Mountains: A road to recreation

“Chasing angels or feeling demons, go to mountains” said by Jeffrey Rasley. The word recreation means refreshment of health or spirits by relaxation and enjoyment. In other sense refreshment of one’s mind and body. Pakistan is a God gifted land. There are many breathtaking landscapes present in it. The land of Pakistan is known as the land of adventures and nature. Beside, Murree, there are many hill stations and resorts such as in the places like Swat, Kalam , and Hunza Vellay. So, I agree with the statement that mountains are use for recreation.

Firstly, for recreational purpose, mountains are use for hiking. was introduced in eighteen century by intellectuals such as scientists and philosophers. They climb on mountains for research purposes. At that time “Chamonix” which is located in France, became the attracting point for many hikers. Especially Mount Blanc, which had an elevation of about sixteen thousand feet. After half of the eighteen century, British hikers started to hike on Swiss mountains with their guides.

These guides were from different countries such as from Switzerland, Italy, and France. After Alpes, in late nineteen century, hikers started to hike on Andes mountain ranges which are located in South America. By the advent of twentieth century, hikers came to hike Himalayas which are also located in Pakistan. In Himalayas ranges, the highest peak is K2 which has an elevation of about twenty eight thousand feet. Now in twenty first century, hiking become very common in our society. First of all, some people hike on mountain as for fun.

But after words they chose as their profession. For instance Conrad Kein is one of them. Bachendri Pal who is first Indian women to climb on Mount Everast. She conquered Mount Everst peak on twenty third May, 1984. Secondly, for recreational purpose, people use to prefer mountainous areas for visiting. People also used to come on mountains for camping. In Pakistan, Swat valley is known as “Mini Switzerland”. Where everywhere, you will see greenry. This valley is also more fertile as compared to other northern areas of Pakistan.

So, for attracting people, government has built different places for recreation, such as museum, golf course, and parks. Local people also made restaurants in hilly areas. In swat museum, you can see the things of second century BC. Especially, the crafts of Mauryan Emporer. In Murree , there is Ayubia park which is named after our first military dictator General Ayub Khan. In that park, there is chair lift, that’s why it is very famous. Thirdly, the people of plain areas used to go to mountainous areas for relaxing their selves.

So, in Murree, you will hardly find any place in restaurants especially in summer vocations. In that period of three to four months, some hotel owners are not good enough because they charge more. So, in that response Kalam Hotel Association General Sectery Rahuet Din Siddique said in a statement that “ his union would take action against those hotel owners who had been fleecing visitors by demanding high prices”. But this is the dilemma of our people that we always think that how to flatter others.

Fourthly, in Pakistan, there are also worth seeing places such as Kashmir which is a mountainous area and is known as “Paradise”. The Great Mughal King Shah Jahan said “If there is heaven anywhere on earth that is the Kashmir”. So, he was the first to say it as a Heaven. Concordia is known as the ‘paradise of mountaineers’ which is present in north of Pakistan and is close to China boarder. Concordia is a chain of fourteen mountains and highest mountain is K2 which has an elevation of about eighty six hundred meter and is also known as world’s second highest mountain.

The locals named K2 as “Choghori”. The name Concordia derived from the Latin word which means ‘harmony with the heart’. People used to visit in these places for recreation. Due to the poor securitization of Pakistan, people are scared to visit these places. In recent incidence in which eleven mountaineers are killed by terrorist. One mountaineer was left alive in the incidence. She said that she was not scared and she is full determined for expedition of Nanga Parbat. And she said in a statement that she will come next year.

In response to that statement , the ACP President Col Manzoor Hussain said “ we apologize to you that our government failed to protect the lives of your team members”. Although, the indigenous of mountainous areas are known for their hospitality. Visitors are welcomed by these people open heartedly. But due to security lapse, people are scared and they want protection from government. So, government should take action against terrorists. In short, mountaineering is very famous all over the world. People use to go on mountain areas throughout the whole year.

In summer season, people go on mountains for recreation in order to see the beauty and nature. This time the temperature is moderate. In winter season, people use to go on mountainous areas for skating etc. But unfortunately, people are refused to go on these areas just because of poor security. As, Pakistan is fighting war on terror, so , people are scared to go. At last, if we go through the context of Pakistan, many tourist from all over the globe attract towards the scenic beauty of these mountain. K2 is famous in this regard.