40 enthusiasts participate in Nathiagali snow-hiking

ABBOTTABAD: Over 40 male and female enthusiast youth participated in the thrilling snow-hiking event at the scenic Nathiagali in Galiyat.

The participants exhibited their skills and covered four kilometer snow track from Dunga Gali to Mukshpuri Top.

The two-day snow-hiking gala at the scenic Nathiagali in Galiyat was aimed at promoting adventure tourism and reviving tourist attractions in the province. The participants were facilitated by providing transportation, food, first aid kit and other facilities during the event.

The event was part of the adventure tourism activities jointly organized by the Tourism Corporation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (TCKP) and the Adventure Edge Club. TCKP General Manager (Admin & Properties) Sajjad Hameed and Director Adventure Edge Club Khalid Khalil supervised the activity.

Besides hiking from Dunga Gali to Mukshpuri Top, the participants also enjoyed the team games, adventure games and igloo. They also took part in the snow survival and other competitions. A number of other activities including bonfire and music (rubab mangay) at evening were other features arranged for the youth after they reached Nathiagali.

Hailing the holding of the event, the participants said the activity would promote adventure tourism in the region and provide recreational opportunity to the youth and the families. They said that least adventure tourism events were being arranged during the snowfall but the Mukshpuri Top is a safe point for such activities, which attracted tourists in large numbers.

Mukshpuri is a 2,800-metre-high (9,200 ft) mountain in the Nathiagali Hills in Abbottabad district. It is 90 kilometres north of Islamabad, just above Dunga Gali in the Nathiagali area of Ayubia National Park. Much of its mountain is covered with Western Himalayan subalpine conifer forests.

The department had earlier also arranged various events of cultural, religious and adventure tourism and sports including rafting, paragliding, jeep rally and zip-lining in Peshawar, Misri Banda and Akora Khattak in Nowshera, Shabqadar in Charsadda, Kohat and Khanpur Lake in Haripur district for the youth and families.