Insider Edge: Insider Escapes
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In Town & At a Loose End for 24h?
Try a long walk up on Trail 3 in the Margalla Hills (starting point at the beginning of Margalla Rd near the extension of Constitution Avenue – just look for all the parked cars), or go up Trail 4 (further down the Margalla Rd after the Cricket Club) and then take in a meal at the outdoor barbeque restaurants in Pir Sohawa or Daman e Koh.
Or have a round or so of golf in the Islamabad Club, if you are still feeling energetic.
For the horse riders among you, the informal “wild east” experience of a hack out in the countryside from Zubair Idrees’s Golconda Ranch (off Kuri Road opposite the turning to Chak Shehzad) will definitely appeal. Email or call him on .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) tel 0300 850 0077.
Or quite simply, stick close to base and book a day of treatments in Nirvana Spa.
What to do with 2 days to spare in Islamabad
In summer, rent a car and drive up to Nathiagali in the Murree Hills. Be warned – even in high summer it can be cold and rainy, so bring woollies. Stay in the Relics of the Raj guesthouses, with pine trees, rustling winds, fabulous views, but pretty dire food. Check out the well-equipped, exclusive accommodation offered by Mrs. Ursula Ansari, at Naseeta Cottage, near the Pines Hotel. Though she is usually booked up a full year ahead, there are often a couple of days vacancies between longstay guests when her facilities are available. Tel 0992355 278.
Pack your own supplies (of all varieties including the hard stuff), or stop off at the PC (Pearl Continental Hotel) in Bhurban for a bite, if you can face negotiating the screaming hordes of undisciplined children on high season summer breaks running amok through restaurants and corridors, accompanied by their over-indulgent parents.
Fly to Lahore to see Kim’s city and eat in its myriad restaurants – this is Food City! Try Cuckoos in the Old City at night (lunchtime is deserted); Cosa Nostra in Gulberg for fantastic Italian food and good, live music featuring young, upcoming artists on weekends, which are both ChI favourites. The Thai in the PC (as the Pearl Continental Hotel is known), or the Chinese in the Avari are very acceptable indeed too. And there is the Tiramisu Lahore outlet so you are spoiled for choice. Other possibilities are pretty extensive, especially if you want to dabble in authentic Lahori speciality streetside cafés.
Worth a look are also the Polo Lounge, the Japanese at the Avari, Dum Pukht at the PC (best decent desi food establishment), Aylanto, Café Zouk, Lemongrass (Thai), and The Village, Dhaba, Mirchi and Chatkhara (good casual local menus, all on MM Alam Rd), food streets (Gowalmandi, Anarkali, and now next to the Badshahi Mosque), where there are endless possibilities in the Old City (accessible only through reliable native guides – of the human variety)…
Or, if the Frontier takes your fancy (it usually does) - the Khyber Steam Safari http://www.cybercity-online.net/Pakistan/html/steam_safari.html rail tours are functioning (they are dependant on the organisers getting a full complement of tourists – not always a given and not reliable even when “confirmed” – but well worth a try if it works out), take in the majestic Khyber Pass, and an overnight night stop in Peshawar. (Make sure you visit the exquisite Mohabbat Khan Mosque - not at prayer time - built in this is Food City! Try Cuckoos in the Old City at night (lunchtime is deserted); Cosa Nostra in Gulberg for fantastic Italian food and good, live music featuring young, upcoming artists on weekends, which are both ChI favourites. The Thai in the PC (as the Pearl Continental Hotel is known), or the Chinese in the Avari are very acceptable indeed too. And there is the Tiramisu Lahore outlet so you are spoiled for choice. Other possibilities are pretty extensive, especially if you want to dabble in authentic Lahori speciality streetside cafés.
Of course true Insiders will “know someone who knows someone” and armed (sorry) with copies of passports etc, someone will wangle the necessary road permit and armed guard, for a private visit. In that case, get the “someone” to arrange tea on the lawn of the Khyber Rifles Mess, and take in the amazing photo gallery of the great and the not-so-good of the international political scene that grace one of the rooms of the Mess. Not to mention the displays of prancing horses and local musicians, if you are a (fairly) seriously VIP. (Good ladies loo there, too). And peacocks.
What to do with a week or more in Islamabad?
Get out of town. (Remember the Hollow-Eyed Virgin thing?)
Try and reach to the beautiful valley of Chitral, in the Northern Areas. (All flight departures subject to weather, and it’s a 14h road drive from Peshawar (which in turn is two and a half hours drive down the motorway – mostly – from Islamabad). But its worth it. Stay in the superbly-renovated Hindu Kush Heights, owned by the son of the former ruler (Mehtar) of the area, whose beautiful wife personally supervises daily menus, from wherever she is in the country, or out of it. (Truly).
Hindukush Heights Hotel
Beautifully-located between the Chitral River and the mountainside, with panoramic views, and a great lawn for sitting out on. In early July, take in the Shandoor Pass polo festival – an absolute must-see. ChI is personally allergic to “ethnic” tourism, but many people also go to visit the Kailash Valley, where the indigenous population (increasingly pressured and exploited) are said to be descendants of Alexander the Great’s armies.
(Though surprisingly, it could well be the other way around! One of the outcomes of the Human Genome project is a mapping of prehistoric migratory pathways, which indicate that the genetic subgroups or haplogroups now inhabiting most of Continental Europe and the UK can readily be traced back to the Chitral region some 60,000 years ago!)
Let it not be said that ChI is all fluff and no content…..so….
for a fascinating, interactive discussion and tracking of various genetic markers, see https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/atlas.html.
If planes permit (all flight departures to this area are subject to weather) and its not mid-winter (snowbound) head out to the amazingly beautiful boutique hotel in Shigar Fort, in Skardu, open after its 6-year restoration by the Aga Khan Cultural Services, and stay in one of its 13 guest rooms located in the old palace. Shigar Skardu 05831-66107 http://www.travel-culture.com/pakistan/ht/shigar_fort_residence.shtml
Or, from June to October, visit the Deosai Plains (a fourwheel drive vehicle is essential) and see one of the last habitats of the elusive brown bears. The Deosai Plains (Deosai means Land of Giants) lie between the Indus River and the southern extension of the Himalayan Range,whose most famous peak is Nanga Parbat (8125 m). At an average height of 3800 m., the soft flower-filled meadows are surrounded by snow-capped peaks and abundant fresh water lakes which make this seldom-disturbed area a heaven for wildlife, including brown bear and markhor (deer). Tours can be arranged by Walji’s. www.waljis.com
The ChInsider is definitely not a guide book, but we could not resist sharing the following eco-nuggets with you….after that, you’re on your own with your Lonely Planet or whatever grabs you!
Nanga Parbat is probably the second most famous peak in the Himalayas. Another interesting fact, courtesy of Nat Geo, is that it is probably the youngest of the major mountains, and humans may actually predate it on the planet (which would also make it the fastest rising peak)! Plus, as a massif rather than a triangular sawtooth, it is reckoned to be the largest single rock in the world. (Gives new meaning to the term “between a rock and a hard place”.)