ONE DAY AT MALAM JABBA TOP

The third day of my journey was a special one. It was to a place about which I have heard a lot on the native social and electronic media. It was Malam Jabba which is the lone internationally recognized ski resort in Pakistan. Though there are many places which are excellent for skiing in northern Pakistan but this one has special significance because of its easy approach. This is located in the foothills of the Hindu Kush Mountains.Unfortunately there was little snow at the corners of the ski slope as it was the mid of April and we reached there with a bit of delay. The journey from Mingora to Swat was full of excitement. 

As soon as we left the city, we found over selves surrounded by blossoming pea fields. The white flowers on the pea fields were presenting a great sight to cherish the beauty of the nature. These fields were on the sloppy grounds of the hills aiding to the beauty of the area. The second most beautiful sight began when the large fields filled with peach plants came to the sight. These peach gardens were running along the hilly stream filled with sparkling clean water. It was a great sight to remember. Soon the road started climbing along the hills. There were amazing sights on the show with every turn our vehicle took on its way. There were lush green slopes all over the places. The beautiful streams running downhill all over the places were presenting awesome sights for the viewers.

Soon there were blossoming apple and apricots fields on the way as the less temperature area approached. The flowers on the apple trees along with their green leaves were presenting great sights but the most beautiful part of the journey was yet to come. With further increase in the elevation we entered the alpine region. This place was ornamented with pine trees which were soon replaced by the Himalayan cedars as we moved above 2500 m elevation. The slopes carpeted with lush green grass along with alpine trees were presenting great sights. Soon the first sight of the Malam jabba snow land appeared and the excitement rose to the next levels. It took almost two and half hours to reach the destination. 

We left the vehicle at the beginning of the area and starts walking on the paved path .Finally we reaches at the base of the ski slope.it was almost 1.5 km steep slope making perfect setting for skiing. Usually an electronic chair lift is used to reach the top but we decided to walk uphill. It was the start of another amazing experience. In the first sight it looked like a small hike but it was actually lot more then it seemed to be. It almost took forty five minutes to reach the top. There were amazing flowers blooming at the hill slopes. There was a snowy part on the way up, we stood there for a while and had some fun by fighting a small battle of snow fighting. We were finally at the top of the slope staring downwards at the beautiful sights downhill. Most of the places around were easily visible 360 degree. On the back there were snowy mountains. The other sights were filled with beautiful sights of the lush green cliffs.

 

Well there was another cliff nearby from the ski slope top. We started hiking toward the final place of our journey which is missed by the most of the people because of difficult path or maybe they just ignore it as they don’t have the information. There were signs of some wild animals on this 10 minute hike. We spotted some foot marks on the small areas with some snow. There were a few scratched tree trunks. It seemed like it is a regular petrol are for the bears as they might come down for some food search from the human leftovers during the day time. The final top was a small dome shaped cliff covered with grass. The back side of the cliff was fenced to stop the people from going to the dangerously sloped back side of the hill. There were amazing sights from the hill top on every side. Finally we had some refreshment at the top spot and a prolong photography session followed by lunch.

 

We stayed there for an hour as it was already 4 pm, then started walking downhill the main ski slope area which was crowded with people. People were enjoying their rides on the slow electronic lifts and we had other planes. We decided to march downhill and this time it was different as it took only 12 minute to reach the base. We had tea session at the base and then decided to move back to our vehicle as evening was fast approaching. On my way back to the city I was thinking about the miracles of this beautiful nature everywhere in the world. These places are really the jewels of our earth and we should think above their preservation. These places are subjected to many threats which need to be addresses urgently. We need to promote the concept of ecotourism in order to save these areas. In the end we reached our base camp with lots of memories and thoughts. In my view it was a day well spent.

Soon I will be back with the story from the tour of the Shangla hillssee you soon.