I Have Walked the Pipeline Track!

8/9/2019 I Have Walked the Pipeline Track!

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I have walked the pipelinetrack

(Shaikh Muhammad Ali)

(The details of the track built in 1930 by the British)

"For my part, I travel not to goanywhere, but to go. I travel fortravel's sake. The great affair is tomove." -- Robert Louis Stevenson

I have walked the pipeline track Page 1


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Overview:

Two senior colleagues who are avid travelers of the mountains one Dr. SyedMahmood Raza (My Ex-Boss) and Mr. Wasim Hashmi Syed (A colleague at HEC)have been telling me about the pipeline walk at Khanaspur, Ayubia for a long timenow and somehow I had missed doing it twice in my two earlier visits to Khanaspur,

Ayubia with regrets.

(A beautiful view from the famous Pipeline Track)

But come this 1st May 2010, I convinced Wasim Hashmi to take our families along toour official retreat at Khanaspur which is about a three kilometer drive from thebeautifully serene hills of Ayubia for a two night stay.

(Wasim & my children playing monopoly in the guest house)

The starting point of the Pipeline track is about half a kilometer from our guesthouse and both our families which almost have the same combination of 5 withthree children each started off for the famous walk after a sumptuous breakfast of



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Anday Parathay (Eggs and locally baked bread) around 9 a.m. from the guesthouse.

(Mamma & Ayesha gearing up for the walk)

In the words of Faiza Zaeem (a local travel buff), the air is clean and completelypollution free, the atmosphere is refreshing, and the surroundings boast all shadesof green. Welcome to the Donga Gali Ayubia walking track. Constructed in 1930,the track is a must see for everyone who visits the Galiyat. The 4 kilometer windingtrack saves you from a 14 kilometer car ride.1

(Our families minus me who is of course taking the picture)

The first time I went to Ayubia was in 1978 along with my parents when I was about14 years of age but I am sure we did not hear anything about this pipeline track northe Khanaspur retreat for that matter. The only thing that attracted us as childrenwas the one and only chairlift there which was too exciting for children our ages atthat moment in time. Simple, pure entertainment!

1 Neglect ruining Ayubias beauty by Faiza Zaeem, DAWN, Sunday 26th July, 2009.



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(The famous church of Ayubia built by the British in 1932)

Although usually children do not enjoy such walks in these modern times wherenotebooks, computers, iphones, and Xboxes have blatantly infiltrated our lives but

from early ages Wasim and myself have trained our children to go climb mountains,enjoy water games, visit villages and appreciate the natural beauty created by Godalmighty and thus they all crave for such escapades on long weekends.

(Two old men: Wasim & I getting ready for the overkill)

A little introduction:

Ayubia National Park is located in NWFP, Pakistan. It is a small natural park locatedat 26 km from the Murreehill station established in 1984. It has been developed asa resort complex from a combination of four mini resorts ofKhaira Gali, ChanglaGali, Khanspur and Ghora Dhaka in Galiyat. Ayubia was named after President AyubKhan.2

2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayubia_National_Park

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murreehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill_stationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khaira_Galihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changla_Galihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changla_Galihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khanspurhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghora_Dhakahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galyathttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayub_Khanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayub_Khanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill_stationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khaira_Galihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changla_Galihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changla_Galihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khanspurhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghora_Dhakahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galyathttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayub_Khanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayub_Khanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murree


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(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Aubia_galleryfull.jpeg )

History:

Ayubia National Park was established in 1958 in an east corner ofNorth-WestFrontier Province, a province ofPakistan. Since then it has been managed by theNWFP Wildlife Department. The purpose of establishing it was to conserve thetemperate forests. Originally, the park stood at an area of 857 acres, but in 1998 itwas expanded to cover an area of 1,685 acres.3

The total population of Ayubia and surrounding villages as per a 1996 census is18,097 living in 2,311 households. It was established by Mr. Ayub Khan late

President of Pakistan in 1958.4

I am sure the population must have trebled in these14 years. Laughter!

The Climate:

The climate of the park is cold in the summers, but harsh in the winters. While itremains only placidly hot in May and June, the cold sets in when the monsoonscome to lash in late July and early August. In the winters, cold increases in severitygradually until the West Winds bring rains, which eventually turn into snow. Thepark remains snow-capped through the later part of winters.5

3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayubia_National_Park4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayubia_National_Park5 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayubia_National_Park

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Aubia_galleryfull.jpeghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North-West_Frontier_Provincehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North-West_Frontier_Provincehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=NWFP_Wildlife_Department&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Temperate_forests&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Windshttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Aubia_galleryfull.jpeghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North-West_Frontier_Provincehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North-West_Frontier_Provincehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=NWFP_Wildlife_Department&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Temperate_forests&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Winds


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(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ayubia_clouds.jpg)

Back to the main story:

The total walk was about 4 kilometers and starts close to Khanaspur and culminatesat Doonga Gali and forms three Alphabet Bay in URDU language. Ayesha beingsmall; we decided not to complete the entire thingy and reached till the 2 nd Baythus traversing a distance of some 2.5 kilometers one way.

(Taking a break at one of the good spots)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ayubia_clouds.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ayubia_clouds.jpg


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(The photogenic Hashmi Couple)

(The young @ heart Shaikh Couple)

Since we thought that there would be kiosks during the way thus did not bringsandwiches or chips etc. for the journey (which we normally do) but incidentally thetourist season had not arrived yet thus all the khokas (read shops) were closed andwe could not enjoy tea, chips or cookies during the walk. What a drag!



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(Another good view with the Muree hills in the backdrop)

(Good old days are back again)

(Why should I be left behind?)We finally called it a day and decided to return. Since we walked all along, it took usforever to come back. Old age is getting on to us now and each step took hours to



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tread and we finally reached the guest house tired but with a journey well worth theeffort.

(A nice pose under a fallen tree)

(Returning from the gates of heaven)

(On the way back, we stop at a Handicraft store on Muree Road)



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(And Mamma does a little shopping)

Shaikh Muhammed Ali

The Wandering DervishE-mail: [email protected]

Cell: +00-92-321-5072996

Sunday, 20th June 2010, 09:41 a.m.

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]

I Have Walked the Pipeline Track!

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