A "Lovely" Trip to Lulusar Lake in the last week of October 09

A lovely trip to Lulusar Lake is definitely a treat but how about going to Lulusar Lake in the last week of October? Believe me it was still a treat while the mountains were covered in a beautiful white sheet of snow. The road and the mountains around the Lulusar Lake were also white as the fleece of Mary's Little Lamb - I hope that you remember "Mary had a Little Lamb - Its fleece was white as snow" :) So check these cool photos out:

A photo on the road to the magnificent Lulusar Lake:

A photo of the road on the edge of Lulusar Lake - The snow is getting thicker and thicker.

A beautiful view of the gorgeous Lulusar Lake:

Here is another photo of a magnificent view near the lake:

A trip to Babusar Pass in Early Winter Season

I happened to visit Babusar Pass on 23 October 2009. Although the greenery is almost finished, but still the views were absolutely Magnificent. It was chilling cold in the way as well as on the top. Here are a couple of photos of the visit.

The first one is the photo taken from the top of the Babusar Pass and features the view of the valley towards Chillas. The spiral-curling road finds its way down from the top very quickly. It looks just like a spring.

The 2nd one is a lovely photo of snow-covered portion of the Babusar Pass.

Here is a magnificent photo of the vast pastures of Gitidas from Babusar Pass. In the middle you can see the famous Polo Ground which features many Polo games during the summer season. At this point in time, the green pastures have been withered, entire area has been vacated because of the fear of arrival of harsh winter season and the mountains have been covered with white snow. Still the creativity of Allah Almighty can be seen clearly.

Snow at Kaghan Valley

Just a few more pictures of the Kaghan Valley during my cool heli ride. Enjoy!!! Aren't they cool???

The first picture was taken while travelling from Lulusar Lake to Jalkhad. The thick plantation of Pine trees near Jalkhad can be observed in the top left corner of the picture.

Snow is turning slowly in to water in the Kunhar River as we move closer to the famous and beautiful summer getaway town of Naran. Decreasing heights and lesser snow but still many slides on the road.

Houses covered in snow while the inhabitants leave their houses and shift to Balakot or Garhi Habib Ullah before the start of snow fall. They spend their winters in Balakot, Mansehra or Garhi Habib Ullah and move back to Kaghan and other forward areas in spring season along with their animals. Kaghan valley makes a wonderful place for the grazing animals with magnificent and colossal green pastures. I wish I could take my animals from FarmVille there for a season :)

Entering Kaghan Valley from Gilgit on a Flying Machine - Helicopter

A great view of the snow-coated Babusar Pass - A mountainous pass connecting Kaghan or Naran Valley to Indus Valley. The height of Babusar pass is 13,691 feet above mean sea level. While we are flying exactly above the great Babusar Pass, the vast plains of Gitidas can be seen clearly in the below picture. These snow-covered grounds turn in to huge green pastures in summers and serve as the summer homes of hundreds of nomads (Gujjar Tribes) along with feeding thousands of their animals including goats, sheep, cows and horses.

A snow-quilted view of Kaghan Valley near Lulusar Lake. The lake can not be seen at this time of the year as it is completely frozen however those of you who have seen Lulusar Lake thoroughly can clearly see the Northern portion of the lake in base of the white mountains (In almost the top, centre portion of the picture) where a plain white surface can be observed. Yes, you are right, it is not an ice rink but a fully frozen Lulusar Lake. The under-construction road moves along the nullah leading towards Lulusar lake on the left side of the nullah. The twists and curves of the road can also be observed, if seen keenly.

A Helicopter Joy Ride from Gilgit to Naran in Kaghan Valley

A broken bridge between Gilgit and Danyore- A town across Indus river near Gilgit. The bridge on KKH is broken for the last 15 months, I think. I don't know for how long it will remain as such. It is a huge inconvenience to the travelers as they have to cross the river from another bridge after traveling a long distance cross country.

A worth-watching site from the top, isn't it?

An aerial view of Karakoram Highway. A treat to watch from above. I salute those who have laid their lives in construction of this magnificent 9th Wonder of the World.

Colors of nature are so prominent in this snap. Brown mountains, Green patches of trees, Deep-Green River Indus and a cool suspension bridge - What else can you wish to give a treat to your eyes???

Sulphur Springs near Gilgit - Boiling Hot Water coming straight from under the ground

Here are some pictures of "Sulphur Springs" - a beautiful diversity of nature. These springs are located at about two hours drive from Gilgit to Rawalpindi. Due to the presence of Sulphur underground, the water of the springs is hotter than the boiling water. Absolutely hard to touch even!!!

You can even boil an egg by just placing it in the water for some time .......... HOT? Isn't it?

Beautiful Sights While Travelling from Rawalpindi to Gilgit - the Capital of Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan

Another old but nice-looking suspension bridge on River Indus. Indus is indeed the mightiest of all the Rivers.

Another wonderful view of KKH. Isn't this road leading to heaven? Beautiful snow-covered mountains in the background can give you a feeling of the altitude at which this highway is built.

Check out these Amazing Pictures taken on the Way to Gilgit - The Capital of Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan

Have you ever seen a river so green. It is the mighty "River Indus"with water coming straight from the melting glaciers and mountain peaks. It is really a beautiful view. Also check the Karakoram Highway running along the river.

A beautiful yellow suspension bridge on the mighty River Indus in front of mountainous background. A lovely sight!!!

A beautiful sight of sloping and flowing Magnificent River Indus where the lovely Karakoram Highway (KKH) moves all along the river.

A bus crossing the land slide. Check a huge bus crossing over the muddy landslide to keep itself on route to its destination. A steep cliff on one side and a sheer fall on the other, but fortune favors the brave only.

What a long line of traveling vehicles struck in the middle of nowhere because of the anger of nature - A landslide.

A Brief Account of my Last Journey to Gilgit

Hi!

I happened to visit Gilgit which is the Capital of "Northern Areas" of Pakistan due to some professional commitment. The highlight of the trip included the journey from Rawalpindi to Gilgit and back on the world-famous "Karakoram Highway (KKH)", a beautiful view of Nanga Parbat - 9th highest peak in the World, a trip to Kargah Nullah, a Helicopter ride to snow-covered Naran Valley, an on-the-route stop at "Sulphur Springs" and a memorable hospitality by my hosts in Gilgit.

Karakoram Highway or Friendship Highway was built during 1966-1986 and is the highest paved international road in the World. It connects China and Pakistan across the Karakoram Highway at an unbelievable altitude of 4,693 meters or 15,397 feet above mean sea level. Most of the countries in the world DO NOT even have a single peak at that altitude. According to Wikipedia "Due to its high elevation and the difficult conditions in which it was constructed, it is also referred to as the 'Ninth Wonder of the World'".

Total Length of the Karakoram Highway (KKH) is 1300 kms (806 kms in Pakistan and 494 kms in China). The road mainly travels along the side of Indus River.

Its construction took the toll of 810 Pakistani and 82 Chinese workers mainly due to land slides, falls and extremely harsh weather conditions during its construction.

I would love to share some nice pictures with all of you here. The first one is a town-view of a medium-sized town Dassu on the KKH with a beautiful bridge on the Indus River.

The second picture is a view of the KKH. You can see the harsh and difficult terrain on which it is built.