A.A. PWer Friends 
This year's recce mission was in Swat Valley. I have plans to cross whole Swat Valley and Dir on my way to Chitral in August In Sha Allah so wanted to have a check on the route.
The plan was to do Kundol Lake trek with night stay. I had the dates of moonless nights in mind so there was great chance of awesome views of Milkyway and with luck weather forecast was also clear. Since, Kundol Lake used to be one of the easier treks amongst the lake treks of Pakistan so this was the reason to choose it for the large group. And, in addition, a second destination was under consideration on my way back from Kundol.
But .... Kundol proved to be a lot tougher than what we had planned and demanded much more respect from the trekkers
So, my plan was restricted till Kundol Lake.
Group Members
It all started with Rashid bhai ( @emmaar) and Faraz bhai ( @faraz74) showing their interest in my recce mission for this year as Rashid bhai knew i would be coming for a short trip in June. Eventually, Faraz bhai couldn't join the trip but Rashid bhai made it
So, i decided to share the plan with other members of TQC as well and Raheel ( @Raheeln) and Nomi ( @nomi700) showed immediate interest and took the initiative to make a group scale trip.
Since, i had kind of fixed dates for the trip and other members were coming from different cities with different leave plans so it was decided that we will keep the plan very flexible so that maximum members can join.
This resulted in 3 different teams leaving at different times and targeting to do Kundol Lake trek together on Sat 8 June 2013.
So, at the end, i had the honour to travel and trek with following wonderful people and made many new friends
Team 1
- Farrukh ----------- @skullcandy
- Shoaib ----------- @boss77
- Armghan Nishat --- @armghannishat
- Hafiz Ishaq ------- @hmishaq
- Amer Waseem ---- @waseem14pk
- Syed Salman Ali -- @salsh
- Nauman Sheikh --- @nomi700
- Raheel Asghar ---- @Raheeln
Team 2
- Khalid Rehman ---- @rehmank
- Mobeen Mazhar --- @aesiege
Team 3
- Muhammad Rashid ------ @emmaar
- Shahbaz Zain ----- @Shahbazzain
- Dr. Farhan -------- Non PWer and friend of Shahbaz
- Muhammad Bilal --- @BILAL3538
- Imran Arif --------- @imranarif66
Team 1 left earlier and had additional destinations in their plans while team 2 and 3 only did Kundol Lake trek.
For coverage of additional destinations, please follow this thread:
https://www.pakwheels.com/forums/road-trips-vacations/216392-tqc-conqurers-kandol-lake-quest-wins-everything-else-looses
My travelogue will focus on Kundol Lake Trek only and here goes the itinerary
7 June 2013:
My companion for the journey was @rehmank
Left Lahore through Niazi Express during night of 6th June and reached Mansehra around 7: 15 a.m. The jeep driver was already in town and was at bus station within 5 min. We immediately packed the luggage and left for the long drive till Kalam. We stopped for breakfast at Shinkiari i guess and then continued the journey. Army checkpot on Thakot bridge wasted 1.5 hrs in very hot weather. We reached Besham around 1 p.m. We had a break in Besham for 40 odd minutes and then resumed the journey. We crossed Shangla Pass and reached Khwazakhela in 2 hr 45 min. Lunch break was in Khwazakhela and then continued the worst journey of the day till Kalam. Reached Kalam around 9: 15 p.m. Night stay in Pameer Hotel with Team 1.
8 June 2013:
Woke up early around 4: 30 a.m. and did an early morning photo session
The whole team started to get ready for the Big Day
Left Kalam at 8: 40 a.m. and reached Utror around 10: 10 a.m. Started the Kundol Lake trek at 11 a.m. from Utror and reached Laddu Village at 2: 30 p.m. Reached the glacier crossings at 5: 30 p.m. and finally reached Kundol Lake at 7 p.m. Night stay in camps at Kundol Lake.
9 June 2013:
Spent the early morning roaming around the lake and after breakfast started the return leg at 10: 30 a.m. We reached Laddu Village around 2 p.m. and had a lunch break there. We were back on jeep track around 4: 15 p.m. Started our journey from Utror around 5 p.m. and reached Kalam around 6: 45 p.m.
10 June 2013:
I had to reach home in the evening so left Pameer Hotel at 4: 30 a.m. alone. Reached Bahrain around 6: 30 a.m. and had breakfast there. Then reached Mingora around 9 a.m. I said goodbye to the jeep and took AC coaster from Mingora to Pindi and reached Tarnol Mor in 4 hours. There i took Niazi Express for Lahore and was in Lahore at 8 p.m.
End of journey at Home Sweet Home
Camera Used:
Canon EOS Rebel T2i (550D)
I hope you will enjoy this travelogue
Regards
Mobeen
This is what this trip was all about 
Night of Kundol
Milkyway and Kundol Lake - Swat Valley, Pakistan by Mobeen Mazhar, on Flickr
Kundol Lake Expedition 2013 !!!
Shot taken by @nomi700
025 by Mobeen Mazhar, on Flickr
Kundol Lake 360 Degree Panorama - Swat Valley, Pakistan
NOTE: The image below is not the intended view so please click on the link or image and use FULL SCREEN MODE. 360cities website projects this image into a virtual sphere and you can enjoy the view all around as if u r standing within the scene ...
Enjoy :)
Kundol Lake - Swat Valley, Pakistan
323 by Mobeen Mazhar, on Flickr
