Swaik Lake, the Ultimate Trekking Reward!
The previous travel post was about the Katas Raj Temples where it's origins and beauty were discussed. Once we were done with the trip to this historic place, we returned to the hotel for a Namaz and lunch break after which we headed towards Swaik Lake which is also known as Khandoa Lake and Neela Pani.
Swaik Lake is at a distance of 10.8
kilometers from Kallar Kahar (takes about 30 minutes) and is 30 kilometers
southwest of Chakwal along the motorway. It is hidden between the cliffs and
mountains where it reveals itself quite unexpectedly as a stunning reward of
strenuous trekking which itself takes about half an hour or more.
It was a pretty hot day with the sun
shinning in full glory, we stopped at a hilly location where we were supposed
to trek from. It turned out to be pretty steep as we proceeded along the rocks
and rough terrain, the sight all around was spectacular. On our way to the
lake, we saw a donkey shed which was quite dramatic in its own way, not to
mention that the donkey appeared somewhat desolate.
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| Mr. Donkey |
We kept going and going and finally
heard the sound of a water stream that we decided to follow, after further
trekking we heard the sound of continuous splashes. What appeared in front of
our very eyes was nothing less than a miraculous beauty and a ravishing spot
that was a striking contrast compared to the hills around. It was a crystal
clear accumulation of water, sparkling in shades of emerald and cerulean blue!
Finally we had reached the Swaik Lake!
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| Swaik Lake |
People were jumping from heightened
cliffs around amidst laughter and giggles. The temperature seemed comparatively
low at this spot and the water felt pretty cold yet pleasant. It is recommended
to wear a life jacket because joy could turn out to be a disaster, given the
lake's depth. Life jackets were available for Rs. 50 to Rs. 100 for a certain
period of time and there were people earning through this business.
If ladies want to dive into the
water then it is recommended to dry out naturally through trekking rather than
trying to find a discreet spot where you could change clothes because there
seems to be none. Despite belonging to the marine species, I resisted the urge
to go neck deep into the lake.
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We had a long day ahead of us
because we had checked out from TDCP Kallar Kahar Resort before leaving for
Swaik Lake as we were supposed to return and get going immediately towards
Sangra (Haripur District in KPK). Time was short and locations many!
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On our way back while trekking, our
boss noticed this strange fungal growth on the tree trunk which seemed quite
mysterious. Below is a zoomed in view.
There were two hard working men molding some iron utensils and were kind enough to let themselves be photographed. Here's their setup.
The sun was setting and the serenity
of the mountains spoke quite loudly beneath the sky.
We were back to the place where the vans were parked and cold water was all we needed to quench our thirst.
We reached the hotel, picked our
bags and hit the roads again for a long journey all the way to Sangra which my
next travel post will be about ... until then, goodbye!
P.S: All pictures have been snapped by my Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and yes it DOES NOT explode. :)
P.S: All pictures have been snapped by my Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and yes it DOES NOT explode. :)
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