Margalla Hills National Park

Margalla Hills National Park (1980), The Forested Foothills Of The Himalaya On Islamabad'S Northern Edge · Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Territory

The Margalla Hills are the first ridges of the Himalayan foothills, rising straight up from the northern edge of Islamabad, and almost all of them are a national park. Few capital cities have anything like it: a forest with monkeys, barking deer and birds of prey, and occasionally leopards seen on camera traps, starting at the end of residential streets. The park is crossed by numbered hiking trails, and Trail 3, a steep climb from sector F-6 to a viewpoint over the whole city, is Islamabad's favourite morning workout. Trail 5 is gentler, and the road up to Daman-e-Koh and Pir Sohawa gives views over the Faisal Mosque and the city grid without walking. At the foot of the hills is Saidpur, an old village turned heritage food street. The park has fought constant pressure from development, quarrying and restaurants, some of which the courts have ordered out. It is a Tier 2 place because visitors to the capital from every province walk here, and because a national park on a capital's doorstep is rare.

Margalla Hills, northern edge of Islamabad; trailheads in sectors E-7, F-6 and F-5, Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan

The trails are open from early morning to evening; hiking after dark is discouraged and some trails close at dusk. Entry to the trails is free. Daman-e-Koh and Pir Sohawa are reached by road. Fires are forbidden and the park is closed or restricted during high fire risk in summer.

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