Wonderful Pakistan! A Traveler's Notebook, Volume 4

By Jamshed Khan

From the splendid Trango Towers and majestic Mount K2 in the mighty Karakoram Range to the north, to the bubbling mud volcanoes along the beautiful Makran coast to the south, Pakistan is one blessed country. Perhaps, there is no other country in the world that exceeds Pakistan in offering beautiful and astounding vistas and landscapes.

Pakistan is truly a blessed country. It has a rich cultural, linguistic, and ethnic heritage that goes back thousands of years and beyond. For example, Meharghar, Sibi is a Neolithic culture dating back 7000 BCE. Soan Valley civilization near the Capital Islamabad dates back perhaps 500,000 years. This will make it perhaps the oldest human civilization discovered to date. Pakistan has astounding physical landscapes, terrains, mountains, valleys, plains, deserts, and sea coast that are second to none in their breathtaking beauty.

Pakistan will no doubt soon emerge as the number one tourist destination in the world. Pakistani people are warm, friendly, and hospitable and know how to take good care of their honored guests. I sincerely hope to facilitate this objective of Pakistan becoming a number one tourist destination in the world through my humble efforts in creating this eBook “Wonderful Pakistan, A Traveler’s Notebook.” Pakistan is truly a heaven on Earth!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jamshed Khan
• Release date: Apr 13, 2021
• ISBN: 9780463078655

Jamshed Khan

Jamshed Namdar KhanJamshed N. Khan was born in Lahore, Pakistan on August 6, 1953. He graduated from high school at the Forman Christian College, Lahore, Pakistan in 1971, and proceeded on as an immigrant to the United States of America in 1973. In the United States, Jamshed studied electrical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, and graduated with a BSEE in 1979.From 1979 to 1984 Jamshed worked at the Fairchild Semiconductor Company in Mountain View, California, as an Analog designer and frontend Manufacturing product engineer for Linear devices such as Operational Amplifiers and Timer circuits.In 1984 Jamshed joined the Hewlett-Packard Company in Palo Alto, California and was yield enhancement and product engineer for the Optical devices such as Optocouplers and Optically coupled Solid State relays.In 1997 Jamshed Khan became a Factory Applications Engineer for the Optocoupler devices and joined the IEC 60747 SC47E/WG4 as a technical contributor and participant to generate an International safety standard IEC 60747 for the Optocouplers and Optically coupled solid state relays.Jamshed subsequently worked in Agilent Technologies, Avago Technologies, and Broadcom, and retired in January 2017. Jamshed last job title before retirement was field applications engineer for Optocouplers and Industrial Fiber Optics for the Western United States and South America. In this capacity he visited Brazil numerous times. Since retirement Jamshed has indulged in his hobbies and passions. This includes World Travel, Photography, and golf.

Book preview

Chapter 1:

SHEOSAR LAKE, DEOSAI PLATEAU, GILGIT BALTISTAN

THERE’S MAGIC in the air when you find yourself on the world’s highest plateau, surrounded by series of giant mountains all around and raw beauty at its absolute best. That’s Deosai, the land of divine giants located between Kharmang, Astore and Skardu in Gilgit Baltistan province of Pakistan.

Deosai Plains

Credit: Unknown | Medium.com

Deosai is the combination of two words ‘Deo’ (giant) and ‘Sai’ (shadow). For a very long time, it was considered that this place is haunted by giants, thus the name ‘The Land of the Giants’ came into being. Deosai plains remains covered with snow for eight months but the rest of the four months are like havens on earth, where it presents colours and greenery on 3000 sq. km plateau.

Wild Flowers at Deosai Plains

Credit: Unknown | Medium.com

One can start their journey to Deosai plains from Skardu & in an hour, you will reach the top of Deosai plains at ~4700 meters elevation. However, your infatuation will really begin when you completely cross Deosai, starting from Chilam (south side) & ending at Skardu. Deosai plains are known for their versatile weather, even in summers & the same was the case with us when we started our journey from Astore. A bright sunny day, which is a delight for any photographer & what came out to be a mesmerising experience of our lives. Astore is a small city located 110 km, east of Gilgit & one can stay at PTDC Rama Lake or Kamran Hotel, depending on your budget.

Nanga Parbat Rupal Face

Credit: Unknown | Medium.com

Sheosar Lake at Deosai Plains

Credit: ©Mushfiq Hussain | Medium.com

The entry to Deosai National Park is made at Chilam and it marks the start of an epic day. A mountainous trek at the start which is then converted to a lush green plateau. The plains are famous for their silence and you can feel your own heartbeats every now and then.

Himalayan Brown Bear

Credit: ©Malik Zaheeb | Medium.com

Bari Pani – Desosai Plains

Credit: ©Syed Ali Gilani | Medium.com

The first milestone of trek is Sheosar lake which truly attracts you and this serene place makes you think about your Creator and His blessings. The lake is one of the highest lakes in the world. The deep blue waters, with snow-covered mountains in backdrop and greenery with wild flowers in the foreground offers an out of this world view all together.

On a clear day, one can see Rupal face of Nanga Parbat (a.k.a., the Killer Mountain) from the lake, it’s a rare scene for which you must be very lucky. Deosai Plains are famous for their Himalayan Brown Bears along with Himalayan ibex, red fox, golden marmot locally called Phia, gray wolf, snow leopard and a number of resident and migratory birds. A lot of focus has been given by the government to protect brown bears and their habitat, which indeed is commendable.

