muzaffar Khan, Muzaffarabad was claimed to be capital of AJK after 1948 war. It’s a place full of trekking trails, monuments, farms and parks. The winters are frosty with snowfall while during summers the weather is mostly pleasant. The best time of the year to visit Muzaffarabad is around autumn when the skies are clear. Muzaffarabad is famous for its Kashmiri shawls, handicrafts and dry fruits. Two main dialects that seemed to use by residents are Kashmiri and Punjabi. 

Muzaffarabad

Birdseye view of  Muzaffarabad

How to get Muzaffarabad:

There are two routes that can take you to Muzaffarabad. It is best to leave early around 6.30- 7.00am in the morning so you reach there around brunch. We reached over destination via Murree Expressway to Kohala Bridge and from Kohala Bridge at AJK to Muzaffarabad, it took around maximum four and half hours to reach there. Other way is thorough Abbottabad to Muzaffarabad via Ghari Habibullah. The first thing you see when you get there is range of options available for stay and main market that has anything that you can name, fares were reasonable ranging from 3000-4500Rs/- per night.

Places to Visit:

Muzaffarabad lies at the bank of Jhelum and Neelum rivers. Both make up the valleys above and across the rivers. The best advice we can give you is that you have the accurate knowledge of the city when visiting however navigation around city is not that difficult. Some of the must see places are Red Fort, Pirchanasi, Machiara Natinal Park, Shaheed Gali and Patika.

Red Fort:

There are two forts Black and Red Fort. Black Fort lies just above the junction of rivers. It’s under authority of army and prohibited for visits. Although Red Fort is mostly visited by tourists. Fort is surrounded by Neelum River from three sides and is called Kishan Ganga. View of the banks can be seen from the terraces. Fort has great architecture but time and many rules has taken their toll on the structure, still it stands for its glory and historical importance. Red fort is commonly known as Ratta Qila amongst locals.

View from Red Fort

Inside Red Fort

Pirchanasi:

Here lies the great Shrine of Pir Shah Hussain Bukhari, followers can be seen taking pilgrimage to pay regards. It is located in east of Muzaffarabad and has been an important tourist spot not only for its beautiful Shrine and religious importance but also for great panoramic views of the valley below. Most tourist avail this spot for trekking and hiking. People hike up to the top of the hill and set camps. 

Pirchanasi

Shrine of Pir Shah Hussain Bukhari

Machiara National Park:

It can be accessed via Patika and is part of Lower Neelam Valley. Park has variety of birds inhabiting broadleaf forest in their natural habitat. We were told that the endangered species of the forest is Westren Tragon Pheasant. It a kind of place where you go to get lost in nature.

View from Machiara National Park

 

Hotels at Machiara National Park

Patika:

The most famous picnic point in Muzaffarabad is Patika, it is doorway to Neelum valley. It has small zoo and hotel named Marco Polo Hotel where you can enjoy traditional Kashmiri cuisines.

Patika Lake

Shaheed Gali:

In the west of Muzaffarabad lies in west it’s also a best spot for trekking. People trek from Shaheed Gali to Siri Kot Meadows. It’s also a best spot to stay as there are many resort that can be seen.

 

Shaheed Gali

View at Shaheed Gali

Chikaar:

It is summer station few kilometers away from Muzaffarabad. The best aspect of this place is provides not only best views but also range of private hotels for tourist to send the night. Zalzal Lake is seen at the side of chikaar, it came in to being form land sliding during an earthquake.

View from Chikaar Gali

Zalzal Lake view from Chikaar

Langarpura:

Some years back due to landslip a lake was outstretched from almost 10kms from Muzaffarabad called Subri Lake. You can take boats out in the lake and also there is Angler’s Hut which makes this place a perfect picnic spot. Tourists can be seen sitting by bank of the lake camping and feasting while enjoying the tranquil lake. 

Resort at Langarpura

Subri Lake

Restaurants:

The traditional meal includes Chicken Karhi and Kashmiri Nan accompanied by Kashmiri Pink Tea. Our best suggestion for best food places to visit in Muzaffarabad are Usaman Kebab, unique chapli kebab, rotis and quick service is what mad this famous, long ques are the advocate of its quality and taste. Visit to Pakistan Hotel, its best representation of chai with bakarkhanis gets the best of you. What it better than the ice cream when its summer, visit Four Seasons Ice Cream to complete your trip.

Our trip to Muzaffarabad was limited, we stated our journey around 6am and reached there like around 11 o’clock, our destination was Pirchansi. The sight was heavenly we settled for a bit after a while the place began to crowd as compared to when we have arrived. We began our hike to top of the hill the weather was pleasant as it was around mid-October though it was windy but not so chilly. We reached at the Shrine of Pir Shah. The shrine was sight for the eye and view from here was out of the world. Spending some time at the shrine we continued our journey to the top. This was our most recent trip to Muzaffarabad..

