A large army of Emperor Akbar had the misfortune of crossing the Karakar pass near Swat and enter the beautiful valley of Buner in 1587. Being led by none other than the legendary Raja Birbal, the imperial army did not realise that entering this stronghold of Yousafzai Pashtuns was a perilous adventure -- a far cry from their formidable advances through the length and breadth of Hindustan. The Mughal army’s victorious spree was abruptly broken in a bloody encounter at the Malandrai pass, leaving 8000 battle-hardened soldiers dead.

To Akbar’s deepest regret, commander of this doomed army, Raja Birbal, was among those killed, and despite the best efforts of the great Mughal emperor, Birbal’s body could not be retrieved.

Centuries later, resilience and valour of Buner’s people yet again successfully withstood a somewhat similar onslaught, which descended on Buner from Swat in 2009, through the same Karakar pass.

What has insulated these virgin valleys from adverse external influences over annals of history -- bravery and tenacity of people or topography? "All these combined, plus the three saints that guard the virgin valleys of Buner," responded Khan, my friend from Charsadda while at the Karakar mountaintop.

Like Data Sahib of Lahore, Buner boasts of three saints, namely Pir Baba, Malang Baba and Deewana Baba.

It was during the course of reaching the blessed abodes of these three saints that the true charms of beautiful Buner were fully unravelled on me.

As advised by a grey bearded man in Swarri bazar (one of the major towns of Buner), the best way to explore the less explored charms of Buner is to tailor your journey in accordance with the peculiarities and unique ambience of each of these shrines. While a visit to the Deewana Baba shrine is bound to cast a spell of awe among the devotees, a visit to the Malang Baba shrine typically imbues a sense of resignation and torpor deep inside the visitor. Climax in this spiritual sojourn is reached with a visit to the oldest and holiest of the holy - Pir Baba shrine -- that has over the past five centuries pulled pilgrims from far and wide in search of spiritual cleansing.

Leaving Swarri in an eastern direction, a newly-built road took us towards the Deewana Baba shrine which entailed passing through lush green tobacco fields, dotted with rows of towering poplars. However, the moment we reached near the shrine, the scene suddenly changed to an unending jungle of wild olive trees. Beneath the weirdly shaped giant olive trees were countless graves from the remote past, made up of eerie black stone. I could not escape the feeling of awe and subjugation while passing through this desolate wilderness, as if some unseen being was constantly gazing at us from among olive trees.

We seemed to be the only living beings in the shrine’s vicinity. We may have stayed inside the shrine for nearly an hour but with the exception of a brief visit by an old man, our devotions were not disturbed. Although, my friend put a few questions to the old man with due reverence, all that was returned was a blank and fixed stare.

A little perplexed, we left the shrine on our way back through the vast olive jungle where silence reigned. By the time we reached our vehicle on the link road, feeling of being overpowered seemed to be lifting gradually.

Thus ended our encounter with the first saint of Buner -- Deewana Baba.

After some more driving through zigzag roads amid towering ridges, we reached the point where the main Swarri-Daggar road bifurcated in a westerly direction towards the shrine of Malang Baba, the second saint of Buner.

Passing through the picturesque villages of Karya and Banda, we reached the area known as Nawan Killay. On one side, unending fields of golden wheat crop glittered in bright sunlight till the view was broken by towering, barren hills. In the opposite direction rose ridge upon ridge, all clad in young Chir pine with bright green foliage. On either side of the road, grew a wild variety of shrubs and bushes, laden with colourful flowers.

We also came across olive trees on this road. But, unlike in the vicinity of Deewana Baba shrine, these olive groves were young and much more open.

Amid one of these groves, Khan stopped the car and showed me a group of local gypsies, known as Shapankay. These people rear large herds of goats and are renowned masters in making and playing wooden flutes. On Khan’s request, we were treated to a few enchanting performances on flute by two young Shapankay lads who were on their way to high mountainous grounds for spending summers.

Openness of the valley leading to the Malang Baba shrine, coupled with sedating flute performance by gypsies had started casting a balmy spell on both of us. Reaching the top of the hill, we finally saw a glimpse of the shrine of Malang Baba which was almost completely hidden among giant Chir pine and Semal trees.

After a rather tiring climb, we reached the shrine and were greeted by a darwesh who took us inside the mazaar. Dome of the shrine was fully decked in green creepers, carrying crimson flowers with brightly coloured birds flitting all over the place. After paying our respects, we turned to the attending darwesh who offered us ice-cold water in earthen bowls.

On my request, Khan made the darwesh narrate some brief details about Malang Baba. According to him, Malang Baba belonged to the nearby village of Chagarzai and spent most of his life on the hilltop at the site of the shrine. His biggest vocation was serving cold drinking water to the tiring convoys who toiled these ridges on their way to Rustam area of Mardan.

On asking whether the Malang Baba, darwesh innocently said that offering icy cold water from nearby springs to exhausted travellers was his sole miracle.

A drowsy delirium gripped both of us while sitting in the shade of towering trees and drinking crystal clear water in earthen bowls. "Heavenly peace and tranquility are miracles of Malang Baba", announced Khan, if indeed evidence of any miracle was needed.

It was late afternoon by the time we left the Malang Baba shrine. We had enough time to visit the shrine of Pir Baba and be back through the Karakar pass. We started near Daggar and the closer we got to the Pir Baba area, landscape changed from open fields to towering mountains. After some travel through beautiful fruit orchards, interspersed with flowing streams, we found ourselves locked between two gigantic mountains, which inquiries revealed were well-known Elum and lesser-known Dua Suray Ghar. It was as if both mountains were reverently guarding the Pir Baba shrine and welcoming visitors.

Hazrat Syed Ali Shah Tirmizi, commonly called Pir Baba is among the oldest saints in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, dating back to times of emperor Humayun. As disclosed by Khan, respect for Pir Baba cuts across all sections of society and even Pashto folk couplets (Tappas) have been traditionally written about the great saint. It was then that Khan explained what that gypsy lad had sung and played for us on our way to Malang Baba. It was a couplet in honour of Pir Baba -- "Ka me janaan Khuday Zama Ko, no ma da Pir Baba jhnaday manale dina" (if I succeeded in getting my love, I will decorate Pir Baba with colourful flags).

As we passed through the narrow bazar on our way to the shrine, we came across a Sikh gurdawara, testifying that the blessings of Pir Baba were lavished on all.

Passing through narrow streets, we finally reached a huge compound, through which ran the path leading to the Pir Baba shrine.

Like at the Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine, faqirs sat on either side of the path, carrying begging bowls. And on that narrow path, bordered on either side by decades-old tall trees, we saw deep green dome of the Pir Baba shrine, beautifully set against deep green foliage and a bright blue sky.

So, there was the principal Saint of Buner, who over the last five centuries has offered spiritual healing to thousands of devotees from all over KP. More than that and going by the saying of Khan of Charsadda, blessings associated with Pir Baba have preserved tranquility in the sleepy valleys of Buner over centuries. Later assertion was duly endorsed by the kind caretaker of shrine who explained that temporary closure of shrine during 2009 militancy in Swat and Buner actually proved to be the beginning of the end of those who had perpetrated closure of the shrine.

In the evening, we sat close to the shrine along a beautiful stream, which according to tradition, started after Pir Baba hit his knife in the ground. There, among many devotees, we spotted a Sikh couple doing their ablution in the fast flowing waters. A more apt description of plurality in the conservative Pashtun hinterland could not be imagined. But to Khan it was actually a conclusive evidence of the all-encompassing nature of blessings of the great saint of Buner, which have withstood the test of time for centuries, marauding invaders from Karakar included.