A tour into the shadows of the Hindu Kush Mountain range

   It was 10^th of April when we decided to explore the Swat valley which is located in KPK province of Pakistan. It comprises the southeastern foothills of the mighty Hindu Kush Mountains. Next day we traveled to Mingora from Islamabad which was supposed to be our base camp for the next thrilling week. Mingora is headquarter of Swat district of KPK. It’s a wide U shaped valley carved by ancient glaciers.

        Most of its constructions are built on the terraces of the swat river which is fed by the ice cold glacial water from the mountains of the Hindu Kush. It is an excellent nursery of trout fish which is relatively one of the rare fish species in the world. The surroundings of the city are flushed with lush green wheat, onion and pea fields. The abundance of peach, apple, apricot and plum gardens enhance the beauty of the area to a whole new level. This place becomes lot more interesting if you are interested in rocks. The diverse igneous and metamorphic geology of the area is like a paradise for the geologists and other rock sample collectors.

        The first day at Mingora was largely about planning and deciding the priority destinations because of the availability of to many options. We visited the swat river with the fiends. It reminded me of the mighty Neelum river where we used chill every second evening. It was cool, calm and clean as the previous one. We visited the certain part of the river through a boat and reached the dry land in the center. 

        For many people it’s the water quality and content of the river which really matters. But as a geologist and rock lovers there is another aspect of the river which really matters and that is the quality of the rocks it brings with itself through its course. The channel bars of the river were flooded with the beautiful rounded stones. There were granite, gabbro and other igneous and metamorphic rocks presenting a beautiful treat to the watchers.

        We headed back to the rooms after the sun vanished behind the lush green mountains offering great sights of the beautiful evening. This was all from the first day of our travel campaign. It was a little outing to the riverside in the evening which set the tone for the awesome adventures for the rest of the days.

        The next time I will be talking about MALAM JABBA, the one and only international ski resort in Pakistan so stay in touch.

         The thrill continues……………………………………See you soon