It is every Pakistani dream to visit Azad Kashmir, it was mine the same, I was lucky enough to get to be part of such experience but there still a lot for me and my friends to explore not only in Muzaffarabad but other valleys of Azad Kashmir. My thoughts on the way back from every visit to Muzaffarabad was nothing but of serenity, it made me realize not matter where I will be I can always find my way to my paradise. 

Exploring Karachi

After seeing the north of Pakistan, the five of us decided to head south. We hopped on the next train to Karachi and started our journey. We had a blast during the train ride; we played chess, cards, ate and drank many different things from our stops along the way. The views from the train changed so drastically as we moved on. At first it was all rivers and greenery along the way and then we entered the last 5 hours of so of our journey, the whole terrain changed. Everything became dry, hot and sandy. It looked like a view you would expect to see on mars. It seemed we were heading towards a desert and not a breezy city with an ocean. There was not a living soul to be seen for miles, not even plants. It was a very weird experience. The only sign of human life we saw were a few wind-turbines in the distance.

The journey was long and tiring, but we made it to Karachi from Islamabad after 25 hours. We cleared our bills with the waiters and got off the train. It was January but the city was quite hot at noon, more than we had expected.

Our transport was waiting to take us to our residence so we dumped our luggage in the van and got on. It was then that we encountered the infamous traffic of Karachi. It was mad and exhausting. It took us almost two hours to get to our apartment, even though it was not that far. We were sleepy and exhausted when we got there, so we decided to take a little nap. Our residence for the next few days was an 11^th floor apartment in Karsaz, with a killer view.

It was our first day so we were not inclined towards heading out. A friend of ours from Karachi got us food from Burns road, which was delicious. We were starving and dug in. Our sweet tooth however was satisfied by heading out to the nearby Kaybees for their amazing ice cream. The ice cream was served in a bowl of biscuit, which you could eat afterwards.

The next day we were recharged to explore around this massive city. Our first stop was Dolmen mall for some shopping and exploring around. When we got there, we were told that it was family day and guys were not allowed inside. After a long and constant persuasion, the guards finally let us “tourists” in. The mall was very modern. Much better than the malls in Islamabad.

 We looked around, tried the haunted house, had some food and were on our way to sea view. It was breezy and cool. We stayed there for a while and left for the port where a huge boat was waiting for us to take us deep sea fishing.

We were taken on a boat outside the city. We had come a long way from that the Karachi skyline looked like needles in the distance.

It was quite beautiful. We got to see some submarines as well. Unfortunately though, we failed to catch any fish because of the strong waves.

It was almost sunset when we reached back at the dock. We were starving and decided to go to boat basin. There was a long queue of waiters standing outside restaurants to get us to come in. Our friend from Karachi was with us so he took us to one of his favorites.

After feeding our hunger, we were all craving some chocolate shake. Our friend suggested that we visit port grand because it has many places that offer chocolate shakes, and that it looks mesmerizing at night. Port Grand was beautiful and posh. It was the kind of place that rich people visit. There was even a ticket to get inside. You could listen to live music playing in different corners, people walking along the sea and having dinner. We all got chocolate shakes from one of the local shops and enjoyed the waves of the sea in the distance that shone because of the moonlight.

The next morning we skipped breakfast and decided to treat ourselves at lunch from Burns road. So there we were to try all its specialties. We started with the famous dum-kebab, and moved on to dhaga kababs, which were simply out of this world.

We were stuffed but then we came across the fact that Karachi Eat Festival was going on. We went straight to the festival to try everything, and everything we tried was better tasting than the previous one. There were stalls of countless eateries. I wish we could have tried them all but we only had so much time, money and capacities.

By then, Kaybees had become our go-to place for getting our sugar-fix. Therefore, we headed there for some more ice cream.

At night, we went to Saddar for some watch shopping. Our friend also took us to Khadda market for some shopping. Unsrprisingly we were all-hungry again and went to the nearest restaurant, which was KBC. As I was entering the restaurant, I saw a waited bringing a massive zinger burger for someone. I had decided in the moment what I was going to get.

After having dinner, we roamed around the streets of Karachi till late after mid-night. The next morning we woke up late. We were told to get ready because we were going to spend the day at Manora beach. Our driver dropped us off at the port again. We got on a navy boat to head towards Manora Island. It took us almost an hour to get there. We went to our rooms and got changed for the beach.

Manora was hands-down the best beach I have been to in Pakistan. It was clean and there were no people except for us. We spent 4 hours just swimming and making sandcastles. The water was so clean that you could see crabs walking 6 feet deep. It was beautiful.

The ocean had taken all our energy and we resorted towards food to get it back. We were served biryani on the Island and we savored every spoon.

