I have walked the pipeline

track
(Shaikh Muhammad Ali)

(The details of the track built in 1930 by the British)

"For my part, I travel not to go

anywhere, but to go. I travel for
travel's sake. The great affair is to
move." -- Robert Louis Stevenson

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Overview:
Two senior colleagues who are avid travelers of the mountains one Dr. Syed
Mahmood Raza (My Ex-Boss) and Mr. Wasim Hashmi Syed (A colleague at HEC)
have been telling me about the pipeline walk at Khanaspur, Ayubia for a long time
now and somehow I had missed doing it twice in my two earlier visits to Khanaspur,
Ayubia with regrets.

(A beautiful view from the famous Pipeline Track)

But come this 1st May 2010, I convinced Wasim Hashmi to take our families along to
our official retreat at Khanaspur which is about a three kilometer drive from the
beautifully serene hills of Ayubia for a two night stay.

(Wasim & my children playing monopoly in the guest house)

The starting point of the Pipeline track is about half a kilometer from our guest
house and both our families which almost have the same combination of 5 with
three children each started off for the famous walk after a sumptuous breakfast of

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Anday Parathay (Eggs and locally baked bread) around 9 a.m. from the guest
house.

(Mamma & Ayesha gearing up for the walk)

In the words of Faiza Zaeem (a local travel buff), the air is clean and completely
pollution free, the atmosphere is refreshing, and the surroundings boast all shades
of green. Welcome to the Donga Gali Ayubia walking track. Constructed in 1930,
the track is a must see for everyone who visits the Galiyat. The 4 kilometer winding
track saves you from a 14 kilometer car ride.1

(Our families minus me who is of course taking the picture)

The first time I went to Ayubia was in 1978 along with my parents when I was about
14 years of age but I am sure we did not hear anything about this pipeline track nor
the Khanaspur retreat for that matter. The only thing that attracted us as children
was the one and only chairlift there which was too exciting for children our ages at
that moment in time. Simple, pure entertainment!

1
Neglect ruining Ayubias beauty by Faiza Zaeem, DAWN, Sunday 26th July, 2009.

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 (The famous church of Ayubia built by the British in 1932)

Although usually children do not enjoy such walks in these modern times where
notebooks, computers, iphones, and Xboxes have blatantly infiltrated our lives but
from early ages Wasim and myself have trained our children to go climb mountains,
enjoy water games, visit villages and appreciate the natural beauty created by God
almighty and thus they all crave for such escapades on long weekends.

(Two old men: Wasim & I getting ready for the overkill)

A little introduction:
Ayubia National Park is located in NWFP, Pakistan. It is a small natural park located
at 26 km from the Murree hill station established in 1984. It has been developed as
a resort complex from a combination of four mini resorts of Khaira Gali, Changla
Gali, Khanspur and Ghora Dhaka in Galiyat. Ayubia was named after President Ayub
Khan.2

2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayubia_National_Park

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 (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Aubia_galleryfull.jpeg)

History:
Ayubia National Park was established in 1958 in an east corner of North-West
Frontier Province, a province of Pakistan. Since then it has been managed by the
NWFP Wildlife Department. The purpose of establishing it was to conserve the
temperate forests. Originally, the park stood at an area of 857 acres, but in 1998 it
was expanded to cover an area of 1,685 acres.3

The total population of Ayubia and surrounding villages as per a 1996 census is
18,097 living in 2,311 households. It was established by Mr. Ayub Khan late
President of Pakistan in 1958.4 I am sure the population must have trebled in these
14 years. Laughter!

The Climate:
The climate of the park is cold in the summers, but harsh in the winters. While it
remains only placidly hot in May and June, the cold sets in when the monsoons
come to lash in late July and early August. In the winters, cold increases in severity
gradually until the West Winds bring rains, which eventually turn into snow. The
park remains snow-capped through the later part of winters.5

3
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayubia_National_Park
4
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayubia_National_Park
5
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayubia_National_Park

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 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ayubia_clouds.jpg)

Back to the main story:

The total walk was about 4 kilometers and starts close to Khanaspur and culminates
at Doonga Gali and forms three Alphabet Bay in URDU language. Ayesha being
small; we decided not to complete the entire thingy and reached till the 2nd Bay
thus traversing a distance of some 2.5 kilometers one way.

(Taking a break at one of the good spots)

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 (The photogenic Hashmi Couple)

(The young @ heart Shaikh Couple)

Since we thought that there would be kiosks during the way thus did not bring
sandwiches or chips etc. for the journey (which we normally do) but incidentally the
tourist season had not arrived yet thus all the khokas (read shops) were closed and
we could not enjoy tea, chips or cookies during the walk. What a drag!

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 (Another good view with the Muree hills in the backdrop)

(Good old days are back again)

(Why should I be left behind?)

We finally called it a day and decided to return. Since we walked all along, it took us
forever to come back. Old age is getting on to us now and each step took hours to

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tread and we finally reached the guest house tired but with a journey well worth the
effort.

(A nice pose under a fallen tree)

(Returning from the gates of heaven)

(On the way back, we stop at a Handicraft store on Muree Road)

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 (And Mamma does a little shopping)

Shaikh Muhammed Ali

The Wandering Dervish
E-mail: mashaikh@hec.gov.pk
Cell: +00-92-321-5072996
Sunday, 20th June 2010, 09:41 a.m.

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