Scenic Baliga meadow attracting nature lovers

MANSEHRA: The scenic Baliga meadow, which remains under snow in winter, attracts youngsters and nature lovers mostly in summers every year.

“This meadow is stretched over a wide area in the bed of Baliga alpine forests and could prove to be an international tourist resort if the road and infrastructure are developed here,” stated Ayub Kuloch, a local resident, while speaking to media persons on Sunday.

The Baliga meadow is situated at an altitude of 8,000 feet where visitors are seen playing the traditional Khasutoo, cricket, basketball and other games in the summers.

In Khasutoo game, players pull or push their rivals to the ground with one hand.

Kuloch said that competitions of the traditional folkdance and melodies commonly known as Majlis were also organised by the youngsters.

Another resident, Sarbuland Khan, said that Prime Minister Imran Khan had visited Kolai-Palas before becoming the premier and lauded the unmatched beauty of the area.

“If the government develops it as a tourist resort and builds infrastructure, the natural beauty of Gigtoto, Payazo Sar and Neval Kor hamlets on the hilltop of Baliga forests would attract nature lovers from within the country and abroad,” said another resident Badar Zaman.

He said that the KP government had been exploring more and more tourist destinations in the province to attract tourists and it should also build the road and other infrastructure in the Baliga meadows and its adjoining picturesque valleys.