Swat Valley & Kalash Valley (Chilam Joshi festival) trip - May 2014

[Xoofi]

Your thread is progressing very well.

And I like your wearing unironed clothes while on the road But you will also see one time travelers wearing suits in the remote areas.

Thanks Sir

And regarding the suit on travels, this reminded me a story In 2011, we cousins went to Rohtas Fort from Lahore. One of the cousin was wearing suit. We still tease him to date

2nd from left

[Xoofi]

XLI all the way to chitral. baki sab to theak ha lakin Lowari !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. zulam ha bhai XLI per.
i closed my service from chitral to Peshawer just bcoz of worse road condition on lowari...

You're right bro. We also regretted the decision later. We only took it there on people's recommendation in Dir. They were like... aaram se jaye gi.. But when we were on top, there was no turning back.

excellent thread and beautiful captures.....ap ka thread tasalli se baqi saray kamo se farigh ho k parha and really, maza aa gaya..

Thanks bro. I'm glad ke dil.khush ka dil khush hua thread park ker More coming soon.

[emmaar]

Well Well Well. You wonderfully narrated your experience. Read from start till UTD progress.

[Mohd.Waqas]

Its great trip really enjoying your details even i was there just weak before of you but i am really poor in writing details i just try to post pictures & pictures your narration is good - visiting your thread on daily basis and waiting for to get out from Swat because i am curious about your next destination, very well going brother keep posting

[Xoofi]

Well Well Well. You wonderfully narrated your experience. Read from start till UTD progress.

Thank you so much Rashid bhai for going through the whole thread A comment from a guru always makes the thread starter happy

Its great trip really enjoying your details even i was there just weak before of you but i am really poor in writing details i just try to post pictures & pictures your narration is good - visiting your thread on daily basis and waiting for to get out from Swat because i am curious about your next destination, very well going brother keep posting

Thanks a lot bro. I also followed your thread. Your photography is amazing. Aap ne to DSLR ke sath anni pa deni hai
InshaALLAH is weekend per speed maar ke agli destination tak balkay koshish hai ke wrap up karna hai

[Xoofi]

We woke up early with the sound of rain. It was raining in Malam Jabba with heavy lighting. While we got fresh, we ordered the breakfast and also asked the guy to boil a dozen eggs which were to be consumed after hiking to the meadow above the ski resort.

While we were waiting for breakfast, the kids of hotel owner came as their home was just behind the hotel rooms. They were very innocent and shy but would respond to my "toti phooti pashto" while they felt confident in replying to my Pathan friends. Akhter got so happy with kids that he awarded 100 Rs to each kid.

[zahid135]

There was this suspension bridge on a "naala (btw I love the difference between city naala and the naala in mountains". We stopped there for a few minutes. Crossed it just for fun. Although it was not as terrifying as Hussaini bridge in Hunza but still it was somewhat fun to cross. Especially my friends loved the experience.

As we moved ahead, we continued to gain height every second. And it also was getting colder and colder. I noticed some thing really shiny on some distance. Got curious.. and when that thing came near, it was a very clever marketing tactic by hotel/shop owner to attract people. They had used the empty wrappers of chips and other snacks, put them in a thread or a rope and made many rows just above the road. They wrappers would shine and any on coming person would notice the shine from a distance. It was the best use of trash. Unfortunately there is no picture because it turned out really blurr (almost invisible)

It is really fun to cross these suspension bridges.
Said Nala is very beautiful and its water was clean and clear whenever I visit this area(recently 11-08-2013 & 03-05-2014)
I think there were heavy rains on hills when you was there therefore water seems muddy.

[Xoofi]

Soon the breakfast came and we all started to eat. It was the regular "Anda Paratha Chaye" breakfast. As we were eating, we heard a sound like someone is hitting the car body with small stones. I immediately came out to see if kids were having some fun with car but what I saw totally made me delighted.

YES.. it was hailing. The small crystals were raining from the sky which made the whole area totally white. It was such a wonderful experience which can't be described in words. For a moment we forgot about breakfast and started to enjoy the moment. The hail continued for a few minutes then it stopped. Here are a couple of pics on ice covered ground and ice on our car.

