Safri is a tourism group of local like-minded friends of District Upper Chitral Bonny. who from time to time visit different tourist places in Pakistan. This time the travel plan Gilgit The historical places of Baltistan were to be seen.
5th May 2022 3rd day of travel group tour 2 then 12 noon from Gilgit city Skardu Before leaving for, it had been decided that today our base would be somewhere along the Satpara Lake.
Sadpara is a very beautiful tourist place near skardu city, there is a lake with natural scenery, all the essentials for food and overnight stay were there.
The travel group tour was somehow reported to our former MPA of Chitral, Syed Sardar Hussain Shah Sahib, who is now residing in Nawam.
On the way, our group leader got a message from Shah Sahib that you people should come directly to Nawam and not stay in Skardu and also guided that the distance from Skardu to Nawam is not so much as it would take time to go to Sadpara and pitch the tent.
By then you will reach your own. We did not give any message to Shah Sahib on the way, we were determined to go to Sadpara today.
On the way Istak is a lovely place, got down here, had tea and moved on. Long story short, when we reached Skardu around 5 PM, arrangements were made to have dinner at Shahi Diwan Hotel through Hydrilla (group leader) (originally the program was for noon but we arrived late.) Reached Shahi Dewan.
By the time the meal arrived, friends suggested that we should leave here today because there was a strong wind blowing outside and the possibility of rain was also appearing.
Tents cannot be pitched outdoors in strong winds and rain. It was decided that after the visit of relatives tomorrow, they will reach Sadpara again in the evening and will stay here.
After that, I confirmed to Shah Sahib that we are coming now. In this way, Shahi satiated from the Diwan, ate food and drank tea from above and left Skardu city for Nawab at around 7 pm. The distance from Skardu to Nawab is about 100 km and the road condition is relatively good.
After traveling like this, when we reached our police station, the police outpost asked us if we were guests of Shah Sahib, so we answered yes with a pleasant surprise. So a policeman from here took a gun and accompanied us to guide us.
When we went a little further, Bhabhi (Sardar Hussain’s Begum) herself came with the children to welcome us.
Thus we reached Shah Sahib’s palace at about 9 o’clock. Shah Sahib came out of the house to meet everyone by name and inquired about their well-being and also thanked them for coming home. It is not the house of Shah Sahib but the langar khana. People come and go, there are always three people in the house to serve.
We are happy that Shah Sahib’s children and sister-in-law speak very well, although the sister-in-law’s mother speaks dialect and spends most of her time there. I spend it and Bonnie rarely comes.
Despite this, Shah Sahib has exposed his children to his own language and culture. At night, when it was time to eat, we were surprised, even though we were living in our city, there were many local foods in our food, including our traditional food. The variety of food and the taste is such that the person keeps eating.
Nawam is the headquarters of Ghanche district. There are many historical places here, among them the historic fort of Nawam, Masjid Chakchan, and Khanqah Alia Syed Ali Hamdani are very famous. The next morning, when we went out for a tour of these historical places in the company of Shah Sahib, we found out that wherever the big people go, they make their own place.
First thing in the morning we reached Khanqah Aliya of Syed Ali Hamdani, this is a 600 year old monastery and also a beautiful mosque, this historical mosque is now being renovated.
Syed Ali Hamdani is the founder of a sect of Muslims “Malik Noor Bakshi”. There is a tradition about this mosque, whoever comes here and prays two rakats of nafl prayer and asks Allah for a dua, that prayer is immediately accepted. Here we also met Subedar Major Retired Mohammad Bilal, who is also in charge of the constructions here.
He also gave us a sweet message that “wherever the house of Allah is being built by any sect in the area, one should participate in its construction so that an atmosphere of harmony and brotherhood can be developed in the area.” A retired Subedar was also in our group and the two brothers expressed happiness together.
Historical Fort of Nawam: This fort in Nawam is of historical importance. We were told that the fort was almost dilapidated and the “Aga Khan Cultural Service Pakistan” took over the fort and repaired it in such a way that its original appearance was preserved and it was usable. Also happened.
