For years, I have wondered how two nuclear powers could fight just for a small piece of land.
I got the answer.
Kashmir is not merely a piece of land. It is one of the most magnificent parts of the world.
Words are scarce to describe the beauty of Kashmir valley that we (Team Mijsons) visited on February 22nd. Folks called this land a “paradise on earth”. So I witnessed and they were all true. Without any shadow of doubt, Kashmir is a (rather the) beautiful place on the surface of the earth.
This was my first trip to Azad Kashmir. Talha and Afzaal bhai were responsible to pick every-one from their nearest stops. We had hired a Hiace. We started our journey through Islamabad expressway at 7:30 am, after receiving Habib bhai, Haseeb, Junaid and Kashif Bhai (The master mind of the trip). Passing through the security check post of Kahuta, we entered the premises of Kashmir in 2 to 2.5 hours. Our first stop was at Rawlakot, thanks to Haseeb (everyone knows why: P). We had snacks and cold drinks on our way to the tourist spot. I can still remember it was such a romantic weather. The beauty of Kashmir was magnified under the clouds and it was drizzling too.
On our way to Banjosa, we had a singing competition as well. We were two groups: Mine, Kashif sir, Haseeb and Juanid and the second group was Habib bhai, Afzaal bhai, and Talha. Luckily we won. Though the other party might not agree, but we did.
We reached Banjosa Lake at about 11:40 am. I have never seen such a superb place like Banjosa Lake in my entire life. It was cloudy and drizzling. The surroundings were so calm and relaxing. We did a little adventure at this place. From childhood, I had a dream of hiking. Thanks to Sir Kashif, we just derailed from the paved road to start climbing the mountain through the rough terrain. Sadly, we had to face the music as we couldn’t find the way to road, took a u-turn and had to struggle down the hills. That was indeed a dangerous experience. The surface was slippery with a lot of mountain steeps and sharp slippery surfaces to move through. We, anyhow, managed to walk alongside the mountain steeps to end up to a Soldier Camp. Thanks God we didn’t cross the border (:P). They were national troops cooking for them and they were nice to us. Pak Foj Zindabad!
We stepped down back to Banjosa Lake to enjoy the captivating beauty of Kashmir to the fullest. From Banjosa, we started our journey to Toli Peer at about 12:10 pm.
We reached Khai Gala at 1 pm. We had to park the Hiace at this place as the road is full of snow and slippery ice ahead. There are specific vehicles that can run on the road surface ahead which are operated mainly on diesel. We started walking in the snowy (but not-so-much-snowy) road surface. Luckily, we got a lift from a transportation vehicle that was due to carry ration and utility items to Shaheed Gala. We had a stop at Shaheed Gala, where we had tea pakora party. Thanks to the Chale wala Chacha for Discount. It was really amazing having garma garam chae and pakoray while the surrounding was completely covered with snow.
One thing I wish to mention over here. The people of Kashmir were very nice to us. They were very friendly, receptive and caring.
From Shaheed Gala, we travelled to Dhana Number 4, where we enjoyed the snowfall, fog and snowy surroundings to the fullest. In an hour, we travelled back to Khai Gala at around 3:30 pm, where we bought 4 chickens and had a local hotel cook make ‘karai’ for us all. It was too much for us.
We started our journey back to Islamabad at approx. 6 pm. At Kahota, we had our last stop where we had tea at around 8:30 pm. At around 9:10 pm we dropped Kashif Bhai at DHA gate. All members were then dropped at their nearest stops. I would like to appreciate Talha for this wonderful organization of the trip segments.
Thank you so much to Allah and Mijsons, for letting us explore the splendor of an amazing valley. Thanks to Kashmiri people for being so much friendly towards us.
Yasir Ali
