Lake Saif ul Malook is a famous tourist resort, well known for the associated story of a Persian prince Saif ul Malook. It is located about 8 kilometers (5 miles) north from the town of Naran in northern end of Kaghan Valley, in District Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The lake with its majestic and mesmerizing natural beauty, pleasant atmosphere and associated tale and history, attracts thousands of tourists each year from all around the country during the summer.
The lake is also famous for being habitat of large size Brown Trout fish, which weigh up to 7 kilograms. Lake Saif ul Malook also provides a marvelous view of Malika Parbat, which is the highest peak of Kaghan Valley.
The best time to visit Lake Saif ul Malook is between May and the end July. It remains covered in snow during winter, and the road to the lake stays closed due to heavy snow fall.
Altitude:
Lake Saif ul Malook is one of the highest alpine lakes of Pakistan. It is located at an altitude of 3,224 meters (10, 578 feet) above sea level.
Depth:
There are lots of controversies about the depth of Lake Saif ul Malook. In fact, there is no authentic source to tell the exact depth of lake. The local people of the valley say Lake Saif ul Malook is 1 kilometer deep, some of them says it is 1.7 kilometers. However, a team which recently conducted a survey on all alpine lakes of Northern Areas of Pakistan told that the depth of Lake Saif ul Malook is 50 feet.
If we take a look at figures given above, the one (50 feet) provided by the team which conducted survey seems to be more realistic, as if we consider the geography of the area surrounding the lake, it would be marvel of nature for a lake to be 1-1.7 kilometers deep at an altitude of 3 kilometers above sea level.
Story of Lake Saif ul Malook:
The classic story of Lake Saif ul Malook is written by Sufi poet Mian Muhammad Bakhsh. It is written in the form of poetic verses.
The story is about a Persian prince named Saif ul Malook who fell in love with a fairy named Badi ul Jamal (transformation in English: Glory of the moon), whom he saw in his dreams. The prince thus started his journey to find his beloved fairy Badi ul Jamal. He was clueless in his restless journey until he met a Devish (holy man), who told him how he can find her. Devish also told him that he had to go through many exams before he could find and marry Badi ul Jamal, because she was a fairy and prince was human.
The prince then starts his journey for the impossible in the name of his love. The rest of the story chronicles the challenges he faced during his journey and the spiritual lessons he learned on the way.
Map:
Map of Lake Saif-ul-Malook – click on map image to see detailed map
