Jabba - Katukka Reserved Forest - Ghambir Kas (Soan valley )

Soon Valley is in Khushab District and somewhat 200 km away from Islamabad. It can be reached via Motorway till Balkasar/Kalarkahar and then the local road. However the Kalarkar to Soon valley road is under construction so it’s advised to take the Balkasar exit and drive though the Talagang to Soon valley.
We were invited by Ehsan, who runs “Soon Valley tours”, along with his online business of dry fruit, olive tea and Gurr. He usually organizes trips in summer when the valley is all green but since I like the mountains better in winter and autumn so we pushed for a January hike.
Motorway was blocked so we took off road route. It was a scenic drive but due to fog our vision was contained. Still we could see the orange farms and people making through the cold winters. As we reached the city of Talagang, fog cleared and the we saw magical landscape of “Chinji” a huge village built on the top of a sharp edged cliff. It looked like those Italian villages which go viral on internet. Ehsan lives in the Jabba village which is on the eastern edge of Soon valley. After parking the car at his Haweli we spared no time and started the hike at 12: PM (after a 6 hours drive).
We passed through the village which had variety of animals from sheep to camels. After the village we passed through a mountain pass and small dam to arrive at “Kotukka Reserved Forest”. We kept walking through the dry mountains and long grass. I could see a Cuesta in the distance at the edge of a scrapland. I was told that would be our destination for the day.
It was a very easy hike, only when we started climbing the Cuesta, it became moderately tough. There were local kids with their herds of goats on the scrapland.
We stopped on the cuesta for an hour to had tea along with peanuts and gurr. On our way back we traversed through Ghambir kas which is a tributary of Ghambhir river. We passed through the most fabulous rock creek formed by the water. I wondered what they looked like in the rainy season.
We reached another dam and I was almost attacked by two dogs but thankfully the owners called them back and showed us the way to the road. Sun was ready to set as we passed through the fields most of which were waiting for the rain as due to dry winter, wheat crop had barely grown out of the soil. By the time of Maghrib, we reached the Chinji-Jabba road.
We were 7 KM from Jabba, and were picked up by a 22-wheeler trailer. As I climbed on it, I felt that “Chaiya Chaiya” moment from Dil Se movie. I injured myself climbing down from the trailer after which we had “Taare Meere ka saag” and “Malai wali chai”. It was pretty late so we started our drive back. There was fog but Motoway was still open so we took that route. I slept for most of the way. After Chakri the fog cleared and we reached back in 4 hours.

A little introduction of Soon Valley

Soon Valley is part of the Salt Range and houses the highest peak of the range known as “Sakaser” at it’s western end. Salt range is rich with geological and heritage history. Region has upto 570 million years old fossils and also associated with Alexander’s final war and defeat near the bank of Jhelum.
Soon Valley is in Khushab District and somewhat 200 km away from Islamabad. It can be reached via Motorway till Balkasar/Kalarkahar and then the local road. However the Kalarkar to Soon valley road is under construction so it’s advised to take the Balkasar exit and drive though the Talagang to Soon valley.
Valley has many reversed forests, waterfalls and lakes. Following is the list of all those places.

Akrand Fort of Janjua's (Road way & Tracking Way from Kanhati Garden).

Lakes:
Uchhali Lake
Khabikki Lake
Jahlar Lake.

Water Falls:
Waterfalls at Kufri.
Sodhi village has waterfalls

Forests:
Chinji Reserved Forest
Kotakka Reserved Forest
Khabbakki Reserved Forest
Khariot Forest
Mardwal Forest

Other places:
Amb Sharif is a historical place in Hinduism.
Kanahti Garden
Sodhi Garden