Naran and Shogran, a winter wonderland


We were travelling by bus and started from Rawalpindi passing through Mansehra and Abbotabad before reaching Naran

Since the journey was long, we decided to stay a night in a small village called Rajwal

Rajwal is beautiful, surrounded by mountains which are mostly green but start showing hints of snowy white as you move further up north

The temperature was around eight to 10 degrees during the afternoon and would drop to around one to two degrees at night

The roads which lead to Rajwal are wide and city-like, although one occasionally sees herds of goats and sheep being shepherded across the roads

Due to the season, most hotels and motels were closed

However, the tour organisers got us accommodation in a modest but adequate guest house

The rooms were spacious, and even though there was no central heating, there was hot water available in the morning which was a big relief! This was my view from the room: The main attraction is the fresh air and the scenery – who wouldn’t want to wake up to that

If you walk down the road, there are a few small stores where one can get basic groceries from and you come across fresh water streams

At night, you can huddle around a bonfire in the garden to keep warm

The air is chilly but doesn’t freeze you to the bone

If you walk around a bit and have some tea or coffee, you will be just fine

After staying there for the night, the next stop was Lake Saiful Malook

Saiful Malook - Mother nature’s versatility at its best During the summers, the lake can be accessed by road (as per the map below) as Saiful Malook lies between a valley of mountains

However, the route at this time of the year was all covered in snowed

The only way to get to it was on foot

The scenario changes completely, yet has a beauty of its own

Never in my dreams did I imagine that we would hike through this

I was, unfortunately, not able to make it to the lake this time as I didn’t have proper shoes

But there were a few determined ones from our group who did make it and got to see this view of the lake in contrast to the one above

This view is something worth seeing in both seasons

It takes about two hours to get there on foot and about another two hours to get back

One should visit in late April-early May to see this winter wonderland and once again during the summers to see the greenery that surrounds the lake

Shogran - A real life postcard After getting back to the base of the mountain and indulging in a late lunch in Naran, we drove down to Shogran for the night

In essence, we went back down southward as you can see below

A point to note here is that the roads are a bit intimidating

One needs a skilled driver to navigate through the tiny strips as all you have is a wall of mountains on one side and pretty much nothing on the other side, except a 7,000 feet drop! The local drivers here are skilled as these roads are a daily route for them

If you are scared of heights, I suggest you sit on the far side of the car and don’t look out the window, and request your driver – very politely – to drive a bit slowly

I emphasise on the world ‘polite’ since most of these drivers are skilled and pride themselves on what they do, but they don’t like being told how to do their job

Upon reaching Shogran, we stayed at Pine Park Hotel

It seems like a feat of architecture in itself since one wonders how they managed to build what is almost a four-star hotel on top of a mountain

The view from each and every room of the hotel is simply gorgeous

It looks like one of those calendar photos you see in drawing rooms growing up as a kid

The rooms were clean and the service was good

It would have been great if it had central heating, but nonetheless, the weather was really pleasant during the day and one did not even need a sweater

Shogran to Siri and Paye The last key sightseeing spot on this tour were the peaks of Siri and Paye

These adjacent mountains stand at a height of almost 9,500 feet (Paye) and 8,500 feet (Siri)

Even though Siri means ‘head’ and Paye means ‘feet’, the strange thing is that in reality, Siri comes first and Paye (a bit higher up) comes after

The terrain is difficult and you can only get up via a 30-minute drive with in a 3,000cc jeep as you can see below

The jeeps, being the awesome powerful machines that they are, can only go so far

The last bit of the journey till the peak where the meadow of Siri-Paye lies can be reached either by foot (about a 20-minute walk) or by horse (which you can rent)

This is one of the highest places you can be at in the Shogran area

When you reach here, take a moment to put your camera down and just take in the majestic beauty of this place

I sat here for 15 minutes just staring at these mountains

During this season, one can only get to Siri as Paye is still covered in snow, as you can see in the picture below

One can still hike there if they wish to but it would be a similar experience as that of Saiful Malook

From here, it was back to Rawalpindi via the same route

If you have the time, do stop by Mansehra and Abbotabad as both cities are beautiful, set in valleys surrounded by lush green mountains

This trip made me realise that Pakistan holds endless amounts of natural beauty, no less than any European vacation

You need to simply get out there to see it

These photos and descriptions cannot even do justice to what you get to see and feel in person once you are there

All in all, it was a great trip and people should see this place both in the summers as well as the winters

Below is a handy list of basic necessities you will need in case you plan on taking the trip during winters

All photos: Urooj Hussain This post originally appeared here



Date:13-May-2015 Reference:View Original Link