The splendor of Kaghan Valley: Story of a lost paradise Part-5

The splendor of Kaghan Valley: Story of a lost paradise Part-5

The first village on the road to Babusar is Batakundi, 16 kilometers beyond Naran. Nestled at the confluence of Siran Nala and Kunhar River, Batakundi offers travelers a rest house and two small hotels. Batakundi is a fertile area and is famous for the cultivation
of good quality seeds of potato and peas which are distributed across Pakistan. A jeep track from here leads right up to the Lalazar pasture. 

Jalkhad

Continuing on the main road, one will reach Burawai after 13 kilometers. Situated at the confluence of Joar Nala and the River Kunhar, Burawai has PWD rest house and a small road side hotel. Next stop from Burwai is the famous “Jalkhad” where the metal road
comes to an abrupt end giving into and gravel road onyly suitable for jeep tracks.

As the name being self explanatory, Jal-khad can be taken as a large ditch in the path of river Kunhar. The abundance of blue-green algae had turned the lake into emerald green, and with the thick coniferous forest at the other end, the place appears to
have jumped right out of a fantasy. The carpeted road ended at Jalkhad and from there onward it was just a gravel road, one that can be tough on a trekker’s feet. The work done by FWO up to this place is of high standard and a mighty difficult one. Kaghan
road via Babusar pass to Gilgit, if made operational, can actually reduce the time to reach gilgit by 7-8 hours.

From here Besal, a nomad settlement, is 18 km. A road side restaurant offers tea and simple food to travelers who wish to observe nomad life at the conjunction of Purbi Nar, Saeedullah Nar and Kunhar River. From Besal, one can deviate 15 km east to another
beautiful area, Lake Dudupat Sar, famous for its lush green surroundings and good trout fishing. This lake is accessible by foot or hired pony.

Lake Lulusar

For those interested in the main source of Kunhar River and a pleasant spot of picnic, a three kilometer journey beyond Basal will take you to the beautiful deep blue Lake Lulusar. The largest of the Kaghan Valley lakes, Lulusar is surrounded in color by
many varieties of wild flowers. A sense of culture can also be observed through the summer encampments of the Gujar nomads.
Lake Lulusar is the largest fresh water reservoir in the valley and is also the birthplace of river kunhar. Seated at approximately 11000 ft above sea level and stretching almost 3 kms in length the lake twists and turns in a narrow valley, making it impossible
to capture whole of it in one single snap. The lake has a character of its own. The first most striking feature of it is the deafening silence around it, away from the thrashing kunhar.

To be continued….

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Posted by Naveed A Bari on Jan 23 2012. Filed under Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry