In the beautiful country of Pakistan there is a valley in the North, where you will find the spectacular crystal Blue Water Lake. The lake has a striking blue appearance because it reflects the clear sunlight that hits it in its pristine landscape.
Naltar Valley is 24 kilometres away from the city of Gilgit in Gilgit-Baltistan. The valley is renowned for its breath-taking scenery and dotted with the Satrangi Lakes: Satrangi Lake, Bodlok Lake and Blue Lake. It is also home to a lush garden called the ‘Halima Garden’. Naltar is situated 3.228 metres above sea level. Let me tell you about my visit to Blue Water Lake!
My Adventure
My family and I travelled through the rough, rocky roads on the dangerous routes of the Naltar Valley, crossing the rushing rivers all the way to the Blue Water Lake. Throughout our long journey, we were excited for the breath-taking views ahead and the adventure that awaited us. The trip was long but the rocky landscapes ensured that none of us could get any sleep! However, there was a benefit to this. While on the road we witnessed the lush, green trees, the snowy mountaintops and the freshwater rivers.
After a long drive we finally arrived and froze in awe.
The lake was a combination of all my favourite tints of blue and made the most perfect colour palette!
I wish I could use this colour in every furniture in my room and in my whole house! When I looked up, I was overwhelmed by the never-ending tall mountains. I really wish we could have climbed up those mountains and found out where they ended.
My sister and I were hunting for some adventure and we suddenly found a mountain goat that seemed to come charging at us and we ran as fast as our legs could carry us back to our parents. When the goat stopped, we went close to it again, but this time with our parents. It turns out all it wanted was some food! It grazed on some of the grass for a while and sprinted away after a while.
Meanwhile, my family and I prepared to leave. We went into the car and waved goodbye to the stunning Blue Water Lake. Since I was very hungry, I asked my dad if we could eat something on the way back. He already had this planned and after a few minutes we stopped at a stark white building which looked quite strange and deserted. Finding our way inside was the hardest part. There were so many turns and dead ends, that it took us ages to find our way. When we eventually got there, we met some very kind people and a very charming owl. We were allowed to pick him up and he was so soft.
From the menu, I picked the ‘Karahi’ and my parents chose the ‘Biryani’ The food was different but tasty . Anyway, the locals told us that there was a landslide on the route that we needed to use to get back to the hotel. In spite of this, we still went on our way, because we needed to get home before dark as we had plans to explore the area near our hotel after Maghreb Salah. However, we met with a traffic jam and I saw the gigantic boulders obstructing our way. There was no way we could get through with the car! The people that lived there were very used to this, and they knew there was always a high risk of more rocks falling, or one of the boulders being loose, but this was the only route. My sister and I crossed on foot first and then my parents followed, so they could keep their eyes on us. A local guided us and told us which rocks to step on and which ones to stay clear of. I kept looking up to see if there were any rocks that could fall and relaxed when I didn’t see any rocks near the edge of the mountain.
After we crossed the pile of boulders and got to safety, the authorities told us to gather around a spot and wait for their cars to come from the other side. The sun had finally set. I found a tiny stream of water flowing under some pebbles, I used the water to do wudhu after which I prayed Maghreb. After half an hour, our car arrived and we went back to the hotel.
Travel Tips
When you go to Naltar Valley you have two options on where to stay. Either you can find a hotel in Gilgit and then go to the Naltar lakes, or you can book comfortable huts on the riverside on the way to the lakes.
The time of year you decide to visit determines the temperature and the experience you will have there. I went in the summers when the average daytime temperature was around 26 degrees Celsius. However, if you go in the winter, the lake will be frozen and there will be lots of snow, and the temperature will be vary between -2.3 Celsius minimum and 11.6 Celsius maximum.
By Ahmed Khan
About author