The sun was close to setting when we got back on the boat to head to Karachi. I had been wanting to see the sun set on the ocean, and that wish was fulfilled that day.

The following day was our last in Karachi. We were not in the mood to travel much so we went to Arena Karachi and the maritime museum, which were nearby. It hardly took us 5 minutes to get there.

There was also a shooting range there. We fired some guns and went skeet shooting.

After that, I tried ice skating for the first time in my life. Needless to say, all I did was slip and fall. It was still a lot of fun.

At night, we headed to Do Darya Karachi for an amazing ocean-side dinner. We had barbecue at the Kinara restaurant and some amazing green tea after that. The ambience of the restaurant was gorgeous. It was right on the ocean and you could see sea gulls just sitting on the water, floating on the waves. It was beautiful.

It was our last day in Karachi so we spent the night exploring the city. We visited defense, the do darya area and all other places worth seeing. The next morning, we headed straight to the airport because our flight back to Islamabad was scheduled for noon.

One spin around Swizerland in Pakistan.

Swat valley is the place that is known for verifiable fortunes, lovely scenes, and numerous old stories. It is known for its snow-topped pinnacles, endless cascades and icy masses, water springs and fields, streams and rivulets, thick woods, dales and glens, normal parks, lakes and dull woodlands. The vast scenes change its shading with the climate.

In 327 BC Alexander the Great visited this paradise on earth while he was going to Brazil. Swat isn't just enhanced with nature yet it likewise is home to individuals of various religions living respectively quiet. The general population of this district have attempted solid endeavors to keep its normal excellence flawless by disheartening any business the travel industry exercises.

The valley is walled by high mountains and limited by Chitral and Ghizer districts in the North, Kohistan and Shangla locales in the East, Buner locale, and Malakand secured regions in the South and lower and upper Dir areas in the West. Its rise changes from 2.500 feet to 7.500 feet. The aggregate scope of Swat is 5.337 square kilometers with a populace of about 1.250.000.

The valley of Swat is appropriated into two physical locale, i.e., Swat-Kohistan and Swat Proper. Swat-Kohistan is the mountain locale on the upper spreads of the Swat River up to Ain in the south. Though the entire of the south of Ain is Swat property. Ain is additionally partitioned into Bar (upper Swat) and Kuz (bring down Swat). The height of the valley at the southern outskirts of the district is more than 500 meters and upsurges quickly towards the north. There are various mountain tops reaching out from 4500 to more than 6000 meters above ocean level, generally cover by everlasting snow.

Lakes

Through Swat Valley streams numerous lakes. These lakes contain sprinkling and solidifying cool water dissolved from mountain ice tops. The valley can be known as the Valley of Lakes, which nourishes the brilliant Green River Swat as well as conveys untainted campgrounds for bold individuals and nature darlings.

A considerable lot of these lakes are hidden from the eyes of explorers due to their far-flung territories and take three to seven hours of climbing to reach from the town out on the town. Examining these extraordinary events of nature requires tirelessness, diligence, and grit or all the more all love for trademark brilliance. The people who have a stylish sense and have the strive after nature's heavenliness set out to explore and unravel these liberal bounties of nature.

 

Daral lake:

The wonderful Daral lake is situated toward the upper east of Sidgai Lake and one can reach there through Saidgai following two-three hours of climbing. The trail to Daral is overflowing with fun and enjoyment since it continues running over sky contacting statues of the mountains gives fantastic sights and scenes for the brilliance hungry eyes of nature noteworthy others. An adjacent look towards the south will reveal the long and curving sellouts of stream Swat in the horizon.

Bashigram Lake
 

This Clear lake is situated toward the East of Bashigram valley close Madyan. The way to this valley is incompletely made and can be sought after any conventional vehicle. It takes very nearly fifty minutes to achieve this beguiling valley colonized by modest and inviting individuals. From here, climbing of four to five hours, contingent upon expertise and enthusiasm of the voyagers takes you in the place where there is a serene and wonderful pool of Bashigram.

Mahodand (Fish Lake)

This lake is really a superb and astounding lake on earth. It appears planned by the hands of Mother Nature that one can't characterize the excellence and smoothness of the zone in words.

Archeology

The old history of Swat is notable and to demonstrate the recorded certainties, numerous old remains are found in this area.

 Butkara

This territory finds the remaining parts of Buddhist of Chinese Sung Yun. There are stays of old structures are found here. The fundamental building stand in the center, around it, are stuffed hallowed places, Viharas and segments, on the Northern side viewpoints an extraordinary building and further toward the north and west the occupied zone.

Shingardar Stupa

The stupa of Shingardar is situated about 4km toward the upper east of Brikot valley, by the left half of the street from Mingawarara to Mardan. The stupa remains in the mouth of a minor valley diving from a basic goad over the valley plain. 

