Our jeep was moving slowly on the jagged rocks of the Sangalakh mountain, when it suddenly hit a rock and stopped. The hot-tempered driver pressed the accelerator. The jeep’s engine roared but the front wheels refused to climb the steep cliff.
Suddenly the rear wheels spun and the jeep skidded diagonally and came to rest on the edge of the narrow trail. A few stones down from the bank lay a thousand-foot-deep chasm that was eager to swallow everything it opened its mouth.
The rushing river below was determined to sweep away everything in its path. My soul seemed to jump into my throat. All the jeeps coming and going on this narrow road stopped and the passengers started looking at us in horror.
The passenger sitting next to me in the back seat of the old but powerful 1962 model Jeep immediately jumped out and stood against the cliff in the corner. Behind him I also started to jump from the jeep but the local Kashmiri driver stopped me saying that we have to come and go on these routes. No need to panic at all.
Meanwhile, some people stuck stones under the back tire of the jeep. The driver took a heavy drag on the cigarette and once again pressed the accelerator but at the same time, showing great skill, he turned the steering wheel slightly to the right and left in such a way that the front wheels lifted and the jeep went over the cliff with a thud. I thought in my heart that after returning safely from this trip, I will surely read the Nafil of gratitude.
At that time I was on my way to the lake of Ratigali in Azad Kashmir. Firstly, the way to reach this lake is very difficult. At the top we found such a fanatical driver that he was determined to complete the journey of one and a half hours in half an hour.
Due to landslides and snowfall at places, the route was like a dirt track and full of sharp rocks like a spiked bridge. There were so many shocks on this way that all our bones were lost. Sometimes it falls to the right and sometimes to the left.
How many times the head suddenly hit the iron rod in the jeep. I have never traveled so hard in my entire life. But it is a fact that as much as Ratigali is beautiful and Jameel Lake, the difficulties of reaching it are worth bearing. They say no
If you can walk on these stones, then come
There are no galaxies in the way of Murray’s house
While going through the difficulties of the difficult and difficult route of Rati Gali, I thought that I will never set foot on this route again, but after reaching the peak, I was amazed to see its beauty and changed my intention to never come.
Late one night in September, we were traveling from Islamabad to Kashmir on the Murree Expressway. It will be 3 o’clock. It was 4:00 p.m. and people were enjoying their sleep in their homes. There was heavy traffic on the roads. The powerful headlights of our car were tearing through the dappled sheet of darkness.
There was a mountain on one side and a dense forest on the other side. They had reached Murree when the car tilted to one side while cutting a bend. There was a cracking sound and the impact caused one of the rear wheel arches to crack. The driver and our guide got down worried. After mutual consultation they opted for a short cut instead of the original route.
The driver turned the car towards a narrow road. At some distance ahead, lightning would flash intermittently in the clouds, then the scene would light up for a while and after a moment it would again be plunged into darkness. After reaching the height, we started to pass through the clouds and there was fog around us, which the headlights of the car tried unsuccessfully to break.
I saw that scene for the first time in my life. A family of pigs came out of the forest and tried to enter through the fence of a house. Meanwhile, it started raining. It was a terrifying night. We are worried about where we will spend the night if the car breaks down.
But the journey continued and many new places were read on the boards along the way. Inside, they started moving towards Muzaffarabad through different neighborhoods.
The light of morning began to appear and we entered the Kohala region of Azad Kashmir. The first stop was Bagh where the Fajr prayer was offered in the mosque. After performing ablution with the ice water coming from the mountain, all the stress of the journey seemed to go away. A simple mosque was built on the side of the road, there was a beautiful view around. The color of the river flowing below was murky as if mud had been dissolved in it.
It would not have been a bad deal if we had not gone ahead and ended our tour there by camping in a forest house on the mountain. Spend the day roaming the forest, drinking water from the springs and sitting on the banks of the river Jhelum. But our destination was Taubat, the last village of Azad Kashmir on the Line of Control, far from Kohala. Ever since I heard about it, I had planned this trip in my heart and then after 2 years of prayers, Allah made us take a trip to Taubat.
