A.A. Dear PWers 
As promised after completing my Dubai trip, i am back Alhamdulillah with an amazing and extraordinary beautiful trip to Kaghan Valley.
PART ONE
I had some spare time in Eid holidays so family planned a short trip to Nathia Gali and i utilized the chance to do Miranjani trek early in the morning. We used four vehicles:
- Toyota Corolla GLi
- Honda City
- Hyundai Santro Exec
- Suzuki Cultus
All cars performed well and Cultus reached Nathia Gali on CNG.
The day wise itinerary was as follows:
2 Sep 2011: >>Starts from page 4<<
Departed early morning for Nathia Gali and got stuck in traffic jam near Murree due to rush of Eid holidays plus a single pass bridge was hindering traffic from Jheka Gali to Nathia Gali. We reached our destination around 7 p.m. in almost 13 hours.
3 Sep 2011: >>Starts from page 12<<
Families and kids were sleeping due to tiring journey of yesterday. I also did a 13 hours drive but woke up at 5:30 a.m. for Miranjani trek. My nephew and myself went for the trek and came back by 1:30 p.m. Others had just finished breakfast and we joined them for drive around various locations near Nathia Gali till evening. The trek was wonderful and full of carpeted flowers all around.
4 Sep 2011: >>Starts from page 22<<
We had plans for Mukshpuri trek in the morning but it rained till 11 a.m. so dropped the idea. I came back home through Abbottabad side since didn't want to take risk of getting stuck again in traffic near Murree. Other three parties had plans for Ayubia and later on Murree in the evening. I stopped in Islamabad for few hours and reached Lahore around 2 a.m.
PART TWO
My original plan for this year was for Naran, Gilgit, Naltar, Yasin, Shandoor, Chitral and Kailash. There were four various treks planned as well in this journey.
But ......... family members were forcing to join us so had no choice
I revised the trip and opted for Kaghan Valley. We were 12 group members; 6 gents, 3 ladies and 3 kids aging 10 months to 3 years.
We used a high roof 10 seater for journey of Lahore-Naran-Lahore. And, within the valley, 2 rented jeeps were used.
10 Sep 2011: >>Starts from page 25<<
Departed from Lahore around 1 a.m. We had a stay in Islamabad as one of the members joined from there. The high roof had heating problem so we did quite a few unnecessary stays. For breakfast, we stopped at Usmania in Abbottabad. Next stop was Kiwai and then finally Naran by evening.
11 Sep 2011: >>Starts from page 37<<
My bro Muazzam had food poisoning and the night was spent in taking care of him. We tried the first aid medicines we were carrying but it was of no use. So, we went to the Basic Health Unit of Naran and interrupted the sleep of resident doctor around 3 a.m. But medicines were only available in the morning. The group left for Lalazaar around 9 a.m. and i stayed with Muazzam. We arranged for the medicines and injection and Alhamdulillah by noon he was feeling much better.
I had already requested the group to check with me before diverting to Saif-ul-Mulook. So, they called me on their way back from Lalazaar and i joined them for Saif-ul-Mulook.
A hotel has been built at the very start of the lake area which was inaugurated in Eid holidays. The males had camping plans but now after seeing the hotel, families also requested to stay at the lake and we booked room there for ladies and kids and did camping ourselves. After dinner, the hotel guys arranged for fire in the premises so we enjoyed a ready made bonfire.
After that .... we went for a 3 hours night photography session around the lake and tried to spot fairies .....
12 Sep 2011: >>Starts from page 56<<
Mobiles work at a location around 5 min drive before the lake. So, before going for lake at night i went to that location with jeep driver and checked on my bro Muazzam who was doing fine.
Early morning, we woke up and came down to Naran to freshen up and get ready for new destinations. Our first destination was Babusar Top. I kept a close eye on the kids but mashallah all 3 adapted to the altitude change brilliantly. We stayed at Babusar Pass for half hour and then went for Sambak Sar and Dharam Sar Lake. One of our jeep drivers took the ladies and kids plus Muazzam to Sambak Sar Lake on jeep. He used a self created route as there is no jeep trek for this lake from road. The male party did the trek and reached the lake in 40-50 min.
On our way back, one jeep broke down before Lulusar Lake and it was evening time. The jeep carrying families stopped at Besal and members rested in a small room in Basel Hotel. Another jeep with locals and police was sent to rescue our second group stuck in the wilderness. They towed the jeep till Lulusar Lake and then ignition worked and jeep started to roar again. The problem was fuel tank which had lots of undesired particles hindering the fuel flow. So, 6 bottles were filled with diesel and the guy sitting with driver kept on changing fuel flow pipe from one bottle to other till we reached Naran.
13 Sep 2011: >>Starts from page 73<<
It was a rest day for ladies and kids. The trekking party left Naran around 8 a.m. for Sat Sar Mala Lakes.
We started the trek at 11:10 a.m. and reached Surkhail Lake at 3 p.m. We were back after visiting all six lakes by 5 p.m. Rain caught us on last 40 minutes of the trek on our way down and it kept on raining till Batakundi. Naran received a light shower but Muazzam told me that it rained a lot on Saif-ul-Muluk as he visited the lake today. He kept a low profile and didn't do the treks as we didn't want to take any risks.
14 Sep 2011: >>Starts from page 93<<
The return journey started at 9 a.m. Our destination was Shogran and Sri Paye. We reached Kiwai around 11 a.m. and visited all three locations in 4 hours. The weather was cloudy so visibility was very poor. Some were visiting Sri Paye for the first time and they didn't have any idea what was hidden all around them
We resumed the journey around 3:30 p.m. and reached Lahore around 1 a.m. mainly due to heating problem of high roof.
Group members:
Hassan Ch.
Mussab
Nazir Ali Shah
Umair
Muazzam
Mobeen
Cameras used:
- Canon EOS Rebel T2i (myself)
- Nikon D90 (Hassan Ch.)
- Panasonic Lumix FZ-35 (Mussab)
- Canon Powershot G9 (Muazzam)
- Quite a few mobiles as well
The per head cost was Rs.12.5K.
I am sure you all will love this tour
Regards
Mobeen
Subhan-Allah !!!
2nd, 4th and 5th Lakes of Sat Sar Mala Series with Surkhail Lake on my back towards left
The gang of wanderers at Lake Saif-ul-Muluk at midnight 12: 05 a.m.
Left to right: Umair, Nikon D90 on tripod 
, Hassan Ch., Nazir Ali Shah, Mussab and myself Mobeen
The majestic Malika Parbat
Introducing my friend and companion on the trip Hassan Ch. with his Nikon D90
Eyes of the innocense...
Local girl from the village near by Kaghan Valley, Pakistan. The people from this region are indeed beautiful and indeed credit goes to the nature around them.
I was just shooting the landscape near by when she and her brother reached close by to see what I was doing and later on got even offered that I take their pictures...
Lake Saif-ul-Muluk after midnight by Hassan Ch.
