Shahi Bagh Swat
Stayed in Kalam with my children in August 2018. There is no other notable place in Kalam city that is worth seeing because humans (The highest of all creatures) have reached everywhere and it is not possible for any attraction to remain where this creature has reached.
One of my best friends lives in Kalam. I asked his opinion about places I could go with my family ... that is, going in the morning and returning home in the evening.
After lengthy deliberations, Shahi Bagh and Jag Banihal were finalized out of five. The other three beautiful places were visited: Andrab Lake, Desan Meadows, and Spin Khuwar Lake, so we just cross in front of these names as trekking were enough for all three of them and overnight stay is sometimes unavoidable due to bad weather. So that it might be a difficult task for me to do with my family.
Shahi Bagh location
Visiting beautiful Swat, in amazing Pakistan is incomplete without exploring the beauty of Shahi Bagh. It is about a 2hours drive away from Utror or 35 Km from Kalam towards Mahudand lake. Or you can say by traveling towards Mahudand lake, in Oshu forest you have to take left to go beautiful Shahi Bagh (Royal Garden, Kalam).
Headed towards Shahi Bagh Swat, Pakistan
Early in the morning, we set off for the royal garden in my friend's four by four jeep. After traveling a short distance along the road from Kalam town to Mahudand Lake, you come to a dense forest.
In the middle of this forest, a path turns to the left where there is also a check post. This is the path that leads to our destination.
It is very important to choose the right path to reach the destination. A tiring long journey without choosing the right path would lead us away from the destination instead of getting to the destination.
Famous places in Gilgit Baltistan
And usually, by the time we realize this fact, we are so far from the destination that reaching the destination becomes a dream.
A most scenic journey in beautiful Swat valley
Is Swat valley beautiful? This is a basic question which every tourist asks if he is unaware of its beauty. If one finds a guide to the destination in this world, it is a great reward from Allah. The journey that starts from Kalam is full of beautiful landscapes and beautiful roads.The blue water river from Gabral, which is a major partner in the blue water of the Swat River, runs on the left side of the road and an endless series of mountains runs along the right side of the road.
It is a different matter that on the other side of the river there are also high green and lush mountains but between these two mountain ranges, the river serves as a boundary. The road between the two mountains is snarling like a snake and is heading towards Utror.
Until recently, this road was considered very unsuitable for travel and most of the tourists avoided the royal garden only because of the poor condition of this road.
Yet the beauty of Shahi Bagh kept attracting many tourists and tourists from far-flung areas and regardless of this route would reach Shahi Bagh and spend their time in this most beautiful valley rich in natural beauty and they used to capture the memories with the help of their cameras.
Dhoka (Cheat) instead of Dhamaka lake
After traveling about ten kilometers on this road, you can see the sign of a lake on which the name of Dhamaka Lake is written but there is no name of any lake in the distance. The floods of 2013 ended it all. Now, to show its effects, Kalam's drivers collect Rs.3000 from tourists and cheat with them.
And tourists go back happily by seeing Dhoka Lake (Cheat) instead of Dhamaka Lake. And the funny thing is that tourists don't even tell anyone what happened to them.
After passing through Dhoka Lake, the journey towards Utror starts again. If the wind is blowing then the rough road and dust distract you from the beauty of the surroundings and you become worried that how to protect yourself from flying dust for pictures.
So there is no need to worry about it. There is innumerable water everywhere. Wash your hands and face and comb with a wet hand in your hair. You will be able to come back even fresher to Facebook again.
Things to care about
Another important thing is that June, July, August, September are hot months. The scorching sun is not felt in cold areas. But it shows its effect on human skin and its first attack starts from your nose and its surroundings and they start to burn.
So it is better to keep a good sun protection cream with you but one of its disadvantages is that then you will see like Australian player Andrew Symonds on Facebook.
An effective solution is to use a full sleeve shirt and a cap or a hat. For women and girls, straw hats are usually available in these areas. Taking them and using them is better, rather than coming and keep massaging Fair and Lovely for a month.
But the burning slaps applied by the sun will not leave your life for two months.
Dispute between people of Utror & Kalam
About 35 km from Kalam is the area of Union Council Utror. It is famous for potato and turnip cultivation. It is a big town or valley by the river. From Kalam, if you intend to visit the lakes located in Shahi Bagh, Gabral or Utror then the local Kalam people and drivers will stop you from doing so and will create fear in your heart in an imperceptible way.
