and Lalazar meadows if one is short of time to roam around Shogran, Sari Paya, Lalusar and Babusar Top.
The 50 to 60 minutes jeep journey to Lake Saiful Maluk, situated at an altitude of 10,500 feet above sea level and at a distance of 10 kilometres from Naran town, is as much enjoyable as the exotic boat ride at the crystalline waters of the lake, which is tributary of the Kunhar River.
Pony ride is another option available for reaching the lake besides walking the entire way that takes about three hours. A fleet of about 50 jeeps ply the Naran-Lake Saiful Maluk route and a jeep could be rented for Rs1,800 to Rs2,000 for the two-way travel. Though tourist season in Kaghan valley begins in mid-May and closes in mid-October, the ideal summer climate is June to September.
“The three months (June to August) is peak season for us as snowfall normally starts in late October,” stated one of the three jeep drivers taking a group of Peshawar-based journalists to Lake Saiful Maluk.
However, the travel to the picturesque Lalazar pastureland, situated 21 kilometres onward from Naran, is not as much exhausting as it is on the just 15 to 20 minutes drive from Batakundi on the main Naran-Babusar road.
A rest house of the Forest Department and two small hotels are available to provide food and drinks to the visitors besides a limited accommodation facility.
“The forest rest house was constructed in the 50s but unfortunately the road leading to the area has yet to gain attention of the authorities. The residents repair the road on self-help basis or through donation from tourists. Since the land here is jointly owned [shamilat], landlords are not allowing proper road construction,” complained Imtiaz Hussain, the owner of a small hotel. He held the elected public representatives responsible for keeping the area backward. Lalazar can attract a large number of tourists that would lead to economic prosperity of the local population if the road were blacktopped, he added.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Industries Syed Ahmad Hussain Shah, who was elected from the Kaghan valley constituency, along with Minister for Sports and Tourism Syed Aqil Shah, announced the establishment of the Kaghan Development Authority (KDA) and installation of state-of-the-art chairlift from Naran to the Saiful Maluk Lake.
The announcement was made at the concluding ceremony of the three-day Kaghan festival organised by the Tourism Corporation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The ministers revealed the provincial government decision to establish KDA and execute more than Rs2 billion rupees chairlift project during the current fiscal year. They promised taking concrete steps for promoting tourism in the area.
During the opening ceremony, Aqil Shah also announced holding of Kaghan festival on regular basis and said that from now on it would be part of the tourism calendar like the Shandoor polo festival.
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