Three Weeks in Pakistan (Chapter 4)

We arrived in Kaghan around 8 o’clock at night, after being on the road since 5 in the morning. I shared a few words and some pictures of where we stayed in chapter 3, check it out! Moving on to our journey through Naran below.

Naran

Lucky for us, the manager at the hotel we stayed at in Kaghan offered to drive us to Naran, which was roughly an hour away. He also gave us his word that he would take us as far up the mountain as the jeep could go, and wait for us until we finished our hike and returned.

There was nothing that assured us that he would follow his word, and the funny thing is normally I would be skeptical, but we had left our car back at the hotel and he had no reason to deceive us. A part of this is probably because it was off-season and they do have a business to run, but also, I just feel like the people in this area are generally kind-hearted souls who would never intentionally wrong another human being.

These are the kinds of snippets people in the west are never exposed to because all we see is what’s terrible and shocking – all we see on media outlets is what sells.

Breakfast Between Mountains

About half an hour away from the hotel is the town Naran and probably another half hour away is the mountain range where we wanted to go. We stopped in Naran to have breakfast. I was completely ecstatic when I stepped out of the jeep and noticed where we were – mountains all around us. The idea of mountains may not be as exciting as physically seeing them. My eyes were in disbelief and my heart sank. I was bewildered. I felt so insignificant but I also had never felt so much joy fill my heart and stomach. I read somewhere recently: “mountains have a way of dealing with overconfidence”, and I can completely relate, especially after a three hour hike through the rough and steep terrain to Lake Saiful Muluk.

We didn’t try anything too crazy for breakfast, my mom gets motion sickness and I also did not want an upset stomach while hiking, so we stuck with the basics: an omelette, some buttered toast and the most phenomenal chai I have ever had in my years. We obviously got seconds of everything – no regrets!

OFF to Lake Saiful Muluk

After breakfast we drove up the mountains towards Lake Saiful Muluk. Even though we went at the end of April, there was snow everywhere! But even with mountains covered in snow, it didn’t feel as cold, since the sun was out, and I was only wearing a couple thin layers and a somewhat thick cardigan sweater.

Above, one of my favourite moments of the hike. This was right before we rented rain boots and sticks to help us through the snow-filled mountains. His name is Raja (as I’m sure many of their names are), it means prince! He was very tamed and absolutely adorable. Raja listened to his owner and obligated gently to his demands. He spread his wings and climbed atop my shoulder. In this moment, I was the happiest animal-loving human being alive!

This is Mohammad Javed. He was our tour guide through the mountains on our way to Lake Saiful Muluk. I feel like my words alone could not do his genuine demeanour any justice. He was such a kind, hospitable and patient human being. I know the first thing people will say is, “Well, he has to be that way, it’s his living,” but while spending almost five hours with him on the rough hike through the snow-filled mountains, I realized that it was not just his means that allowed him to be this way. He was really such a light personality. As were the majority of the people in this area.

These were by far my favourite moments of my trip to Pakistan; but, not only because of the breathtaking views. Every person that we interacted with in this region was so friendly, courteous and hospitable.

In the time that Mohammad Javed took us through the mountains and back, he could have taken three to four families. My mom took numerous breaks and he stood there waiting for us, patiently, talking to us here and there, but mostly just being patient. And never once did he utter a word about how long it took us to hike. 

He refused to let me carry my backpack, and he held our water too. He told us about the hike and about the lake. He was honest about how far we still had to go, even when we told him to twist the truth! 

I gave him mints every now and then when we would stop to wait for my mom and cousin to catch up. I think he appreciated it, especially since he had no water for himself. 

What melted my heart at the end was when we asked him to tell us how much to pay him, he said, “whatever your heart desires.” In that moment, i wish that I could express how grateful we were for him, but it felt like no words were enough. 

These places count on tourism to make a living, so even though I personally would not go around this time of year ever again, I feel happy that we were crazy enough to hike more than 15km in the snow, because i would have never met these people and I would have never appreciated this journey in this way.

Worth It?

The hike itself was very challenging, especially because I literally had done NO (like ZERO) research before going here. I thought that the jeep would take us all the way and we wouldn’t have to hike. My mom definitely did not appreciate the surprise hike, but I think she really enjoyed the rest of it. She stopped every woman that she came across on the way back and told them DON’T DO IT! THE LAKE IS FROZEN OVER! IT’S NOT WORTH IT! I laughed.

To be fair, she hurt her ankle pretty bad, and I downplayed at the time because we had a long way to go to get back to our jeep and no time to ponder over pain. I kept telling her, “mom you’re fine! It’s nothing!” [Worst Child]

There were a lot of youth college groups touring the area. It kept the hike pretty light at times. Some of them would race each other through the snow. Other’s would challenge one another to take a risky shortcut. We watched from afar and laughed at their playfulness. It almost felt like a rabbit and turtle race, (us being the turtles) because they would run ahead of us or take a shortcut that exerted their energy, and end up having to take a long break. We would meet them while they were resting and just laugh and ask them about their risky shortcut.

We met some funny tourists on the way as well: families with sibling rivalry, youth groups (mostly guys) who challenged each other to run through the mountains and brave elder and kids. Even though the hike was long and tiring, knowing that others were just as crazy as you helped us trek through. Plus every instance made for a fun moment. My mom made friends with all the aunties, which was cute to witness.

The lake was indeed frozen over

My mom rested awhile back because the path to the lake was narrower and more dangerous and she had no stamina for it by the time we got to the end. My cousins and I hiked quickly to the view, took a few pictures and turned around.

My cousins and I swore that we would come back during the hotter months so that we could see the lake in full bloom!

Finally, we made our way back down the mountain. This part was fun sometimes because we slid down and took many shortcuts. It was probably not the safest thing to do, but we were too exhausted to care for safe at this point. We just wanted to get back in the jeep and have some yummy food and chai from the restaurants and call it a day!

We had to take my mom back down on the horseback because her ankle was very painful. She was terrified because even the horses were losing balance in the heaps of snow and she was scared they would drop her (as they did to many other riders). But she got lucky and we finally got to rest – bruised and burnt from the reflection of the sun off the snow. Note to self: ALWAYS wear sunscreen… always.

But wait! There’s more, on the next chapter! 😉 Stay tuned!