People can camp at Sheosar lake or at Barra Pain bridge which itself would be an amazing experience. However, Deosai has one of the most dangerous species of mosquitos and adequate arrangements have be made to avoid any issues. The weather in our case turns cloudy very quickly and in no time, it’s started raining which gave us another view of the plains. It is important to note that the temperature drops to below 10C in such weathers and adequate protections should be taken along with you.

Life at Deosai Plains

Credit: Unknown | Medium.com

Weather Changing its colors – Deosai Plains

Credit: Unknown | Medium.com

The top point of Deosai plains is ~ 4700 meters and you can find a tuk shop for some tea and snacks. The people are very hospitable and offer you to come to their portable houses. Truly impressive considering the tough conditions under which they are living in.

A magnificent day’s journey is ended with a beautiful blue lake, named Satpara. It’s a natural lake that supplies water to Skardu. It takes 30 minutes from the lake to reach Skardu city which has many hotels to stay, the best being Shangrila Resort & Hotel Mashabrum.

Deosai plains are like havens on the face of earth and its responsibility to protect this serene place. We strongly recommend to take care of trash generated in your trip and bring it back along with you. This would be our contribution towards maintaining a natural habitat for the wildlife.

(Text Credit: Mushfiq Hussain)

Sat Para Lake

Credit: ©Mushfiq Hussain | Medium.com

Deosai Plains – Havens on Earth

Credit: ©Sohail Balti | Medium.com

Entrance to the Deosai National Park

Credit: ©Nation.com

Panorama of the Sheosar Lake

Credit: ©Nation.com

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medium.com/travelofun/deosai-the-land-of-divine-giants-a53d3c2a179d

nation.com.pk/11-Sep-2017/deosai-roof-of-the-world

Chapter 2:

NARAN-KAGHAN WATERFALL, KAGHAN NARAN VALLEY, KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA

THERE’S NO DENYING to what Pakistan has to offer—every city is a splendid masterpiece of its own kind. Pakistan is bestowed with breathtaking beauty and nature. The calm and bubbling rivers of Punjab, stunning valleys of Naran, sun-kissed beaches of Sindh, beautiful lakes of Balochistan and the wonderful mountain ranges, and another glorious blessing includes the waterfalls of Pakistan.

Credit: Salam Planet ©2020

You have to see it believe it! But have SalamPlanet’s word on this, these waterfalls are a marvelous addition to the natural beauty of Pakistan.

Visiting these waterfalls enables you to get opportunities for seeing the most spectacular sceneries on earth. Although there’s a lot to see—including the most beautiful places to visit in Pakistan—you will find these spectacular waterfalls an astonishing gift for sightseeing. And surprisingly, there’s a majority that still isn’t aware of the waterfalls.

The place itself, Naran and Kaghan, is known for the beauty it holds and is amongst the most visited places in Pakistan. Naran Kaghan waterfalls are without argument the best of Pakistan’s natural beauty. But to view these amazing additions of nature, you have to there in summers, otherwise, you will find the place blocked by snow and land sliding.

Waterfalls in Naran and Kaghan are spectacular and beautiful. Naran and Kaghan Valley are one of the most amazing vacation destinations of Pakistan. Here, you can find waterfall at short distances. The area is accessible in summers only. In winters it is blocked by snow and land sliding. You can enjoy staying in Naran and Kaghan during summers.

Naran Kaghan Waterfalls

Credit: World for Travel ©2020

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blog.salamplanet.com/waterfalls-of-pakistan

worldfortravel.com/top-five-astonishing-waterfalls-of-pakistan

Chapter 3:

CHITRAL (GOL) NATIONAL PARK, KHYBER PAKHTUNKHUWA

CHITRAL GOL NATIONAL PARK is one of the National Parks of Pakistan. It is located in Chitral District in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan beside the Chitral River, at a distance of two hours’ drive from Chitral town. The park is also known as Chitral National Park.

The park features several alpine meadows

Credit: Tahsin A Shah | ©CC BY-SA 4.0

Up until 1983, Chitral Gol was considered to be the private property of the former Mehtar of Chitral. The status of the park has been in dispute since and has become the issue of ongoing litigation between heirs of the former Mehtar and the Government of Pakistan. The way leading to the park is quite narrow and dangerous, yet more risky during the rainy days. It is located between 1450 metre and about 5000 metre above sea level. It has an area of 7750 hectares.

Chitral National Park is one of the national parks of Pakistan. It is located in Chitral District in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan beside the Chitral River, at a distance of two hours’ drive from Chitral city. The park is also known as Chitral Gol National Park. The word Gol in the local language means ‘round’. This park includes three valleys. Several glaciers also lie in the park through which several springs make their way and ultimately form a stream of 18 metres. The cold water of this stream falls towards the east into the Chitral River. The park is rich in trees particularly Cedar trees. This park also serves to provide shelter to a vast diversity of animals especially Markhor, an endangered wild goat species. The subspecies, which occurs in the Park is the Astor markhor. Despite a decline from over 500 to only around 200 individuals in the park during the 1980s, Chitral National Park still holds the largest population of the Astor Markhor in the world. Also present in the park in small numbers are the Siberian ibex and