Saiful Maluk
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Saiful Maluk
August 16, 2008
OUT AND ABOUT: Lake Saiful Maluk Stunning Beauty
By Sher Alam Shinwari
The picturesque Lake Saiful Maluk, perched at 3224 metres above sea level, is located at the northern end of the Kaghan valley, district Mansehra. It’s five mile away from Naran at height of 10,500 feet (3200.40 meters) above sea level. This lake is easily accessible by jeep or by trekking.
The lake attracts hundreds of thousands of local and foreign visitors each year due to its stunning beauty. The crystal clear water comes from the multiple glaciers around the high basin, which feed the lake. High altitude and fresh water lakes are something very rare in the world. Recently the natural environment of the lake was restored by wildlife department after introduction of several reforms to make it neat and clean.
Lake Saiful Maluk, being a tourists’ attraction, was converted into a national park so that its natural beauty could be preserved. Boating in the lake has been regulated. Three-hundred-kanal land has been acquired around the lake in order to ensure that waste from hotels and cabins do not fall inside it. Shelters have been constructed where tourists can take rest and enjoy the scenic view.
Prince Saiful Malook and Badri Jamala is a classic fable in the Hazara district. It tells the story of a prince’s love for a fairy. There is also a famous poem about the story written by the famous poet Mian Muhammad Baksh of Mirpur who wrote the classic story into poetic verse. The poem titled “Saif-ul-Malook” is written in the Potohari / Hindko language and is very much popular in Potohar, Kashmir and Hazarah.
The story of Saiful Maluk is that Prophet Joseph (Yousuf) was asked who will be the handsomest man after him; he had two seals made, and said that the man will be my descendent and will inherit these seals. After many years when Saiful Maluk came of age he was bequeathed those seals among many other treasures; one of them had a picture of himself and on the other there was a picture of the beautiful fairy Princess Badar Jamal, meaning the glory of the moon. He fell in love with her and thus began his long arduous journey to find her.
Later when he did find her, he learnt that her soul is trapped in the tallest mountain of the lake which is now called “Saiful Maluk” and the mountain is “Malka Purbat” which means “the Mountain of the Fairies”. He also learnt that she is bound to a Jinn, and would be only free when the Jinn is dead. The Jinn could not be defeated by ordinary means, for the Jinn had hidden his soul in talisman of some sort and hidden it away. Saiful Maluk and his army succeeded in finding the talisman and killing the jinn but that ignited a 40-year war between the jinn of the earth and those who dwell in the spirit world.
Most visitros visit the sight for spending a full moon night there as local people still believe in the myth that faries come to the lake at full moonlit night.
