Sari Lake

Sari Lake, originally uploaded by !ShT!aQ aHmEd.

When you go to Paya Meadows, at the height of 10,000 feet, everything comes to your feet. Specially Sari which is around one thousand feet below where I am standing at the moment.. and clouds playing the game of ‘hide and seek’. This is not the only view you have around, the valley beneath you is around five thousand feet deep and the whole valley is surrounded by the spectacular mountain range of Kohistan with lush green all around and snow capped mountain tops.

The experience of the life time start when you receive the twists and turn of the weather at Paya.

Taken: 2 MP Samsung PnS. Evening walk around the edge of Paya, Shogran, Kaghan Valley, NWFP, Pakistan.

Rendezvous at Paye

Rendezvous at Paye, originally uploaded by !ShT!aQ aHmEd.

I remember the day I feel in love with this place. The day when there was nobody there but us, rain, mist, mountains, flowers, meadow, pine trees and so on. Paye is rather funny name, yet this place in a remote corner of Kaghan, six KM away from Shogran has superb views unrivalled by any other place.

It offers a carefree weekend adventure, away from the stressful day to day routine for us. The small hamlet offers an excursion that rids you of your taut nerves and a joy time day in and day out. Its charm stays embedded in my memory ever since the day I landed into this vibrant, enchanting hideout with fabulous treks and bountiful thrills of walk over the lush green meadow barefoot.

This view is what I never wanted to take my eyes off. This is a view of a person falling in love with nature.

Taken: 2 MP Samsung PnS, from the Camp in Paye, looking over the Kohistan Range in evening. Kaghan Valley, NWFP, Pakistan.

Fact: It is interesting that the names of Sari and Paya, the two summer grazing grounds that lie between Shogran and Makra, is called by Punjabi travelers are now called Siri-Paye — trotters and skulls, palate the Lahoris relish so much.

Story of Ghost Town

Story of Ghost Town, originally uploaded by !ShT!aQ aHmEd.

The year is 2006, The devastation of Earthquake 2005 has not yet done with this part of world. Landslides, heavy rains and road blocks are usual business. In all this we could not stay far from this wonderful place. We stayed a night at Beesian at the small room beside a Gas Station. No Jeep Driver is willing to take us to Paye Meadows, suddenly from nowhere one jeep arrived and he was ready, so were we.

Shogran was a ghost town, nobody around. Hotels are all cracked up and some ruined. The place which was once one of the most visited area of the valley has lost its charm. After viewing this we at last reached Paye and put our tent. Nobody visited area and there was no Jeep for the exit plan. We started a walk, and that walk ends up in Balakot. Around 35 KM in a day with the backpack… It was out of world experience, testing the limit of our body and soul… More to come from this out of world trip.

Taken: 2 MP Samsung PnS, Shogran, Year after Earthquake 2005, NWFP, Pakistan.

Kaghan Valley

Kaghan Valley, originally uploaded by !ShT!aQ aHmEd.

Kaghan: It’s one of the valleys that’s relatively easy to reach from Islamabad. Located in the Northern Pakistan, in Hazara Division, North West Frontier Province of Pakistan.

The mountain scenery, the dales, lakes, water-falls, streams and glaciers are the main reason to come here. The Valley extends for 155 km rising from an elevation of 2,134 meters to its highest point, the Babusar Pass, at 4,145 meters. Further north from Babusar Pass, a jeep track leads to Chilas, which is now on Karakoram Highway. Before Karakorum Highway was opened in 1978, the only road access to Gilgit was through Kaghan Valley.

Taken: A Cybershot Capture on a Hike to Makra Mountain, Paye Meadows, Kaghan Valley, NWFP, Pakistan.

Sunset at Banjosa Lake (HDR)

Sunset at Banjosa Lake (HDR), originally uploaded by !ShT!aQ aHmEd.

In the lower Himalayan range at the height of around 6,500 feet, there is a cavity which has been created artificially to create a wonderful lake called Banjosa Lake. Fed by the waters from the springs behind the lake, this lush green cavity is a wonderful place to sit, relax and meditate.

Personally the sunrise did not inspire me much, but the sunset is wonderful, which ends up with so clear sky with all those stars. A nice place to stay a night is PWD rest house at the bank of the lake. You can find a nice room at 700 Rs (9 $) and enjoy a day out in nature.

Taken: -2Ev, 0 Ev, +2Ev, Used Qtpfsgui (Linux) to merge three shots into HDR and then some photoshop stuff… Banjosa Lake, Rawalakot, Ponch District, Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Pakistan.

