I have always loved travelling, I have visited many places and today in this post I am going to share an amazing experience of a hiking trip on magical hills of Margalla. These hills are situated in the North of Islamabad, Capital of Pakistan. They are an extension of Himalayan foothills.
Just as usual it was a sudden arrangement, we reached Islamabad at the base area on morning of the hiking day, started walking towards the Trail Entrance. It was almost 3 Km distance from our base to the trail entrance. It was a great walk as view and scenery around was magnificent.
There was a zoo park and some monumental centuries old Oak trees preserved by Environment Wing of CDA (Capital Development Authority)
As we reached the Trail Entrance we bought some food stuff for hiking and water, and started walking into the trail, it starts slowly as a footpath and gradually starts ascending upwards as steps.
This hiking trail is divided into a couple of sections, there was rest area after about a mile of hiking, Total hike is about 5 Km.
When you reach first rest area as shown above, you can have a bird eye view of the Capital City. Buildings, Residential Areas, Stadiums and Even Biggest Water Reserve of the City i.e, Rawal Dam can be seen from above.
We were in the middle of the hills when it started raining which turned into snow hail very quickly which we were not ready for. Well we collected our electronics, cell phones and cameras into plastic bags and just waited for the rain to stop but still it was and amazing experience too as the weather afterwards became very pleasant.
After it stopped raining, we continued our journey towards the top. We witnessed some really amazing sites and wonders of nature there.
Pictures Before Rain
Pictures After Rain
Let me tell you a fun fact, there are two hotels on the top, rest areas, very big parking for people who come there by road and a vast sitting arrangement for dinners to enjoy their food along with a beautiful view. Hiking trails and the road reach at the same spot there. There are some cultural shops and eateries for visitors. As we were almost there, we were totally wet and actually shivering so first thing we did was to collect some woods and make a fire for warmth. It was safe to light a fire as there was no fire hazard at that section.
Afterwards we visited the Hill Top Hotel, Had our lunch and headed back to our base.
A view of the Motorbike and Bicycle Overhead crossing Bridge.
Please let me know if you find this experience interesting. Would love to hear your remarks