My Trip towards AJ Kashmir; Northern Area of Pakistan
A Paradise on Earth
John Keats Writes as :
A thing of beauty is a joy forever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness…
This is right as natural beauty is a joy forever and it never passes into nothingness as it gives you pleasure not only at the time you see those things but also afterwards when you remember them. This beauty stimulates you to see more and more. Sight seeing in Kashmir can prove these words.
Start of the Journey; 1st Day
I started my journey along with my family members in October, 2019 with a tour company. Our trip towards Kashmir was filled with stunning beauty of nature (trees, rivers, waterfall, mountains, snow, banks). As we reached near Kashmir, it was nearly morning (as there was still a bit dark). We looked outside the window and there we saw a very beautiful view of nature as darkness was prevailing over mountains and all houses had lights. It seemed as the earth has a mirror which is reflecting starry night. In other words, it seemed as there is also a sky on earth filled with stars. Our 1st stop was Kohala Bridge over Jehlum River as we entered Kashmir. It was the start of the river that remained side by side throughout our journey. Mountains on one side and river on the other side, what a beautiful view it was!!! On the 1st day we saw Dhani waterfall, Kutton waterfall and Upper Neelum. Speaking of waterfall, clear water runs through stones creates lovely view. Just imagine seeing waterfall while having pakoras and tea at Kutton Waterfall, now that is some striking memory. Our 1st stay was at Keran Velley situated at the bank of the Neelum river which was also a LoC (line of control) between Occupied and Azad Kashmir. We hiked towards Upper Neelum in the woods where I remembered Robert Frost when he said:
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep
The view from Upper Neelum was breathtaking. We could see Neelum river, Occupied Kashmir and Azad Kashmir at the same time. See the picture taken from emerging Pakistan.
2nd Day; Ratti Gali Lake
Next day was waiting for us to show us some snow falling and raining. We hired two jeeps to move towards Ratti Gali Lake. It is considered one of the most dangerous paths in Pakistan. During the whole journey we saw rainfall and snow fall. Amazing, isn’t it? Our jeep couldn’t go further as area was covered with snow as it stopped almost 2 KM away from Ratti Gali Base Camp. So we had to hike towards Rattli Gali Base Camp. Only a few among us dared to hike on the snowy path. It seemed difficult, dangerous but amazing. There was this one point of the time when sky with white clouds and snow covered mountains became one as there wasn’t any demarcation line between them. All we could see as nature is spreading its white wings around us. It was terrified but worth watching, believe me. We reached Ratti Gali Camp and in the camp we lit heater and shared some food with each other.
Fatima’s Photography
The Mountain Between Us
At that time, I felt one thing, we all were connected with each other as we were a family huddled together around fire and sharing food while snow falling outside the camp. While coming from Camp, there was heavy snow falling. It seemed difficult to come back. I said “this was a mistake, we shouldn’t have come”. Our travel guide said one thing “may be you are feeling trouble now, but mark my words, you would remember it as one of your best experiences of life”. Seriously, he was quite right though. The whole image was like “The Mountain Between Us” except in movie there was a love story between Kate Winslet and Idris Elba on a snowy mountains that brought them together but with us it was like a love story between us and the natural beauty of snow that brought us together like a family. And I think that is how natural beauty works.
With Great Difficulty Comes Great Relaxation
There is one lesson I learned there. Every next danger that we feel makes the previous danger less terrifying. As when we sat in jeep for Ratti Gali, the whole path seemed very dangerous. When we hiked towards Base Camp, it seemed difficult; when we came back with heavy snow falling it became more difficult. And when we sat on jeep, it wasn’t dangerous at all while coming back on the same path that felt very dangerous to me in the 1st place. It means it’s just our internal fears that pull us back. Fight the fear or hide it, you are good to go. Nothing will be dangerous.
On the way back we stopped at the “chaay wala Dhaba (tea shop)”. We had tea in there and there was rainfall at that time. The tea was really fantastic ans it was right on the spot. See below
Fatima’s Photography
To Sum Up
Well, overall it was a great experience. Throughout the journey, our guide gave some pieces of information regarding several places. We hiked on multiple paths; stones, stairs, roads, plain areas, snow, while having trees, mountains and river side by side. We experienced weather in many shapes as raining, sunshine, cloudy and snowing, as you can see in the following picture:
Fatima’s Photography
If this isn’t it paradise, then what else?
A Note:
“Pakistan is perhaps the ultimate adventure travel destination,”
Furthermore,
London-based travel company Wild Frontiers has listed Pakistan among its top travel destinations for the year 2020, The Independent reported.
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Excellent keep it up👍