But the reality is quite different. The reality is the people of Utror are more beautiful and hospitable than their area. There is a dispute between Kalam and Utror over a mountain pasture or meadow called Desan.
The people of Kalam claim that Wali-e- Swat had referred to Desan's green pasture to Kalamis, while the people of Utror claim that because of easy access to this place from Utror, this place falls under Utror territory.
Advantages of their dispute
In support of this claim, the people of Utror have now built a four-by-four road to Desan with their help, while the people of Kalam have done the same.
The advantage of this is that this paradise-like lush meadow of Desan has come to the reach of tourists. It is a different matter now what will happen to them, Allah knows best.
Reasons that stop drivers to go through
There is strong resentment among the people of Kalam and Utror, even though they have close relations with each other but the area's love prevails over the relationships to such an extent that no resident of Kalam will give a lift to the resident of Utror in his car.
And if anyone in the area of Utror If the tire of the car of a person living in Kalam gets punctured, then he will have to go to Kalam to get a puncture. He will not get this facility in Utror.
Utror, A paradise for tourists
This is the main reason why drivers usually refuse to travel towards Utror, otherwise, I think Utror is no less beautiful than Kalam. Rivers, mountains, springs, waterfalls, glaciers, forests, lakes, everything that a real tourist wants is present in Utror.
But the lack of hoteling and restaurant facilities, the difficulties of the road and the fear spread about Utror are not allowing tourism to flourish here.
There is a bridge on the left-hand side, which goes up from Budgoi Pass to Kumrat, while away goes straight to the road which leads to Gabral crossing the bridge. A mountain stream of water was coming into the river Gabral.
Adventure, that I can't forget
This canal was coming from Shahi Bagh which was our destination. Traveling along a dilapidated rocky path along the ditch, we were on our way to the Shahi Bagh (royal garden). I was told by my family that it was not possible for a car to go on this road.
Suddenly Masoom (our driver) turned the car around and put it on the path which was constantly going up. At once the voices of Durood Sharif, Subhan Allah, and Astagh-firullah started rising in the car.
Of course, pure is the caste that always remembers its servant in trouble and difficulty. Once I also regretted that it was a wrong decision to come here with children, but after going to a height of about three hundred feet, the path became smooth and wide.
The blue canal had turned into a river that was constantly moving and making noise due to the descent.
Pistachio forest
This was Pakistan's but also the most beautiful road in the world on which we were traveling and interestingly we were alone on this road. Shahi Bagh (royal garden) is also 35 km from Utror. For the first time in my life, I saw pistachio trees that were planted on both sides of the road in the form of forests.
We also broke some pistachios which are still kept with me as a memento. We were on our way to the Shahi Bagh (royal garden), capturing these beautiful scenes in our hearts through our eyes and storing them in our memory cards.
Amazing Shahi Bagh Utror Pakistan
After each turn, it was thought that perhaps the royal garden (Shahi Bagh) would be there. Imagining a Shahi Bagh (royal garden), we were eager to see the real Royal Garden (Shahi Bagh). After a patient journey of about two hours, after turning a hill, we could see the royal garden (Shahi Bagh) in front of us.
The river was divided into two parts and between these two parts, there was a vast green field in which the trees looked like jewels.
The valley was wide open, the animals grazing on the green velvet pasture, adding to the beauty of the pasture.
The highest of all creatures (Man) had reached to spoil its beauty. As soon as I got out of the car, I told the children not to make the beautiful place dirty and to take back all the filth, especially shoppers and wrappers.
The ripples of the river were completely silent, we were enjoying the beauty of the Shahi Bagh (royal garden). A large trunk of a pine tree was spread over a part of the river to build a bridge to the island.
It was an exciting experience for the children, but for the wife and daughter, it was more of a fear factor than an interest.
Everyone crossed that bridge-like trunk, no matter what. Camped in the middle of the island, today we were the king of the Shahi Bagh (royal garden) because there was no one else except us.
The mother tried hard to make tea on the cylinder but failed due to high winds. Mother's son and grandchildren also tried hard to catch the trout but they also failed.
It was a memorable day as a king in the royal garden. Those days and their memories are all preserved in my memory card, but even if all of them are written confiscated, I may not be able to express the beauty of the royal garden (Shahi Bagh).
These are the manifestations of the signs of Allah which Allah has scattered in the universe. Seeing them strengthens faith in the power of Allah and there are signs in them for those who have knowledge.
Even after stating that, I think that the truth is that the truth of the beauty of Shahi Bagh has not been paid.