Departed from Kohala and reached Muzaffarabad early in the morning. The dreamy city was waking up at that time. Kashmiri children with cheeks as red as red pomegranates looked cute going to school.
The road is clean and paved, on which the vehicle can travel easily. There are deep turns on the way, sometimes we turn right and sometimes we fall left, stomach is empty or else one starts nauseating on such steep roads.
While passing through the roads, the car stopped at a deep bend. A beautiful masterpiece of nature was welcoming us there. Dhani Waterfall is the highest waterfall in Kashmir. Noisy water was coming down from the mountain and was making a roaring sound as it fell on the rocks. It was a sound more beautiful than any music in the world.
Nature has created lawful things for man’s enjoyment, but by listening to music man earns sins and commits forbidden acts and abandons natural beauty. Dhani waterfall had a refreshing and refreshing atmosphere.
An idea came to my heart that I should sit under the waterfall and imagine, close my eyes and become unaware of the world and the world. Like a yogi or a madman who is lost in the thoughts of his beloved.
Dhani proceeded beyond the waterfall and saw the Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project carved out by Pakistani and Chinese engineers and workers, which caters to the electricity needs of the entire Azad Kashmir.
Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Plant is Pakistan’s first underground power plant. The project is built in a tunnel dug into the mountain and generates 1000 megawatts of electricity.
We reached the Kern sector on the Line of Control (LoC), taking in the breathtaking views of Kashmir and traveling along the Neelum River. Across the mountain, the Indian flag was fluttering. It was heartbreaking to see him.
The blood of countless innocent Kashmiri youths who had sacrificed their lives in its struggle for freedom had been spilled in this river. The Neelum River was drawing the temporary border between Azad and Occupied Kashmir, also known as the Blood Line. It has been more than 70 years since India occupied Kashmir. Occupied Kashmir is one of the regions with the highest military presence in the world. 7 lakh Indian soldiers are imposed on the region with a population of over 1 million people. During this period, India tried every tactic to subjugate the Kashmiris.
They committed immense atrocities and martyred thousands of Kashmiris. Women were humiliated. Despite the cruelty, the Kashmiris’ zeal for freedom did not decrease, so all kinds of temptations were given to tame them. Offered attractive financial incentives, but the Kashmiri youth have not accepted the illegal occupation of India till date.
Kashmiri mujahideen are still lighting the candle of freedom with their hot blood in the poplar forests in the harsh winter. While India refuses to implement the UN referendum resolution. While the hypocritical and duplicitous international community is a silent spectator of this cruelty.
On the other side of the river in Karen, some Kashmiri women were seen working in their fields, so they prayed helplessly for their Muslim brothers that Allah would grant them the blessing of freedom and one day we would cross the bridge and take a boat ride on the Dal Lake. do
At Karen we stopped at a riverside hotel and had breakfast. The green and yellow flag of Azad Kashmir was fluttering in the air of freedom on the fence along the river. Sharda Neelum river was flowing headlong from the rocks on the way, unconcerned by the turmoil of the world.
But global warming has also affected its flow, causing it to shrink even further. We splashed our mouths with the water of the river, freshened up and sat there on the trunk of a felled tree in a grove and started to refresh our eyes with the greenery of the forest on the mountain, which is on computer and mobile phone screens in Karachi. Some are swollen and tired while standing still.
I was traveling to Kashmir with a travel group along with my family. Out of a group of 22 people, 17, 18 people only traveled to Rati Gali and returned in two days while we went further to Tau Butt. The tour was accompanied by good people. Sheikhupura’s cheerful Naeem Bhai and his quiet nephew Mujahid, who was skilled in horsemanship.
Mujahid also had great love for Pakistan. He had brought with him the national flag with which he took pictures at places. The third was Anjum Bhai of Lahore. Had a good trip with all these companions.
After breakfast we reached Dwarian from Cairn, from where we had to travel in jeeps to Rati Gali. After climbing continuously for one and a half hours, the base camp of Ratigali was reached. The route is very difficult, the route is constantly eroded by snowfall and landslides. Call it a path, it’s just a rocky trail.
