10 Sep 2011:

Departed from Lahore around 1 a.m. We had a stay in Islamabad as one of the members joined
from there. The high roof had heating problem so we did quite a few unnecessary stays. For
breakfast, we stopped at Usmania in Abbottabad. Next stop was Kiwai and then finally Naran
by evening.
11 Sep 2011:
My bro Muazzam had food poisoning and the night was spent in taking care of him. We tried the
first aid medicines we were carrying but it was of no use. So, we went to the Basic Health Unit
of Naran and interrupted the sleep of resident doctor around 3 a.m. But medicines were only
available in the morning. The group left for Lalazaar around 9 a.m. and i stayed with Muazzam.
We arranged for the medicines and injection and Alhamdulillah by noon he was feeling much
better.
I had already requested the group to check with me before diverting to Saif-ul-Mulook. So, they
called me on their way back from Lalazaar and i joined them for Saif-ul-Mulook.
A hotel has been built at the very start of the lake area which was inaugurated in Eid holidays.
The males had camping plans but now after seeing the hotel, families also requested to stay at the
lake and we booked room there for ladies and kids and did camping ourselves. After dinner, the
hotel guys arranged for fire in the premises so we enjoyed a ready made bonfire.
After that .... we went for a 3 hours night photography session around the lake and tried to spot
fairies .....
12 Sep 2011:
Mobiles work at a location around 5 min drive before the lake. So, before going for lake at night
i went to that location with jeep driver and checked on my bro Muazzam who was doing fine.
Early morning, we woke up and came down to Naran to freshen up and get ready for new
destinations. Our first destination was Babusar Top. I kept a close eye on the kids but mashallah
all 3 adapted to the altitude change brilliantly. We stayed at Babusar Pass for half hour and then
went for Sambak Sar and Dharam Sar Lake. One of our jeep drivers took the ladies and kids
plus Muazzam to Sambak Sar Lake on jeep. He used a self created route as there is no jeep trek
for this lake from road. The male party did the trek and reached the lake in 40-50 min.
On our way back, one jeep broke down before Lulusar Lake and it was evening time. The jeep
carrying families stopped at Besal and members rested in a small room in Basel Hotel. Another
jeep with locals and police was sent to rescue our second group stuck in the wilderness. They
towed the jeep till Lulusar Lake and then ignition worked and jeep started to roar again. The

problem was fuel tank which had lots of undesired particles hindering the fuel flow. So, 6 bottles
were filled with diesel and the guy sitting with driver kept on changing fuel flow pipe from one
bottle to other till we reached Naran.
13 Sep 2011:
It was a rest day for ladies and kids. The trekking party left Naran around 8 a.m. for Sat Sar
Mala Lakes.
We started the trek at 11:10 a.m. and reached Surkhail Lake at 3 p.m. We were back after
visiting all six lakes by 5 p.m. Rain caught us on last 40 minutes of the trek on our way down
and it kept on raining till Batakundi. Naran received a light shower but Muazzam told me that it
rained a lot on Saif-ul-Muluk as he visited the lake today. He kept a low profile and didn't do the
treks as we didn't want to take any risks.
14 Sep 2011:
The return journey started at 9 a.m. Our destination was Shogran and Sri Paye. We reached
Kiwai around 11 a.m. and visited all three locations in 4 hours. The weather was cloudy so
visibility was very poor. Some were visiting Sri Paye for the first time and they didn't have any
idea what was hidden all around them
We resumed the journey around 3:30 p.m. and reached Lahore around 1 a.m. mainly due to
heating problem of high roof.