footsteps: Beautiful Nathiagali

Sunday, 13 September 2015

Beautiful Nathiagali - my 100th post

It's been a while that I updated my blog and I was looking for something special to put up on my 100th post. It is indeed a special post and it is about the beautiful north of Pakistan.

Earlier this month I traveled to Nathiagali to attend a business session. Yes, in the mountains and among the trees we were having a business session. But even then, I managed to find time to capture the beauty of our splendid north.

Nathiagali is a beautiful hill station and a popular destination in summers and winters. It is at a distance of 2.5 to 3 hours from the federal capital Islamabad. One can reach this place from different routes. Since I was traveling from Karachi, I took the 7 am flight to reach Islamabad at 8:30. From there we traveled in a mini coach. We took the motorway and it was all the way going upwards. Winding roads, beautiful mountains and loads of trees.

As we ascended the air became cooler and it started to give me a headache. I was seated next to a senior colleague who was in sales. I learned that earlier in his career he was in merchant navy. I got intrigued and asked him ton of questions. He was very polite and answered all my queries calmly.

After 2 hours of drive, we stopped at a roadside cafe for a cup of tea and to stretch our legs. The tea really played it's magic and got us going. By this time the climb started to become steep and the air much cooler and winding of the roads seemed endless.

After 1.5 hours of further drive we reached our hotel which was located deep into the woods and at a dead end of the road.

It was now evening when we reached there and everyone was dead tired but the scenery was awesome..... nobody wanted to go in their rooms. So we all settled in the garden watching the beautiful sunset. Tall trees changing colors by the minute in that moment. It was very quite, only the wind and an occasional sound of a wandering crow.

That moment was priceless..... nobody was in the mood to talk to each other. Just wanted to be quite and enjoyed being lost in the surroundings.

The hotel selected was a decent one. I liked the location. I got my room at the rooftop which offered a good view.

It was a long and a very tiring day. I was really looking forward to dinner. Some of our colleagues were joining in from different locations and we all were waiting for them to join us for dinner. Soon the bonfire was lit and call for dinner came and all digged in.

The night was cold and chilly. I was glad that tea/coffee was offered after dinner. I hanged out for a while before calling it a day. I was dead tired.

At around 4 am i woke up at the sound of thunder, it was raining. It was very loud and became very cold. I lost my sleep.....

The rain continued till 6 am. Since I couldn't sleep I woke up, took my camera and went out for a stroll. It was very cold and the clouds were really passing by me.

After breakfast, the business sessions took place and lasted till mid day. For lunch we all went down to a local restaurant. Very decent food, freshly cooked. A quarter of day had passed by the group decided to just chill out at our company cottage. So we all drove up to the cottage to hangout.

Coffee, music, table tennis, cards, cricket, gossips and jokes. The remainder of the day till sunset was free time. At sunset we all moved back to our hotel. A musical event followed after dinner and next morning we all were to head back to our locations.

My flight back to Karachi was in the evening and I had some time before we headed back to Isamabad so, after breakfast, I found some like minded folks with whom I went for a walk among the woods. We found a winding walkable trail leading towards the adjacent mountain.
I won't say much about it but let the pictures speak about the beauty of the woods. Let's see what you make of it....

So, what do you say?

I am very pleased that I had something very special for my special and memorable 100th post. Hope you enjoyed as much as I did.

Before I end this post, sharing a some borrowed pictures from my friends who recently traveled to much higher in the mountains. See the majestic north of Pakistan. I encourage you to visit it but at the same time request you to be mindful of the environment too. Enjoy responsibly!