Which is also used as a hotel today. One day rent in this hotel is 3200 thousand rupees. The good thing is that the local community also has a share in this revenue, which is spent on the welfare of the local community.
We were here as guests of the Shah Sahib, so not only were we treated to tea, but we were also given an official briefing about this historic fort, and were also shown places that are not accessible to ordinary tourists.
The entrance fee of the fort is Rs 700 per person. Today we came to this fort as a guest of Shah Sahib, so 700 rupees were also saved. A group photo was also taken with the official in the courtyard of the Fort.
After that we went to visit Chaqchan Mosque, the oldest and most memorable mosque in the area. It is located at a considerable height on the south side of the city of Nawab. It is a mosque that is about a thousand years old.
According to tradition, one of the importance of this mosque is that if there is any difference between two parties in the area, if one of the parties takes the chain of the main door of this mosque and swears his innocence, then he is acquitted.
Because no one has the courage to swear falsely here. If someone takes a small oath here, he will suffer a great loss. This is believed to the extent of faith of the people here
All these historical places in Nawab are located very close within the city, so all these historical places can be visited in a short time. Shah Sahib not only took us on a tour of these historical places but also informed us about these historical places. So we visited a lot of historical places in a short time.
Another advantage of the city is that it is densely populated. Nothing was seen on the way. Very old trees are seen everywhere as if there is no practice of cutting trees here.
When we asked the local people about them, the answer was that the electricity bill is very cheap in Nawab, since electricity is cheap, there is no need to cut down trees and use them as fuel. That is why trees are seen everywhere
When we observed the crops according to the season in Nawam, the harvest here, especially wheat, was still very behind. Those cattle remain in the village from November to March due to snow in the mountain pastures and according to village customs these animals roam freely.
So there is no point in sowing the wheat crop unless those cattle are moved to pasture by the end of March. That’s why the people of Nawab sow the bounty of wheat after March.
After visiting these historical places in Nawab, it was agreed to go to another tourist spot outside the city, Spaling. So Miraj Bhai gave an excuse that the car was running low on oil and the pump was not getting oil.
This is us Skardu Will not be able to deliver. Due to the closure of KKH road, there was no supply of oil here. Shah Sahib was sitting in the other car with Javed Bhai. When this information reached Shah Sahib, he called an official of the higher authorities and solved the problem.
Thus, after filling the car with fuel, we headed towards the tourist spot called Spaling. It is located along the mountain on the south side of the river. It is not a special place to look at but the people here know the importance of tourism and they know what to do to attract tourists.
Therefore, this ordinary place is made so beautiful that it has become a high-level tourist spot. There is a fish farm here, treks have been made to climb the mountain overlooking the city.
There is also a pool and garden. The guest house building has been made very cute by giving it local colors. So Dil Chahta hai stayed in this guest house and enjoyed the natural scenery.
Very cute place. But we didn’t have much time to stay here, stayed here for a while, some friends bought local honey and some local medicine from the nearby shop and left.
Shah Sahib was taken down again and with happy memories in his heart, he left for Sugar. Shugar is situated at a distance of about 17 kms from Hutt on Navem and Skardu Road. After the tour of Shukar Fort again proceed to Sadpara near Skardu. But luckily there was no overnight stay in Sadpara.
When we reached Satpara Lake around 7 pm, there was a strong wind and there was a chance of rain. We went far beyond Sadpara to the village but still the wind didn’t let up so we decided to come back to Skardu and stay at Awami Guest, it was the first time for our group to spend the night with money. That means staying in a hotel.
The account of Sugar’s trip is correct. When we arrived in Skardu and shifted to the hotel room, Shah Sahib got a call saying that if we want to spend the night in Skardu, then I have arranged the hotel.
But we gratefully apologized that we had already paid the bill at the hotel otherwise if we had waited a little longer we could have spent the night for free. Thus, we did not have the luck to spend the night with Satpara lake and after spending the night in Skardu, we went towards Kachora with happy memories.
