AHSAN UL HAQ
Love for beauty is inborn. In this vast universe, Kashmir’s Himalayas beckon and so the stunning Lolab Valley. Kashmir has been bestowed with the best natural beauty all around; a majestic valley located in the northern region of Kashmir in frontier district of Kupwara is Lolab, famously called as Land of Love and Beauty. An oval shaped valley covered with forests of deodar, and pine. The valley is known because of its picturesque beauty. Remember Iqbal:
Pani Tere Chashmon Ka Tarapta Huwa Simaab
Your springs pulsating like quicksilver.
Murghan-e-Sahar Teri Fazaon Mein Hain Betaab
The birds at dawn are restive in thy space Ae Wadi-e-Lolab!
O Valley of Lolab.
One of the rare locations that provides food to the body and nourishes the soul. A productive soil bursting with love, ecstasy, adds charm to life. Lolab offers a great variety of entities in its platter. A marvelous valley with beauty wins the heart of whosoever happens to come into its lap. There are many places to map out for travelers and visitors.
A health resort, which could bring tranquility and charm to dead, where still air seems free from smoke and dust and that of material worries. A fresh water sip works as a penance to the illness.
Though majority is still less privileged, however welcomes the guests with open heart. Chandigam, Warnow, Doursa, Doursa Wani, Anderbug are some the destinations. A few dams/ponds like at Dorsa Wani, Chandigam, Sogam and Diver are fantastic spots to explore; these are covered by deodar forests.
The rice fields on both sides of the road, overlapped by forests at Khumyeral road is hardly to find anywhere. A picture there could make someone for years to mesmerise, this is one of the most splendid spots . A wee hour drive, when fog and dew start moving back to the skies fills the soul and nourishes the eye, and makes it a marvelous phenomenon.
This valley is popular for being in close proximity to Sattbaran, (which in English means seven doors) a place in Kalaroose, famous for its age-old belief that this way leads to Russia.
These places of Lolab offer an excellent site for nature lovers and adventure enthusiasts. Dorus Wani, another lovely spot, the path to which is adorned with huts along the way, giving a sense of culture. There are many promises to keep and miles to go. Be it summer, spring, autumn or winter, the valley never compromises its majesty.
A couple of hours walk through forest from Doursa will lead to Sopore and from Diver or Dardpora to Bandipora. This is the way that our forefathers were using when there was no transport, and even some use it today.
During winters Lolab is engulfed in white carpet. However Lolab Gate at Zangli adds more charm. Plunging into the divine beauty, Lolab in the depth of winters has its own charm. The only river, springs from Michal and that of Warnow blending at Khumeriyal leads its path to Jhelum. A ride through these hamlets provides pure pleasure.
Lolab It has to offer to a nature lover everything: snow capped mountains, streams, fresh water, lush green forests and more importantly a sense of love and comfort.
Experience nature at its most ornate in the valley called Lolab.
AHSAN UL HAQ teaches English at GDC Dangiwacha Baramulla.