It was very cold at the base camp. From there the jeep does not go further and one has to go to the lake on horseback or on foot. From the base camp to the lake is a very beautiful area. Horses are seen grazing on the green hill slopes. Somewhere a cowherd is driving a herd of bulls and cows. Local Kashmiri men and women are busy with their work. In summer they live in houses made of stones and wood near the lake, in winter they come down from the mountains and live in the valley.
I preferred to reach the lake on horseback. The footpaths of men and horses had made thin paths on the mountain. The horse began to walk on a thin, barely one-foot trail up the mountain, with a deep chasm on the left that was horrifying. That path was so thin that even a person could barely walk on it. A slight slip of the foot and the man tumbles down.
On the slopes of the hills, colorful flowers of blue, yellow and pink are blooming. The water of the lake is deep blue. The lake is like a bowl with milky white snow on its edge. After seeing the lake of Rati Gali, one feels like heaven on earth. Due to the severe cold, it was difficult to stay there longer and after some time took the way back. In the whole of Kashmir, the most rush was seen in Rati Gali.
Thousands of tourists, including children, young people, old people, were coming in droves like pilgrims visiting a holy place.
Due to crowding of people, pollution has also increased and garbage has spread there, which has damaged the natural beauty of Rati Gali. And is it only Rati Gali that litters and damages the natural beauty wherever our tourists go?
The journey back from the lake was relatively easy. Because there was a landing, however, it was a bit dangerous and had to be done carefully. Returned to base camp. Dwaryan came in the jeep and took the road to Sharda from here. And reached there by Isha. We stayed in a riverside hotel. In the name of Biryani, the hotelier served a dull pulao and ate sitting on the benches on the bank. There was a light frost and the weather was pleasant. The journey was very tiring. Went to the room and fell into a deep sleep as soon as the door opened in the morning.
The dawn of Sharda and the rosy rays of the sun welcomed us like an Elhad maiden. The bright sun outside warmed the body and gave energy. Another long journey ‘Taubat’ was faced today. An old model black jeep was parked outside the hotel ready to take us. Taubat is the last village within Pakistan’s borders in Kashmir to be given the status of a model village. After that, Occupied Kashmir starts again. Military posts of the Pakistan Army and India have been built on the mountains.
India often violates the ceasefire by shelling and firing on the civilian population in many areas along the LoC including Sharda. On the other hand, it is difficult for the Pakistan Army to retaliate because its firing is likely to cause casualties only to the Kashmiri Muslim population across the border.
The road to Tao Butt was better than Ratti Gali. On the way, you will see such beautiful scenes as if a beautiful scenery is displayed on the wall. There were very beautiful scenes. At one point on the way, the jeep passed through a river.
It is not that all the way there is free Kashmir on one side of the river and Occupied Kashmir on the other, but only in a few places. At most places on both sides of the river is Azad Kashmir and after crossing the mountains and forests comes Occupied Kashmir.
There are flimsy wooden swing bridges across the river that are instructed to be crossed one person at a time.
Seeing a scene on the way, we were stunned. At one place a rope was tied on the river. A woman suspended in the air was slowly crossing the river with both hands hanging from the rope like soldiers do. It was a very dangerous job that even urban men were afraid to do. In some places, women were cutting grass on the mountain slopes and collecting it in bundles tied around their waists.
This grass is useful for keeping houses warm and other uses. On the way I bought local pears from Kashmir and ate them which were very sweet and delicious. Also ate a black berry-like fruit that was about the size of a gondini and sour-sweet in taste.
Stayed in a beautiful wooden hotel in Tao But. If you open the window, you can see beautiful views. In the off-season, the rent of these hotels is under control and a room can be found for 2 thousand rupees, but in the season their rent can reach up to 10 thousand rupees. After keeping things in the room, go for a tour of Taubat. Also saw a trout farm.
Reached a lush and green place from which it was forbidden to go further. A little further, Pakistan Army checkpoints and then occupied Kashmir starts. Pak Army is on one mountain and enemy posts are on the other mountain.
Due to security issues in the Valley, identification documents are stopped and checked at places. Only local mobile phone company Sokol’s SIM works in Kashmir and no other company’s SIM works. Sokol SIM is easily available in stores and activated.
