Road Trip to Paradise

Last year we three friends took rememberable  winter road trip to Murree , Ayubia and other areas. We started our journey from our hometown Bahawalnagar and went to Lahore. We had some plans for Lahore so we stayed in Lahore for almost 3 days. 

We met our friends and had a great time. Believe me we did some crazy stuff there. And I played bowling for first time there :)

As it was a winter road trip and we were going to hilly areas we did a lot of shopping from there.
After having a great time in Lahore we headed towards Islamabad the capital of Pakistan. We didn't stay long in Islamabad and continued our journey.
After a long and difficult night drive at last we were in the Murree our first proper destination.
Murree is also called Queen of the Hills for its scenic beauty and captivate greenery.
It was covered in snow. That year it was a record breaking snowfall. We reached the famous mall road of Murree and rented a hotel room for Rs.2000 per night. The hotel was good and it was a fair deal. It was a beautiful room having separate balcony.

View from our Hotel room

Amazing we were not tired and we went out for breakfast. After breakfast we decided to take some rest and refresh ourselves. That night we went out to check out mall road. It was snowing and mall road was full with college boys and girls. Mall road is a famous small stretch of road having a number of shops and restaurants. We played some snooker there which was a great fun because in Murree there are no snooker clubs. Snooker tables are placed in small shops or in open. After that we headed towards my friend's favorite Blue Smoke Cafe ;)

We had a good dinner at Red Onion restaurant. They have a beautiful restaurant.

We had a lot of fun that night.

The next morning

Next day we didnt have breakfast and headed towards Patriata also known as New Murree. 

On our way to Patriata

After arriving at Patriata we had a delicious breakfast. Patriata, which is a silent place at the highest place at the highest point of Murree Hills which is considered as the highest point of Punjab as well. Patriata has a magnificent landscape, high forested ridges and deep intersecting valleyswith terraced slopes offer breath taking views of this naturally beautiful area. Patriata has become highly famous over recent years. There is a chairlift and cable car system, which takes visitors up to Patriata Ridge in two stages from Gulehra Gali. The first stage is by chair lift up to Patriata Bazar. 

Patriata Chair lift

From here visitors transfer to cable car gondolas for the ride up to Patriata Ride. 

A view from cabin lift

At Patriata there is a type of village where you can do shopping and eat.

It is a good place.

One quick tip when any person come to you and offer his services DON'T TAKE THEM. They will charge a lot. We have experience :p

People take some money and let you take your pictures with their made ice structures.

I paid 10 rupees for this pic :p

Also take a ride of horse in Patriata it is a great fun :)

After visiting Patriata we headed back to our hotel. We were tired so we took some rest and at night we went out on mall road. That night the temperature was -5 degree centigrade and I drank Slush :p

Luckily I didn't catch fever.

That night I took a lot of pictures of Mall road and some amazing scenes.

Next day we headed towards Ayubia on Highway to Hell. Yeah you read it correct. Its called highway to hell because if u do any mistake on this road you are going to hell believe me :p

View of Highway to Hell

On our way we saw Bandar point(monkey point). It was really a monkey point :p

so many wild monkeys :p

They take food from your hands.

Ayubia national park is one of the biggest national parks of Pakistan. I was told by our guide that it is a home of many animals specially birds. A lot of birds can be seen as this park is on the migratory path of many species. A lot of leopards and black bears live in these jungles.

Ayubia is a beautiful place. Its chair lift helps you see the forest. There are a lot of hotels and restaurants around it. 

At Ayubia you can take pictures with falcons for just 20 rupees. you must try it :)

It was my first time walking on snow so local people told me to wear extra pair of socks on the shoes. First I thought it was a mad idea but after spending some time on ice I realized it was a great idea.

After Ayubia we headed towards Dunga Gali. From Dunga Gali you can hike 4 km on the Dunga Gali Pipe Line Track and see animals , trees and rare species in beautiful forest. The hike takes round about 45-60 minutes and it ends in Ayubia. 

Pipe Line Track was covered with snow

The best time to visit this place is in summer but as we went there in winter and it was snowed so we couldn't travel through Pipe Line Track. But we tried to go there and then our guide told us that leopards also eat people one of our friend got afraid and decided not to go there. So we decided not to go :D

In Dunga Gali there is a museum it is worth seeing.

In Dunga Gali we made a little snow man. It was my first time making snow man. It was a great experience.

Next day we had a small trip of Nathia Gali and after that We returned to Murree.

After spending some days we went back to Lahore to have some more fun :p

i hope you had a good time reading this article :)