Lake Saiful Maluk

The picturesque Lake Saiful Maluk, perched at 3224

metres above sea level, is located at the northern end of
the Kaghan valley, district Mansehra. It’s five mile away from
Naran at height of 10,500 feet (3200.40 meters) above sea level.
This lake is easily accessible by jeep or by trekking.
The lake attracts hundreds of thousands of local and foreign
visitors each year due to its stunning beauty. The crystal clear
water comes from the multiple glaciers around the high basin,
which feed the lake. High altitude and fresh water lakes are
something very rare in the world. Recently the natural environment
of the lake was restored by wildlife department after introduction
of several reforms to make it neat and clean.

Lake Saiful Maluk, being a tourists’ attraction, was converted into

a national park so that its natural beauty could be preserved.
Boating in the lake has been regulated. Three-hundred-kanal land
has been acquired around the lake in order to ensure that waste
from hotels and cabins do not fall inside it. Shelters have been
constructed where tourists can take rest and enjoy the scenic view.

Prince Saiful Malook and Badri Jamala is a classic fable in the

Hazara district. It tells the story of a prince’s love for a fairy. There
is also a famous poem about the story written by the famous poet
Mian Muhammad Baksh of Mirpur who wrote the classic story
into poetic verse. The poem titled “Saif-ul-Malook” is written in
the Potohari / Hindko language and is very much popular in
Potohar, Kashmir and Hazarah.

The story of Saiful Maluk is that Prophet Joseph (Yousuf) was

asked who will be the handsomest man after him; he had two seals
made, and said that the man will be my descendent and will inherit
these seals. After many years when Saiful Maluk came of age he
was bequeathed those seals among many other treasures; one of
them had a picture of himself and on the other there was a picture
of the beautiful fairy Princess Badar Jamal, meaning the glory of
the moon. He fell in love with her and thus began his long arduous
journey to find her.
 Later when he did find her, he learnt that her soul is
trapped in the tallest mountain of the lake which is now
called “Saiful Maluk” and the mountain is “Malka Purbat” which
means “the Mountain of the Fairies”. He also learnt that she is
bound to a Jinn, and would be only free when the Jinn is dead. The
Jinn could not be defeated by ordinary means, for the Jinn had
hidden his soul in talisman of some sort and hidden it away. Saiful
Maluk and his army succeeded in finding the talisman and killing
the jinn but that ignited a 40-year war between the jinn of the earth
and those who dwell in the spirit world.

Most visitros visit the sight for spending a full moon night there as
local people still believe in the myth that faries come to the lake at
full moonlit night.