Winter wonderland
\n MALAM JABBA
\nKnown as Switzerland of Pakistan, Swat has started attracting an influx of tourists and adventure sports enthusiasts alongwith families to enjoy the first snowfall of the winter season.
\nIn the wake of Met Office\u2019s report of rains and snowfalls over the hills in upper parts of Khyber Pakthunkhwa including Swat, Dir, Chitral, Abbottabad and Mansehra on Monday, the snowfall lovers from across the country especially Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa thronged to Kalam, Bahrain and Malam Jabba.
\nThe tourists have enjoyed light snowfall at upper Kalam and Malam Jabba amid great fun and laughter.
\nBesides Kalam and Malam Jabba, the snowy mountains peaks of Gabin Jabba, Miandam, Matiltan, Kalam, Utror, Gabral, Matiltan, Mahodand, Loye Sar resorts drew influx of snowfall lovers along with families and children.
\n\u201cI love snowfall. I came from Peshawar to my favorite tourists\u2019 destination Swat for snowfall following MET\u2019s office forecast besides enjoying its brown trout fish at reasonable rate,\u201d said Fayaz Khan, a retired school teacher while taking to APP.
\nAdvising tourists to bring warm clothes, he said the the cold breeze has increased chill in Upper Swat forcing tourists to wear additional cloths and wollen sweaters.
\nTourists from Peshawar, Nowshera, Mardan, Charsadda, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Islamabad were seen in large numbers at Kalam, Malam Jabba and Bahrian on Sunday to get pleasures from snowfall, trout fish and river rafting on the weekend.
\nKnown for a combination of its seven distinctive features including snowfall that was hard to find together in any tourist destination of Pakistan, Swat is also a home to primitive Gandhara civilization and ice skiing at Malam Jabba.
\nBesides river rafting, adventure sports, snow-clad mountain peaks and trout-fish, he said Swat motorway has made it an ideal destination for winter tourism and sports in Pakistan.
\n\u2018I have visited many countries but could not find such a distinctive features togather found in Swat\u2019 said Manzoorul Haq, former Ambassador while taking to APP.
\nHe said the 150-kilometers long freshwater of the river Swat originating from different glaciers and lakes including Mahodand and Gabral mountains offers unique opportunities for adventure sports enthusiasts to explore in a single day trip along with loved ones.
\nFazagut, Fatehpur, Barikot, and Chakdara were most suitable for water rafting in river Swat and if developed on modern lines could attract a large number of tourists during winter.
\nAmbassador Manzoor said River Swat was ideal for \u2018fish jumping and disappearing water sports\u2019 and introduction of such sports would help bolster the rural economy, promote tourism and transport industries in KP.
\nBestowed with more than 50 high-altitude small and big lakes, Swat\u2019s Mahodand lake is an exceptional source of attraction for tourists enjoying its blue- waters and boats riding amid cold breezes and snowfalls.
\nNasir Khan, a property dealer of Wapda Town, told APP that he came from Nowshera to enjoy snowfall in Kalam, trout fish of River Swat and Mahudhand lake.
\nHe said Mahudand and Gabrial lakes carried unique charm and clean air besides nearby birds chanting valleys take tourists into a lap of serenity.
\n\u201cI have ordered 2 KG trout fish to enjoy with my family members,\u201d he said, adding green trout of Swat attract foodies at Kalam, Madain and other areas of the district.
\nBesides its famous Deodar trees and precious wildlife, he said the Swat\u2019s snow-clad tall mountain ranges of Falakser, Mankial and Elum peaks offer great challenges to mountaineers and trekkers to explore especially during winter.
\nLikewise, its extensive plains and orchards that bear fruits and vegetables carried a unique comparative advantage than other tourists destination of the country.
\nAttracting Buddhists, monks and archaeologists from across the world throughout the year, he said the Swat\u2019s archaeological treasures and ancient artifacts housed at Saidu Sharif Museum become a distinctive feature taking tourists to the glorious history of Swat.
\nArchealogsts and tourists visited different Buddhist sites of Swat including Saidu Sharif Museum and Stupa besides Buthkara Buddhist monastery which impressed them a lot.
\nAmbassador Manzoor said Swat was very important in terms of Buddhist history in Pakistan and must be visited by followers of Bhuddism from all around the world.
\n\u201cAnother striking feature of Swat is skiing sports being played at Malam Jabba every year during winter and such sport was hardly placed in any part of the country.\u201d
\nKP tourism department officials told APP that a mega project was prepared for organizing different winter sports and tourism events in various districts including Swat.
\nKalam\u2019s winter gala and tour-de-cycle race would be organized in Swat while first-ever sports rafting at River Swat to be held besides paragliding event.
\nTo reduce tourists\u2019 load at Kalam, Malam Jabba and Bahrian, new tourists spots would be developed at Sola Tanar, Puchar and Jargo valleys while walking tracks to promote ecotourism in Swat.
\nTo maintain natural beauty and avoid pollution at tourist spots in Swat, he said camping pods would be established at new tourists\u2019 destinations besides Kalash culture events in Chitral. To link new tourist destination with Swat Motorway, he said that huge amount were being spent on development and construction of new roads.
\nWork on the world bank\u2019s assisted KP Integrated Tourism Project was underway in the province to promote tourism, he added.
\nThe construction of 15 jeepable tracks was also proposed in Malakand and Hazara divisions while six tourist facilitation centers established and work on seven others started.
\nThe ground breaking of 23 km long Mankyal-Bada Sarai Road has been performed for rehabilitation.
\nThe project also includes the construction of four bridges and two rest areas. He said that an Integrated Tourism Zone at Mankyal Swat would be established where modern facilities would be provided to tourists under the KITE project.
\nHe said a mega project for feasibility studies for identification of new tourist spots was planned. To promote ecotourism in southern districts of KP.
\nA road to Sheikh Badin tourist resort located at the confluence of DI Khan and Lakki Marwat districts would be constructed while a tourist wing for merged areas was established to monitor and oversee tourism-related activities there.
\nTourism police was made operational at Malakand and Hazara divisions to facilitate tourists. He said Tourism police were deployed on key places of Swat to facilitate tourists and snowfall lovers during winter season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Winter wonderland MALAM JABBA Known as Switzerland of Pakistan, Swat has started attracting an influx of tourists and adventure sports enthusiasts alongwith families to enjoy the first snowfall of the winter season. In the wake of Met Office\u2019s report of rains and snowfalls over the hills in upper parts of Khyber Pakthunkhwa including Swat, Dir, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-442932","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n