[Mohd.Waqas]

Thanks a lot bro. I also followed your thread. Your photography is amazing. Aap ne to DSLR ke sath anni pa deni hai
InshaALLAH is weekend per speed maar ke agli destination tak balkay koshish hai ke wrap up karna hai

Thank brother for your words willing to have DSLR soon In Sha Allah buss bhaion ki duwaien chahien - Anxiously waiting for your posts

[Xoofi]

Around 10 AM, the mixture of hail and rain stopped so we left our hotel and came up to the PTDC ruins again. The mountains became white after being covered with ice. It was giving a refreshing look that made our souls happy from the inside.

Soon we decided to visit the Meadow which we were told about yesterday by a hotel boy. Car was parked near PTDC ruins. The hotel boy was accompanying us to guide and was also carrying the boiled eggs in warm water (to keep them warm till destination).

Here are pictures of our parked car and aftermath of hail..

[Xoofi]

The trek was a easy one. Not very steep, just the mud created by rain was creating some slippery problems. The ice crystals on ground were giving a really beautiful look. Here are some shots of the ice of ground.

I got really behind from other guys because I was taking photos every now and then.

[Mohd.Waqas]

Around 10 AM, the mixture of hail and rain stopped so we left our hotel and came up to the PTDC ruins again. The mountains became white after being covered with ice. It was giving a refreshing look that made our souls happy from the inside.

Soon we decided to visit the Meadow which we were told about yesterday by a hotel boy. Car was parked near PTDC ruins. The hotel boy was accompanying us to guide and was also carrying the boiled eggs in warm water (to keep them warm till destination).

Here are pictures of our parked car and aftermath of hail..

Lucky man for having such wonderful weather, for me it was hot and did not find clouds in mountains i am feeling jealous

[Sulaiman75]

Oh my God, just came to know about your post last night at the Tea Get Together when we met and I began reading it in detail. Its an excellent post with great narration and exceptional photography making me feel as if I aml experiencing the journey first hand.

Just Love reading every detail and viewing the pics. Splendid Effort.

[Xoofi]

Soon the trek opened up to a beautiful meadow. It reminded me of Fairy Meadows. Although it was not very big area but still it was beautiful. Sonay pe suhaga.. the weather was beautiful which made the greenery more greener. It was literally "Rooh main utarnay wala nazara"..

Everyone got busy in taking photos. This place is one lucky place where I got my personal photo. Otherwise I always forget to get my own photos In the whole tour, I have only about 10 - 12 personal photos And yes, I know I look dreadful with uncombed hair and no shave since last week

There was some construction going on in a distance and the guy told us that it was the new site for PTDC resort and it was being built by Army.

[Sulaiman75]

Breathtaking Views ...... Superb Photography

[Xoofi]

After capturing so many pictures (especially the portraits on request), we ate the boiled eggs which we brought from hotel. These were desi eggs and provided a great taste with a pinch of salt. I ate 3 of them.. :-#

[Sulaiman75]

I am not a pro photographer, just trying to learn and have a very limited knowledge of DSLR tricks. It was my first trip to North with DSLR and that too with basic kit lens. I tried to take a few long exposure shots which came just ok. Another minus point was that I had no tripod which is a basic in such photography. Also the lens was creating problems with Auto focus

I am no expert and I can safely say that most of us on PW are not DSLR experts, but these pics are just splendid. I think you did a Gr8 Job. Excellent Work !!!

[Xoofi]

We soon trekked back to PTDC ski resort area. There are couple of pictures of chair lift which was closed at that time.

We then went to a cafe named "Tarsakoon cafe" which meant Purskoon in Urdu. We had peanuts and tea there. It started to rain again. This hide and seek of rain was getting continuous now..

[shahidutz]

Nice views and gr8 pics , Very interesting Thread with lot of information , Good going Sufian Bhai.

[Xoofi]

After relaxing a bit at Tarsakoon cafe, we left Malam Jabba at around 12 PM. When we were leaving, some tourist came and were dancing after playing songs in their car which broke the calmness of the valley for a while.

In Swat, I really liked Malam Jabba and I will definitely return to this place InshaALLAH and that too in winter season

A last pic before leaving Malam Jabba. Out next destination was to go as far as we could go on the way to Chitral.