Chitral is a place with breathtaking beauty and visiting Chitral is a real treat. It takes about six hours from Islamabad to reach this heavenly location. We started our journey early morning and crossed Malakand top, a scenic place overlooking the beautiful Swat River. This view compensates the fear that one feels while the vehicle passes through this narrow winding two-way road.

The journey is long, yet very refreshing because you never see such vast green plains, beautiful valleys and diverse culture every day. We reached our destination point Timergara in Dir and stayed at the home of an old family friend. It was a lovely house in the foothills. Our hosts were caring and kind, just the way we had heard about people of Chitral. Having a traditional meal with them was a great experience for us.

Timergara is the district headquarters of Lower Dir District; it was originally named as Taimur Garh, after the famous Mangol conqueror Timur, or Tamerlane, who had once stopped here long ago.

The next day, when I got up in the morning, I got the chance to see the beauty of the early morning in Timergara. It was lush green all around. I never experienced such a serene morning, mountain terraces all around were covered by corn crop and vegetables. The front of the house we were staying in opened into a small garden where vegetables were grown. A little distance away a small stream was flowing with icy cold water. The scene I witnessed was straight out from a movie!

After having breakfast, we left for Chitral town with the family of our host. It was a long journey of over 12 hours because we stopped at various places. Much of our time was consumed outside Lowari Tunnel due to its scheduled closure.

Lowari Tunnel is an engineering marvel. Its construction began in 2005 and this tunnel has made the road journey safe and speedy. By the time we reached Chitral, it was already dark and we were tired of our long journey. So all we could do was freshen up and rest.

The next morning was yet again mesmerising as we caught our first glimpse of Chitral River from our rest house. We walked on the riverbank and could catch the view of Tirich Mir, the highest mountain in Hindukush range.

Chitral is a cradle of communal harmony, love and peace. The local people are hospitable, caring and welcoming to their guests who come from all parts of Pakistan. We went to the local market where we saw shops full of traditional dresses, footwear and other items locally made items of daily use.

Most of you may have heard of the beauty and the cultural wonder of Pakistan — the Kalash valley. And luckily, our next destination was Kalash. The terrain was not fit for travelling by car, so we hired a jeep. The narrow road along mountains was flank by spectacular natural scenes. Some of the crossings were bit scary, but an overwhelming charm cast by nature offset any anxiety.

It took us around one and a half hour to reach the Kalash Bumburet valley, the largest and the most populated valley in Kalash and again proverb of ‘heaven on earth’ turns real here. It was a bowl surrounded by mountain peaks and covered with various fruit orchards.

A Kalashi boy named Sikander, became our local guide and took us around the Bumburet Valley. We visited the houses of local people and met Kalashi women wearing beautiful Kalashi traditional dresses. Sikander informed that they speak four different languages.

Kalashis are very generous hosts. They served us fresh fruits and dry fruits with milk tea. However, we could see that their life was not easy as the area does not have good roads and women had to bring water from far off areas and streams, as there was still no support from the government in building proper water pipelines for the local people. Apart from that, health and education facilities were also scarce and people suffer from the lack of basic amenities of life.

Our journey ended here, we spent a couple of more days witnessing and absorbing the beauty of Chitral. Whenever I visit any place other than my own city, Islamabad, I learn many things from the people and their way of living, their culture and their simplicity. I learn to be humble and simple just like the people I meet.

Moreover, the beauty of our own country impresses me so much that I wonder why people get so impressed with the foreign lands without seeing their own wonderful, Pakistan. Every province is full of unique cultures, languages and people with the beauty of nature in full abundance.

I urge my young readers that before going on a foreign trip, make sure you have seen the beauty of Pakistan so that you have a lot to tell others about your own country!

Published in Dawn, Young World, July 21st, 2018