On 11.07.2023, at about 4:15 am, just before the dawn began to paint the outline of things I pushed the self-starter on the Blitzkrieg, my bike that is, to start my annual bike ride for the year 2023. My crime partner being occupied at home I was to travel solo this time so there was no definite plan and destination. And that's how I started the journey, away from the sweating Lahore weather.
A tank full of gas and the open
G.T. Road in early hours of the morning are a perfect recipe for an exciting
ride, for during the day time when the sun is the brightest the G.T. road is
the busiest almost destroying all the charm of a highway run. A stop at Mian
Gee hotel is a must when you are travelling by G.T. road, although I always
find it hard to finish the desi ghee dipped paratha and daal both my favourite.
I rode through a clear weather, mostly pleasant till I reached Islamabad
Express Highway where the usual traffic queues reminded me of the time of the
year I was travelling in.
The first day of my ride was on
the back roads of Bara Kahu leading to Angoori, a single road passing through
villages that offered beautiful views at places. My cousin Usman Imtiaz Malick
accompanied me from Islamabad for the ride. Our next trip was a short ride on
the Murree Express Highway where we soon found heavy rain that forced us to
stop on a dhaaba before we could ride again. Ride on the Murree Express Highway
followed by Patriata road offered some good ride on the twists and an
opportunity for taking photographs as well. Almost all the hotels falling on
the Muree Express Highway offer good food, however we gave the honour to Butt
Karahi for the noble cause.
I wanted to explore Panj Peer rocks
in Kahuta district. The place is worth seeing and has a beautiful landscape for
photography, unfortunately though I came to know that Lehtrar road was under
construction and I was in no mood to get stuck in traffic on an under
construction road in sweating July weather. Almost abruptly I decided to hit
the Monal road and go as far as Noori waterfall. My friend Malik Asif joined me
for the ride. It was my first time to ride the bike on this road and it was
amazing, especially the road is a love to ride as you enter the K.P. province
where some amazing landscapes welcome you. This is a newly constructed road
that connects to Havelian. We got off this road from Jabri village where we had
to ride for about 8 km, partially off road, to reach the parking point.
Although the parking point is approachable by car but I wondered how crossing
would be possible with the oncoming traffic as the track is quite narrow at
most of the places. The track also offered me my first experience of the off
road ride on this bike where I had to cross some rocky terrains, mud and a
stream, glad I did it without crashing.
There is trekking of about 25
minutes from the parking point to Noori watrefall, there is no option to ride
from this point either on bike or a 4x4, just trekking. They give you life
jackets too, just for precaution though not really needed. The waterfall is
nestled in the rocky mountains and the fall is hardly a few meter. At the zero
point, however, the water is quite deep and flows at pretty good speed due to
the rains, the landscape is amazing from parking point to the waterfall and the
place worth visiting, provided you have the heart for hiking the return journey
that may take 45 minutes or more depending on your strength and stamina.