Nemogram

The Nemogram is situated around 46 km West of Saidu Sharif and around 23 km from Birkot, on the correct bank of Swat River in the valley of Shamozai.

Famous Destinations Swat Valley

There are various of marvels in Swat Valley. Valley is advance in cascades, knolls, woodland and considerably more. As per the visitor inclinations we have chosen top 5 place of interest in Swat. The points of interest of them are recorded beneath. Fizzaghat-While investigating a definitive wonder of Swat. The specific first traveler goal is Fizzaghat. It is arranged in the town Mingora, relatively 3.6 km far from the town.

Kalam

Kalam is a cool paradise for vacationers which is situated at separation of 99 km from Mingora in the northern upper compasses of swat valley along the bank of Swat River in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region of Pakistan. Kalam is encompassed by lavish green slopes, thick woodlands and gave with mesmeric lakes, knolls and cascades which are worth seen highlights of the scene. It is the origination of Swat River which shapes with intersection of two noteworthy tributaries of Gabral River and Usho River. There are a ton of terrific inns in Kalam Valley, where one can remain for night and appreciate the cool wind of Swat River.

Malam jabba

Malam Jabba is just a single ski resort in Pakistan. It is 314 km far from Islamabad and 51 km from Saidu Sharif Airport. It is one of the popular slope stations of Swat in Hindukash Mountain Range. Street to Malam Jabba is very thrilling yet the visitor love to visit the place for skiing. This is no uncertainty an exceptionally wonderful ski incline encompassed by excellent backwoods Malam Jabba Resort is first of its sort in Pakistan with super offices for winter brandishing and experience the travel industry. The forceful mountain go pulls in numerous visitor for its astonishing treks. Malam Jabba International Alpine Ski Cup held each year to advance the skiers from everywhere throughout the world. Skiers proclaim Malam Jabba as a Skier's heaven.

Bahrain

Bahrain is a well known slope station and riverside place of interest in Swat Valley. It is named Bahrain (2 streams) because of its converging of the Daral River and Swat River. It is known for its riverside traveler resorts, neighborhood crafted works, and its perspective of the gathering of the Daral and Swat Rivers. It likewise fills in as a base camp for the trail that prompts the Daral and Saidgai lakes. The atmosphere is gentle there. That pull in a considerable lot of the traveler to itself.

Murghzar white palace

Murghzar is a little town situated in Swat, very nearly 13 km far from Saidu Sharif. As it verifiable truth that Northern territories of Pakistan well known for their definitive magnificence. Similarly Murghzar is popular for its White Marble Palace, worked by the Wali-e-Swat in mid 1940′s. First it was the mid year living arrangement of the Wali of Swat Jahanzeb now royal residence fills in as a lodging. While going towards Murghzar, a street swings to Islam Pura, which is celebrated for its woodwork, shawls and covers. The White Palace at Murghzar was later changed over into a best traveler resort.

Swati Cuisines

Swati cooking styles reflect Pashtuns culture and birthplace, as their fundamental course comprises of Rice and Kebabs. meat particularly Lamb meat is more prominent in the Pashtun cooking styles. Rice Haleem, Chapli Kebab, Tikka and Mutton/Lamb/Chicken Karahi are popular forte of their locale. Peshawari cooking styles are the most well known among the Swati locals. Their conventional cooking styles are absolutely non-hot. Pakistani supper course comprises of three dinners every day; Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. Swat valley has no exclusion of it. Here are some heavenly and enticing nourishments, you can appreciate in Swat amid your trek to the valley.

Chicken/Mutton/Lamb Karahi

Chicken, Mutton or Lamb Karahi is a renowned dish in Swat valley of Pakistan. lamb or chicken is utilized in this formula. It is a significant mainstream forte, for its zesty surface, taste and fragrance. The name Karahi really alludes to its cooking utensil, a Wok.

Chapli Kebabs  

Kebabs, particularly Peshawari Chapli Kebabs are very mainstream in Pakistan. This dish is extremely delightful in taste and frequently gets an a place in terrific galas. It is an unadulterated Pakistani conventional formula. It regularly presents with Imli Chatni (Tamarind Sauce) or Green Chatni (Mint and Green Chili Sauce). 

Charsi Tikka

The Charsi Tikka is another renowned dish of Afghani food. It is extremely enticing and appealling in light of the fact that to its delectable flavors. The formula of the Charsi Tikka is a fine mix of Persian and Afghani cooking styles. It is promptly accessible all around the Swat valley.

Breads

There is a wide range of kinds of breads accessible in Swat valley. A portion of the well known are Chapatti, Naan, Kaak, Roti, Sheermaal, Taftan, Paratha, Puri and Tandoori  Bread.