Lake comers
Kaghan valley isn't just about the exotic and extremely popular Saiful Maluk
By Mohammad Niaz
Country's mountain ecosystem is under threat due to unsustainable consumption of its resources. Reports by World Conservation Strategy, the National Conservation Strategy and others term the protection of mountain ecosystems indispensable for the well being of humans.

When I saw it in the summer of 1990, I despaired. Shigar Fort, as outsiders know it, or Fong Khar, to give it the real name, was in a state of near total ruin. The massive stone walls had tumbled down at various places, doors hung askew on large hinges in hefty jambs, roofs had collapsed and rain and snow had washed in the mud to fill the rooms. One room with its roof intact, perhaps the only one, was a shelter for a few cows.

I came away from Fong Khar knowing that in another few years, its last traces will have crumbled into the dust. The sad part was that it was set in a perfect idyll: smack by a boisterous stream in the midst of huge plane and mulberry trees. If only the vines that would surely have once graced its eaves and overhangs were still there, the picture would have been complete.

In August 2006, I was in Skardu and it was mentioned that Fong Khar had received a new lease of life breathed in by Aga Khan Cultural Service Pakistan (AKCSP). From utter perdition the building was once again rehabilitated. It was like a dream. I could hardly believe what I saw.

It was in the 1630s that Hasan Khan, twentieth in the line of the Amacha rulers of Shigar, returned home. Ousted from his kingdom by the neighbouring Raja of Skardu, Hasan Khan had fled to the court of Shah Jehan, the Mughal king of India. Making a return bid with royal help, he defeated the usurper and imprisoned him in Shigar. Meanwhile, he set to building Fong (Rock) Khar (Fort) with stonemasons, woodworkers and other artisans brought over from India.

The name owes itself to the huge boulder around which one part of the palace is built. One wonders why the building could not avoid this mass that juts out of the east wall and apparently serves no purpose. Perhaps Raja Hasan Khan fancied the name Fong Khar and deliberately incorporated the rock.

The architecture was strictly Balti incorporating defensive elements in a residential royal building, but the woodcarving had subtle indications of Tibetan, Kashmiri and Punjabi influences. Completing the fort, Hasan Khan moved into the valley from an older fort high up the hill to the east. From the middle years of the 17th century the family thus lived in this castle until it was abandoned in or about 1980.

Hashmatullah Khan, a bureaucrat of the Raj who spent about two decades of his service in Kashmir, visited Fong Khar in the 1890s and found it in a reasonable state of upkeep. Photos from the 1930s, however, show a rundown and all but abandoned complex of buildings. As newer annexes were raised within the Fong Khar complex, older parts of the palace were abandoned. Only the annex known as Garden House, built about 1950, served as residence for the Raja and his family as late as 2003.

It was the following year that the Raja of Shigar realising that it was beyond his capacity or that of the government to redeem the building, gifted it to AKCSP. Then he may not have imagined the ruin would be brought back from the brink. But it was that same meticulous planning and execution that gave us the restored Baltit Fort of Hunza that returned Fong Khar to its early 20th century shape. Today Fong Khan is a five-star hotel making for the perfect getaway by its noisy brook where the magpies engage in arguments and golden orioles sing on leafy treetops.

When AKCSP took over Fong Khar, it had a definite plan. After restoration the proceeds from the hotel would be divided up to keep the hotel going as well as to enable local communities to finance their own projects. While 30 percent of the profit was to be kept aside to tide over lean years that the hotel might face, and equal percentage was earmarked for maintenance -- this being a nearly 400-year-old edifice, 10 percent was returned to AKCSP. 

The Shigar Town Management Society received 20 percent which this year amounted to something over one million rupees. This amount will be spent by the society itself on whatever projects it deems fit. If Shigar and its environs see a change in the coming years, they have to be thankful not only to AKCSP but to their elderly raja who gifted his palace to the organisation.

Across Pakistan there are virtually thousands of historical buildings as important as exemplars of vernacular architecture as Fong Khar -- many of them with the potential of becoming profitable concerns. Yet they rot, fall to pieces and are by and by lost. In the last thirty years I have seen a few hundred bite the dust. AKCSP spent money on Fong Khar and turned it into a profit-making establishment. Is it difficult that organisations (not necessarily AKCSP) replicate this sterling effort elsewhere in Pakistan? 

