Trip to Margallah Hills

(Disclaimer: This one, too, is one of my beautiful memories originally published on my previous blog. It was published on 16 March, 2017. Hope you guys like it. )

Last week my students and I planned to go on a hiking trip to the Margalla Hills. I was so very excited about it, probably even more so than my students. This might be because of the fact that they keep on going on such kinds of excursions from time to time, but for me it was going to be a whole new experience so I was completely thrilled by the thought of it. I spent the entire weekend planning for the trip; thinking about what I would wear on it, what we would do once we reach there etc. Unlike me, my students spent the last week ACTUALLY preparing for the trip i.e. arranging the food (which I will talk about presently).

We began our trip at 10 am when our little group left the university campus on foot. I enjoyed this journey very much as well because the moment we got out of the campus and made our way towards the hills, fresh air hit my face and I felt so energised and totally prepped for the journey ahead. This walk to the Margallas trail 5 was very nice and relaxed since the road we took had very little traffic on it. We reached the start of the trail and there they were: Margalla Hills with all their grandeur and glory looking down upon us. I gazed up at them and felt so small and insignificant in comparison. I wondered how anything could be so daunting and so beautiful all at the same time.

Before starting the hike, we discussed whether we should do barbecue at the beginning of the trail or if we should take all our food and stuff up at the mountains and then do it there after completing the hike. As we weren’t sure whether it is even allowed to cook stuff up in the mountains or not so we decided to do it where it would be completely safe. I am glad that we did not take all the stuff up there because then it would have been a very difficult hike with all the stuff on our backs. Moreover, one should be really careful about cooking anything in the woods as it can greatly damage the environment. We looked at the map of the hills and found out that there was a camping site right the foot of the trail and headed straight to it to do barbecue there. Upon reaching there we opened up all our food stuff and began to set up for the barbecue. Here by we, I mean my students because I just stood there watching the boys set up everything so expertly. Here I would like to mention my student Waleed who made the fire and prepared barbecue and everything with complete ease and expertise. I was completely impressed.

Now let’s talk about the barbecue itself because it was AMAZING. It was so well marinated and, when cooked, so tender and yummy. It was, without a doubt, definitely the best barbecue I have ever tasted in my life, so much so that I kept on eating it even after I was full. I not only enjoyed the food but also the process of making it. There was laughter and merriment all around. While we were still there, a team of students came there and started picking up any trash lying around on the site. It was heart-warming to see people doing such good work taking care of the environment, although there wasn’t much mess there to begin with. It was just an inspiring sight to see young people concerned and active about the cleanliness of the place and that too without hope for any kind of reward or recognition. I wish I had asked them their names so I could mention where they were from and give them credit here. Still, whoever they were, I would just like to say to them that they are doing an excellent job and to keep doing the good work they are doing.

Okay, back to the barbecue, so we ate to our fill and then some more. Then we took some pictures to preserve it all in memory although these kinds of experiences remain etched in memory regardless of taking pictures. It was 1 pm by the time we packed our things and cleaned the mess we had created during cooking and disposed off any extra wrappers etc.

After this, began our beautiful hiking journey. In the beginning, the hike was not very difficult but as we moved on, it started getting steeper and steeper. After hiking for about an hour or so, we reached a beautiful, little waterfall. We spent some time there to refresh ourselves, drink some water and also sprinkle some on our faces. It was such a cute little spot and the water so cool and clear. After resting there for a while, we again began to hike upwards. We decided to hike till 3 pm, regardless of where we reach by the time, and then come back.

While hiking up there, I felt so light and refreshed. It felt like all my worries were left behind in the city down below and here I was, free from all of them. I believe when you are so high up, all your problems seem so trivial in comparison to what you are surrounded by. We hiked till 3 pm and stayed at the spot we had reached for a bit. Here again we took some pictures. It felt so wonderful to be able to gaze down at the beautiful city of Islamabad. I could feel the hills beaming proudly at the serene little city nestled at their feet.

After resting there for a while, we finally decided to descend back. The journey back was also quite enjoyable as we were now much more relaxed because the journey downhill is always much easier than uphill. We were chattier as well this time and took loads of pictures. We again stopped at the waterfall because if you climb the stones beside the fall, you reach a nice, calm little spot. We climbed up there and took pictures there too. I wanted to stay up there and prolong the trip as much as I could. I wanted to soak up as much of the serenity and purity of the place as possible. Sadly, however, we had to leave the spot and continue coming back. We at last reached the bottom of the hills and decided to go to a dhabba to have some tea. The tea that we were served was exceptionally tasty. I’ve heard so many people rave about the taste of the chai served at such dhabbas but never before had a chance to try it. It was actually really nice. After this we finally wrapped up the trip, said goodbyes.

It was definitely the best trip I ever went on. The reasons for it being so are, first of all, the place visited and secondly, the company with which I went there. It was overall an entirely rejuvenating experience. I would definitely recommend those of you living in Islamabad to visit the place and enjoy everything it has to offer. Here I am inserting some of the pictures taken on the trip by me and students.