This telecom service was originally designed for internal communications of the military which was later commercialized and opened to the public. Now it is heard that other telecom companies are also being allowed to work.
The best time to travel in Kashmir is after Fajr. Because there is blasting in places and mountains are cut with gunpowder, due to which the road is blocked. This work starts at 9 am. If you get stuck in blasting, it can take several hours to clear the way. By the grace of God, we narrowly escaped being caught in the blasting.
We saw gunpowder being laid on the road as we passed. Shortly after we passed, the blasting started. We reached Taubat in the evening. The vehicles following us were caught in the blasting, as a result they reached Taubat late at night. From this you can estimate the benefit of traveling early in the morning.
The hoteliers of Taubit prepared and fed a very delicious Kadhahi, in front of which Karachi’s Chicken Karahi also started to look bad. Bonfire at night, warming your hands on burning coals under the open sky in bitter cold is its own fun. It was bitterly cold, my companions and I were sitting on the wooden benches in the lawn of the hotel in Taubat, a bonfire was lit in the middle.
The burning dry wood was turning into burning embers with crackling sounds. As the night started getting wet, the cold also increased. It was a dreamy atmosphere. It was dark all around in which the hotel was lit up with colorful lamps. He turned to the room and slept for a long time. Late at night a group of tourist boys arrived at the hotel and had a barbeque and a good time on the lawn.
The water was very cold which made it difficult to perform ablution. The power went out due to a technical fault. At night, when the generator of the hotel was switched off, it was so dark that it was impossible to touch the hand. I thought Karachiites got loadshedding in Kashmir too.
I don’t know at what time of the night there was a sudden explosion, the echo of which ripped the silence and silence of Taubat. People woke up from sleep. I started to think that India did not start firing again. It turned out that the smell of barbecue had spread far and wide at that time of the night, which was sniffed out by a big dog that entered the hotel, which the owner fired and chased away.
The morning was pleasant as expected. Eyes opened with the sound of Azan. Outside the window, very interesting scenes were waiting for us. Our destination today was Urang Keel.
One can also use local transport, book a private car or travel with a tour group to get around Kashmir. In the first and second option you have to make all the arrangements yourself. For example, hotel booking, catering and luggage handling. But you will roam freely and stay where and as much as you like.
In tour groups you don’t have to worry about arranging accommodation, food and transport but you are bound by their schedule and can’t do your own thing but have to follow the pre-arranged timetable.
If you want to go to Kashmir by yourself, reach Muzaffarabad from your city. From there, coasters run to all areas of Kashmir like Sharda, Taubat, Kiel, Rawalakot, which can be traveled on. Jeeps go to places like Rati Gali which are plentiful and easily booked. In the bus season the rates of everything doubles and triples while the advantage of going in the off season is that the rates are normal and the rush is less.
The next day we planned to return from Taubat and reach Urang Keel. Where one had to reach from one mountain to another mountain by sitting in a dolly at a height of thousands of feet. On the way, the beautiful landscape is passed in moments from the heights below. Looking down would be for the faint hearted.
It was also a dolly, a box that was driven by a machine, perhaps a car engine, on a stretched iron rope. Sitting in a dolly and flying on the wind, he landed on another mountain. Where the forest and mountain of Urang Keel awaited us, which we had to head. We started trekking.
On the one hand, the poor citizens, on the other hand, even the young citizens would get out of breath while climbing the mountain. Some would reach the top in an hour, while others would take half an hour. The local people were going up fast like deer, filling their kilts.
Those who don’t want to go to Dolly also have the option of going down through the forest but it is a difficult and long way. Go down the first mountain and cross the river on the bridge. Then climb another mountain again to reach the point where the dolly unloads and then do more trekking from there.
The other route was for the more adventurous who wanted to explore the forest further. Trekking sticks are available for rent at local shops. Despite the off-season, there was a large number of tourists at Urang Keel, while during the season it was not a place to hang out.
Do not carry anything except water bottles and biscuits while going to Urang Keel, otherwise it will be difficult to walk up with the luggage. Although there are towbars to carry luggage and carry children as well. We barely had to wait 20 minutes to sit in the dolly, otherwise it can take up to two hours in season.
