Nature’s Beauty Speaks through Pakistan

Pakistan is a land of all seasons with chilling winters, humid summers, flowery springs and crispy autumns. With blazing land features that stay in one’s eyes forever once he gets a view of them, this part of the Earth was certainly given special attention by the Creator. If one starts moving from South to North, there is not a single place where he should blink his eyes as any scene of the magical beauty of this country should not be missed at any cost.

Karachi, in the South of the country, is the business hub of the country situated at the shore the Arabian Sea. Tall buildings, restaurants, delightful architecture, large shopping malls, zoological parks, roads, bridges and traffic make it the busiest and largest city of the country. Move to North and you find Hyderabad, Sehoun, Larkana, Ghotki, Nawabshah; all the very favorites of Sufi saints and preachers of the region.

 In the West of Karachi the Cape Muari (Cape Monde) marks the border of the Sind province with Balochistan, another God-gifted place on the face of the globe. Desert is the dominating feature of this province and as Paulo Coelho says in “The Alchemist” desert teaches man more than any other thing on Earth, the people of Balochistan are wise and witty. Mountains and plateaus of the region and the evidences found from the desert prove that the land on which Balochistan rests today was once part of the sea and that is why scientists have predicted that the inner of this province is filled with mineral wealth.

While if we move towards North, after crossing the Sind, land of the Saints, we will enter into the plains of Punjab. This land of five rivers is the largest province of Pakistan with a population more than almost all the countries in the Europe; this province is the food depot of the country. With the land perfectly suitable for farming and supplied with enough water from the rivers and one of the finest canal system in the world, Punjab produces food for the entire country. From the deserts of Cholistan in the Bahawalpur region to the city of saints, Multan one moves into the Central Punjab where Lahore shines as the cultural and historical capital of the country and Faisalabad as the Manchester of Pakistan. It is interesting to note here that despite all the economic problems that the world is going through Lahore real estate is still prospering. Here we also find Gujranwala, where food is life and life is food and Gujrat, the literal camp of the Muslim journalism in British India. Moving north we pass Sialkot, where the finest of the sports goods is produced and exported all over the world. For years, FIFA used Sialkot made footballs in all international events.

Further north we start moving into the mountains. Crossing the hills and Lake of Kallar Kahaar, we enter the historic trade route of the Central Asians into India, Rawalpindi. On the left is the road to the province of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa where we find some of the most astonishing creativity of nature when we move into Swat valley and through it we go on to see the heavens on Earth, the Naraan, Kaghaan and Kalaam and there you find the jewel of Pakistan “Saif-ul-Malook”. And had we moved right we would enter the capital of the country, Islamabad, which stands at the foot of the Margalla hills. This city was developed to be the capital of Pakistan in 1950s and 60s and has the most advanced infrastructure among all the cities of the country.

From there we move towards Murree road and that is where the mighty Himalayas begin as we enter the “Queen of Mountains” of the colonial era, Murree. Bhurban is at 45 minutes drive from Murree, where one of the finest hotels of the country Pearl Continental Hotel is situated. Try and sit in the terrace of one of the rooms in the hotel after sunset to view the small lights lit in the houses on the mountain. You’d feel nostalgic.

Keep moving north as the mountains mount further to see the dazzling sites of Karakoram ranges in Gilgit Baltistan and see the glaciers of Hunza and Siachin Glacier to finally catch the site of Mount Goodwin Austin (K-2), the second highest mountain peak of the world with a height of approximately 8.5 kilometers.

This country gives everything to a tourist that one can ever desire for. From the sea and the desert to the highest mountain peaks of the world and the valleys and rivers making their way through them, there is nothing that a nature lover should miss. Despite the recession that has hit all the world Pakistan might be the only country today that has a favorable market for real estate investment. Multinational companies continue to invest in Pakistan yet it is a fact the true potential of this market has not been utilized until now. With around 20 million population of this sixth largest country of the world, Pakistani market is so wide and diversified that it can produce wonders if is pierced through once. And if tourism flourishes and market opened for international investment, Pakistan can become tourists’ delight.