Pakistan is abundant in natural beauty. Mother Nature has been very kind to Pakistan when it comes to scenic beauty of Pakistan. Soon Valley is one of those blessed places which is known for its scenic beauty. Recently, I and my family planned to have a one-day trip of this valley which is mostly called Soon Sakesar. It is a part of Salt Range located in the north-west of Khushab. The area of Soon Valley is 300-square-mile. It is almost 56 km long and 14 km wide. The valley consists of lush green and fertile fields, amazing landscapes, high mountains, natural springs, dense forests and beautiful lakes and waterfalls. The mountains of this valley receives snow fall in winters. There are many references in literature about this valley. Bano Qudsia mentioned this valley in her famous novel Raja Gidh. Late literary giant Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi also belonged to this valley.

Pakistan is blessed with sights that are beautiful beyond words. Mother Nature has been very kind to Pakistan when it comes to natural beauty. Of course there are many incredible man-made structures built throughout the course of history but here we are just taking a look at the natural wonders of Pakistan.

One fine morning of July we all set up from Lahore to discover the beauty of this valley. As we moved out of motorway from Kalar Kohar and drove towards Padhrar and Pail, villages which are the eastern most villages of Soon Sakeasar, the scenic beauty of this valley started to mesmerise. The road leading towards valley is smooth and newly built which swirls in dense forest and high mountains. The area is scarcely populated and many a times it fells as if you have lost somewhere in mountains and forest but the clear road and scenic beauty do not let you to think anything wrong. The high cliffs with beautiful trees seem talking to everyone. Before going there we knew about its famous lakes but when we reached there locals told us about its beautiful Kanhatti Garden. So we decided to visit it first.

Kanhatti Garden is tucked on the side of Khabbeki village. There is almost 10 kilometres distance from the village. The road leading to this garden is another marvellous journey full of adventure and beautiful scenes. The location of this garden is amidst high mountains. First one has to drive up the high mountains and then drives down the mountains to reach the garden. The road is also good track for hiking lovers. It is surrounded with cliffs and bushes full of scenic beauty.

The garden covers 70 acres of land and has almost thirty different fruits in it including peach, mangoes, cherry, grapes, strawberry, raspberry, black berry, pomegranate etc. there are thirty six kinds of birds and many animals in this garden. There is a proper camp site for picnic lovers and tourist. The garden watered by a natural spring coming from high mountains.

There is a hill near the picnic point and if you go on its top then you can have a bird eye view of the whole garden surrounded by high mountains. After relishing fresh fruits and becoming fresh with the cold water of the spring we moved back to Khabbeki village where the Khabbeki Lake is situated. It is a salt water lake formed due to the absence of drainage in the Salt Range. It is one kilometre wide and two kilometres long. The lake is surrounded with lush green grass and on its two sides are the high mountains. Children belong to the village play at its brink. There is no boating facility in this lake but a rest house is built beside the lake. The area is abounding in scenic beauty. After spending sufficient time here we moved towards Ucchali Lake which is almost 20 kilometres away from this lake.

Sakesar is the highest peak of Salt Range and Ucchali Lake is located at the base of Sakesar Airbase. It took almost 1 hour to reach there. This lake is 45 feet deep and bigger in size than Khabbeki Lake. A village situated on its one side is an addition to its scenic beauty. There is hustle and bustle of life in the village. The first sight of this lake which made us like ‘wow’ was the road going into this lake. Driving on this very thin road seems as if you are sitting in a boat instead of a car and it is moving on without making waves in water. Locals tell that long ago the area of the lake was small when this road was built; but in the last few years the size of this lake has increased. They believe that in some years to come the reaming tract of road will also come under water. Tourists coming to lake bring their meals with them to have a picnic at the end point of this road.

There is also motor boat in this lake which takes the tourist on trip against nominal charges. The lake is lifeless because of its brackish water. However, locals tell that its water is cure for gout and skin diseases and people form far off regions comes to take its water as panacea of these diseases. Another thing which locals believe is that there is volcano beneath the lake due to which its water colour often changes.

We could not visit the third famous lake – Jhallar Lake – because of shortage of time. All these lakes are believed to be 400 years old or more and are fed by spring and seepage. Thousands of migratory birds also come to these lakes each year.

We started our journey back to Lahore as the darkness was taking this valley into its lap. We took a different road on return which was coming straight to Kalar Kohar from Khabbeki village. High mountains in prevailing darkness were presenting views which could hardly be described in words. It was like giants wooing us to stay here with them.

Passing the whole day in the company of nature was really superb. The valley was very peaceful where there were no traffic hazards, free of pollution and noise that we face everyday in our big cities. It has many small villages and people are simple who seem less bothered with the present technological era. They are cooperative to the tourist. The weather was not as cold as the valleys up in the north but it was pleasant. The valley is full of scenic beauty and has great potential for tourism if it is promoted properly. It also invites the professional and armature hikers. To be honest, one day trip was not enough to explore the entire beauty of this valley but once you visit this piece of land then you will come back with the memories that will remain asset with you.