We are slowly losing our built heritage to negligence. Will someone heed this cri de coeur and come forward to begin the long journey?

Country's mountain ecosystem is under threat due to unsustainable consumption of its resources. Reports by World Conservation Strategy, the National Conservation Strategy and others term the protection of mountain ecosystems indispensable for the well being of humans.

Mountain ecosystem might not sound as familiar to you as Ayubia National Park in Abbottabad, Chitral Gol National Park in Chitral, Sailful Maluk National Park and Lulusar-Dodipatsar National Park in Mansehra, and Margalla Hills National Park in Islamabad -- the famous hilly areas of Pakistan. Effective management of these national parks has given them recognition for their role in conservation of critical biodiversity of the area offering recreation and education.

The current situation of the country has, besides other things, limited the options of travelling to hilly areas in the country. Kaghan Valley in NWFP has everything for a tourist who wishes to devour the serenity of Mother Nature. Hazara division of the NWFP has abundant natural resources especially forests and wildlife.

The upper reaches of Kaghan valley from Naran to Babusar Pass have a potential for the promotion of tourism and conservation of high altitude dry temperate forests, sub alpine scrub and alpine meadows. These systems support endangered wildlife species. The flagship species are snow leopard, brown bear, Himalayan ibex, stone martin, weasel, marmot, Himalayan snow cock etc.

The area also supports three major freshwater reservoirs namely Saiful Maluk, Lulusar and Dudipatsar -- recently declared national parks to protect the natural heritage. A visit to Lake Saiful Maluk encourages the tourists, provided they have the time and the resources, to also see Lulusar and Dudipatsar Lakes, Lalazar, and Babusar Pass leading to Northern Areas.

Lake Saiful Maluk is about 145km away from Mansehra, at a six-hour drive because the road, damaged during the October 2005 earthquake is still under construction. Fed by surrounding glaciers, Saiful Maluk is a panoramic clear freshwater alpine lake situated at an elevation of 3109m (10,200 feet) at Naran, which feeds river Kunhar.

The legendary lake nestles in the lap of the towering snow capped Malika Parbat (the Queen of the Mountains) reaching to height of about 51817,000 feet from sea level. The lake is about 6km away from Naran taking 40 minutes jeep ride over a rocky track or three-hour trek. Some tourists prefer to walk the distance while others ride horses and the others hire jeeps.

The best time to visit the lake is during extreme summers. Go before noon to spend enough time at the lake because the place is crowded in the evening. The nature lovers can avail camping facilities, trekking, in the alpine scenic splendour, lofty mountains, trees and the blue water of the lake. Boating, though a little risky because of the deep water, is another option.

There are also the old daastangos (storytellers) who would remind you of your grandmas with legends of Prince Saiful Maluk who fell in love with a fairy. Other places that might interest you in that area include Lalazar and Gitidas. A PTDC hotel at the heart of the Naran bazaar could be your first choice besides a wide option of hotels, from luxury and expensive to affordable.

Because of its central location from Kaghan to Babusar top, Lake Saiful Maluk has become a prime tourist spot. It is estimated that from May till September over one hundred thousand tourists visit the lake and the park.

Situated along Naran to Pabusar top, Lulusar Lake is also one of the frequently visited lakes in the area. This lake is also a refuge of winter migratory waterfowls. Therefore, solid waste is also a growing problem that adds to the ugliness of the site. The far-flung Dudipatsar being a beautiful lake is situated at the boundary of Kashmir and Kaghan valley, which serves as a breeding place for trout fish. Only trekkers and a very few tourists visit it.

The landscape of Naran serves to promote geo-tourism and attract visitors to boost up local economy. These ecologically important lakes serve as a staging and wintering ground to some of the important migratory waterfowls that cross international boundaries to avail natural aquatic resources of such water bodies during their migration process.

The natural lakes in the area are currently facing heavy erosion and degradation due to biotic pressure and unmanaged tourism in the area. Now a lot depends on the ongoing programme and concerned agencies to recognise these lakes and proactively manage and plan for these resources of the high altitude alpine zone. Pakistan being signatory to most of the environment related Multilateral Environmental Agreements has international obligations to protect its biodiversity and mountain ecosystems that are crucial for country's economy.