Eden in the Salt Range

The lake was still about a kilometre away but the fields around us were submerged with overflowing water from it. Some crops were still visible in the higher fields and there were plenty of reeds. The road went along the hillside and the entire landscape was verdant with trees, bushes, wild flowers, washed by a slow drizzle and a cool breeze. The air was alive with birds singing their hearts out. They were obviously delighted by the rain and the fresh wind. The fields had plenty of ripening grains, and the earth was full of worms and insects to feed on! To top it all off, somehow the birds have discovered that Khabeki is a bird sanctuary; so no marauding humans will come with their guns to mow them down. They are still wary and do not come too close to humans but they are quite content to be admired from a distance. There were hundreds of murghabis, mallards, teals, storks, some kingfishers and what looked like flamencos. The trees around us were full of our regular Punjabi birds chirping their hearts out. No rude traffic noise disturbed the peace and we stood in the drizzle mesmerised by the spectacle. It was a scene of absolute tranquility!

Khabeki is a shallow water lake half way between Kallar Kahar and Sakesar at the western end of the Salt Range. It is located at an hour-and-a-half’s drive from Kallar Kahar. The lake is fed by subterranean springs and has clear water, but is shallow. As yet there is no habitation close by to pollute the water as in Kallar Kahar - so the birds love it. It is about 3 kilometres long, a kilometre wide and is surrounded by low hills. On that day, wild clouds billowed in the sky and lent a dramatic effect to the whole scene. Another wagon was parked by the lake shore but there was no one else nearby. Some students had come from Attock for sightseeing in the Salt Range. The Government of Punjab has done a marvelous job of resurfacing and marking the roads. So Khabeki itself was well marked out.

The problem with trips to the Salt Range is the absence of tourist accommodation

Before the village - by the lake - the main road to Sakesar turns off, away from the lake. The old road goes down to the water’s edge. It is partly submerged and makes for a lovely walk. There was a rest house by the side of the lake but that has become uninhabitable due to disuse. We were told that a team of engineers came and camped in the rest house premises for three months and have mapped the area. There may be plans for development.

There were four of us who had decided to go on this trip: my old trekking buddy Jojo, Pir Sahib and Alim Khan, my neighbor in Doonga Gali. We walked about photographing and admiring the scene and at noon went into the Khabeki village looking for a tandoor. There wasn’t any tandoor but a vendor was frying aloo samosas by the bus stop. As there were no buses we got our samosas freshly fried for five rupees each. We washed it down with soft drinks and ended the meal with hot fresh jalebis. We then took the road to Kunhatti gardens about sixteen kilometers away. The road climbed up a few hundred feet on the nearby hill and then went gently down a plateau towards a valley in the distance.

I got off the car and decided to walk for a while to get a feel for the place. The road was again well-surfaced and well-marked. One sign pointed to a dirt track leading to “ancient remains of Muslim fort and settlement”. I explored the track till I met an old man. He told me that there was no “qilla willa” (fort) - just some broken-down old houses of which a few bricks remained. I asked him about the early Muslim remains. He was quite puzzled. He said there were indeed some remains from the old times, but he wasn’t quite sure if they were Muslim or not! He advised me not to waste my breath. So I went back to the paved road to Kanhati. There was no traffic, no people, no habitation and no fields or farms. Just open bush country, with kikar trees and huge bushes blooming in the spring and the magnificence of the rolling hills stretching out to the horizon.

Kanhati is a garden made in the 1930’s by the British colonialists to develop good citrus varieties for the Punjab. It has many orange and grapefruit trees. The orange variety that they developed or adapted is largely the Valencia, which ripens in late April. It appears that not much effort has been put into it after Partition in 1947. Maybe the current government will turn towards such developments after the Orange Train Line is completed in Lahore!

The garden is well laid out and a stream runs through it. There are plenty of goldfish in the stream and the water is slightly warm and smells of sulphur. On a previous trip we had followed it to its source about 5 kilometres away. We had to go through a small forest of cotton wool (sumbul) trees. They were in full bloom and the ground was a magnificent red carpet. The parrots created a deafening cacophony.

At the rear of the garden there was a charming old rest house designed for a short stay - with two bedrooms, a verandah and a large courtyard full of old trees. The rest house is being remade - quite tastefully but with one bedroom only. A campsite has been marked out with a canteen next to it. This is being done by the Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab (TDCP) and it seemed quite attractive. There is no other place to stay there.

The problem with trips to the Salt Range is the absence of tourist accommodation. There are rest houses in Chakwal, Kallar Kahar and Sakesar. A number of hotels have come up in Kallar Kahar. We spent the night at the Imperial, located at the exit from the motorway. It is “imperial” enough to look at - a three story building, but amazingly all the rooms overlook the motorway and not at the lake! So I spent a restless night counting the heavy trucks moving along the motorway. I assure you that even I lost count after 2 am. I can confirm with authority that truck traffic is heaviest between two and six in the morning!

A new road has been built along the southwestern shore of the lake and there are a number of hotels on it. There is the excellent but expensive Executive Inn with a pleasant lawn and restaurant. There is the Kooper Inn further up and the old crumbling TDCP establishment. Most of these hotels get booked out over the weekends, especially in better weather. So it is best to make arrangements before the trip. Were it not for these logistical difficulties, the Salt Range is indeed worth exploring.