The beautiful Pakistan I fell in love with

 September 27th marks the world tourism day. It is the time to explore new places, visit the wonders of nature and take a fun filled ride. The Day is celebrated every year with an idea to foster and spread awareness about the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economic value.

On this day, my experience of a recent trip to the “queen of hills” and the fantasy city of Pakistan begs to be shared. My family and some friends were there to make it a trip of my life.

This wasn’t like a full on weeklong trip, it was more like a long drive, and we drove from Islamabad to Murree to Patriata to Shahdra and back to Islamabad via the motorway. It was a drive I kept wishing would last longer.

We took off early in the morning on Monday 9th of September, the weather was pleasant, a bit cloudy and soon to be rainy. Looking out of my car window, I could see some of the most awe-inspiring and breathtaking views. Murree is naturally equipped with high peak mountains, richly greenish meadows, plateau and thick pine forests. I will definitely suggest everyone to visit this valley and then you will definitely feel that if heaven lies somewhere on earth then it truly lies here.

Our very next spot after reaching Murree was to visit Patriata hills and enjoy chair lift and cable car. It was an hour journey with lots of excitement to explore roadside areas and markets on the way. Patriata chair lift is a ‘must experience’ thing for all the visitors and you can also enjoy horse riding on top of the hill.

No matter where you go, light refreshments are always desirable. So while hopping around from one spot to another and reaching to the highest point through the chair lift ride, we came across this beautiful hilltop cafeteria where we stopped to enjoy our 'chai-break'. The view from the top automatically starts refreshing your mind and soul. To accompany the Kashmiri tea in the cool and refreshing breeze, we munched on delicious snacks, fries and yummy pakoras smothered in chatni. Their tea preparations were simply awesome. We revived our lagging energy and stamina with each sip of the lovely tea.

view from the chair lift

Patriata Hills from the top

After Patriata, our next destination was the beautiful Shahdra valley which is located on the outskirts of Islamabad. A perfect spot to beat the heat, surrounded by hills and lush green jungle. The spot provides a perfect setting to nature lovers to enjoy summer to its fullest while swimming in the crystal clear stream water.

A beautiful evening at Shahdra

Going further on the journey, we had now reached the federal capital. Being a nature-loving person, i enjoyed the lush greenery and modern outlook of the city. There was a feeling of belonging, a sense of serenity and calmness that perhaps no other city could match. There were no honking cars, traffic jams and hustles and bustles of the metropolitan. While being in the capital, we visited many places such as Lok Virsa which is Pakistan’s national heritage museum, the newly built and one of the largest constellation that is the Centaurus mall, the splendid Margalla hills, the magnificent shah Faisal mosque, Jinnah avenue near the parliament house where a bunch of politicians decide about the fate of the country and its people, daman-e-Koh. For dinner, we went through the mountains to Monal Restaurant in Pir Sohawa. Driving these mountains is scary, but locals do it with ease. The great thing about Pir Sohawa is the amazing view of Islamabad from there. It’s quite a sight. I was completely wow-ed by the beautiful scenery, ambience, music and the food.  Although it was a bit expensive, but it was definitely one of the best dining experiences I have had so far.

Pir Sohawa: Monal restaurant in the heart of Islamabad

The beautiful Shah Faisal Masjid at night

Being a citizen of Karachi, the business hub of Pakistan – an extremely busy city, where life is so damn fast it becomes impossible to escape from it. However, breaks are definitely important and I cherished my week of peace by being close to the nature.  I ended up feeling rejuvenated and seeing some awesome places I had never experienced in all these years living in Pakistan.

I must say that no words, no photographs, no poetry, no prose could ever do justice to the beauty that I had the honor to witness. And I think that the immortal beauty, which cannot be captured by the lens of a camera or the ink of a pen is actually what makes the place ever so fascinating. Yes, most people find love in people. I mostly find it in places and nature.

Thanks to this trip and its memoirs, I refuse to give up hope in better tomorrows for Pakistan. Things may look dark, but hope is all we have. It is time to re-build parts of Pakistan that are hurt and damaged. All we need is, a little attention from the government of Pakistan towards our otherwise badly neglected tourism industry.

Pakistan Zindabad!