Hom Pass

Hom Pass, originally uploaded by !ShT!aQ aHmEd.

There are places in this world where human emotions turn toward a new dimensions. The experience of the lifetime comes when you are stuck into that grand place and have nowhere to go but up and your hands are on the ground to support your ascend up to the place you think would be a nice view point… Welcome to the story of us being lost in Hom pass.

Behind Baltit Fort there is a heavenly place which is isolated from outer world in so many ways… Many treks ends into the wall of ice or rock. The irrigation system of the Hunza valley is revealed to one’s eye when one visit this place. The feeling of being small and grandness of Karakorum come face to face… and The rivers of ice right in front of your eyes make you realize the power nature holds.

Weather change behind the Hom pass is noticeable. There is a huge difference in humidity and temperature in Karimabad and this wonderful place…. A journey you would never forget for sure…. is the journey around Hom Pass, Karimabad, Central Hunza, Northern Areas of Pakistan.

Karimabad Panorma

Karimabad Panorma, originally uploaded by !ShT!aQ aHmEd.

Karimabad is a peacefull town in Hunza Valley with a very nice setting in the middle of apple tree and apricot tree terraces. The view from Karimabad to the other side of the valley features snowy mountains around the mighty Rakaposhi peak. The whole of Hunza Valley is surounded by mountains, actually, many of them higher than 7000m.

Accomodation and food is as good and cheap as nowhere. You get a nice room with hot shower and view to the Rakaposhi for only 500 Rs (7 $) and if you take part in the very generous vegetarian all you can eat dinner that’s another 50 Rs (1 $) only. And what’s more, they have a ‘Cafe de Hunza’ in town, serving browny and real hot chocolate…

A View of Karimabad is limitless, the whole 360 degree view is what makes one wonder, where am I?

Taken: Panoramic stitch of two shots, from the ridge beside Baltit Fort. Karimabad, Central Hunza, Northern Areas of Pakistan.

Lost Horizon

Lost Horizon, originally uploaded by !ShT!aQ aHmEd.

Lost Horizon was the book that sparked western imagination, but the idea of a paradise hidden in the Himalaya originated centuries before James Hilton set his typewriter in motion, or any westerner went trekking to roof of the world.

Up in the Himalayas, on the northern frontiers of Pakistan you find one of the most intimidating high mountain peaks on earth. Its why the great explorer Macro Polo name this place The Roof of the World. And below these mighty peaks lies valleys untouched by modern civilization. This is a world where super natural forces and ancient mysteries control peoples daily life.

One valley in particular has captured the imagination of the world. A place so perfect, so harmonious that it brought health, long life and enlightenment to all how live there… To find it I must climb rugged mountain peaks, cross glaciers, and snow fields as I search for the truth behind Shangri-La. Unsure as to what I will find. Is this a place of enlightenment. Could it be a place which once entered, you never want to leave…

Taken: Rear View of Baltit Fort. A Trek toward Ultar and Water Channels high above Karimabad, Hunza Valley, Northern Areas, Pakistan.

Synchronistic Pattern (HDR)

Synchronistic Pattern (HDR), originally uploaded by !ShT!aQ aHmEd.

Through the years, we accumulate a series of experiences. Our tendency is to evaluate and simply reflect on what we have been through and what we have learned. This inward site into what we can no longer see with our eyes allows us to see through them through our soul.

The landscape of the soul creates a movement and a synchronistic pattern between our heart and our mind through the inner visions of our soul. When the heart and imagination join forces to look back or look forward, we are deepening our awareness of who we really are. This deepening of who we really are is our soul.

This is our journey in life. It is our journey home. It is the journey into the spacial quality of existence that brought us into this world. It is the journey of what is leading us through this life.

Story: -2 Ev, 0 Ev & +2 Ev, used Qtpfsgui (Linux) to merge them in HDR. Nilor Valley, on the way to Ban & Karoor, Islamabad, Pakistan.

Handicaps

Handicaps, originally uploaded by !ShT!aQ aHmEd.

Being involved in Polo Photography, I learned the term Handicaps. Each player is handicapped (on a 6 chukka basis) from minus 2 up to 10 goals (the best player). The aggregate handicap of the four players is the team handicap. In handicap tournaments the number of goals start is obtained by dividing the difference between the two teams handicaps by six and multiplying by the number of chukkas to be played; any fractions count as half a goal.

Complicated isn’t it…. So is the game…