Lake Saiful Muluk and Naran

Alpine Lake In Saiful Muluk National Park Above Naran, In The Kaghan Valley; The Lake Of The Saiful Muluk Legend · Naran, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Lake Saiful Muluk is a glacial lake at about 3,200 metres above Naran in the Kaghan Valley, with Malika Parbat, the Queen of the Mountains, rising white behind it. It is probably the most famous lake in Pakistan: it is the setting of the Sufi poem Saiful Muluk, in which a prince falls in love with a fairy princess, and local legend says fairies still come down to the water on moonlit nights. Every summer Pakistani families pour up the Kaghan Valley from across the country, making Naran, a village of hotels on the Kunhar River, one of the busiest mountain resorts in South Asia. From Naran jeeps climb to the lake in under an hour or visitors walk up in a few hours. The valley road continues past Lake Lulusar to the Babusar Pass and on to the Karakoram Highway, one of the classic summer drives in the country. Honesty is needed: in July and August Naran is crowded, noisy and overbuilt, and the lakeshore gets jeeps, horses and litter. Go early in the morning, or at the edges of the season, and the lake is as magical as the poem.

Naran, Kaghan Valley, Mansehra District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Naran, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Seasonal. The Kaghan Valley road above Balakot is open to Naran roughly May to October, and the road to the lake usually opens once the snow clears in June; Babusar Pass opens in early summer and closes with the first heavy snow. Jeeps to the lake run from Naran at fixed union fares. National park and local fees may be collected. Naran is a long day's drive from Islamabad, faster since the Hazara Motorway.

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