Saiful Muluk ( ur, ) is a mountainous lake located at the northern end of the

Kaghan Valley The Kaghan Valley ( ur, ) is an alpine valley located in the Mansehra District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The valley covers a distance of across northern Pakistan, rising from its lowest elevation of to its highest point at the Babusar ...

, near the town of Naran in the Saiful Muluk National Park. At an elevation of 3,224 m (10,578 feet) above sea level, the lake is located above the

tree line The tree line is the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually cold temperatures, extreme snowp ...

, and is one of the highest lakes in Pakistan.

Location

Saiful Muluk is located in the

Mansehra district Mansehra District is a district in Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. It was established as a district in 1976, prior to which it was a tehsil within the former Hazara District. Two former subdivisions of Mansehra were ...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the northwestern region of the country, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ...

, about north of Naran, in the northern part of

. Malika Parbat, the highest peak in the valley is near the lake. The lake is accessible from the nearby town of Naran during the summer season but access during winter is limited, as heavy snowfall and landslides threaten to cutoff the lake from other regions.

Physical features

Saiful Muluk was formed by

glacial moraines A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice shee ...

that blocked the water of the stream passing through the valley. The

was formed in the greater Pleistocene Period dating back almost 300,000 years when the area was covered with ice. Rising temperatures and receding glaciers left a large depression where glaciers once stood. Melting water collected into the lake. Saif-ul-Muluk Complete Panorama in Spring

Saif-ul-Muluk Complete Panorama in Spring

Ecology

The lake has rich eco-diversity and holds many species of blue-green algae. Large

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morp ...

are found in the lake, up to about seven kilograms. About 26 species of

vascular plant Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They al ...

exist in the area, with

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

the most commonly found species. Other species commonly found in the region are:

Ranunculaceae Ranunculaceae (buttercup or crowfoot family; Latin "little frog", from "frog") is a family of over 2,000 known species of flowering plants in 43 genera, distributed worldwide. The largest genera are '' Ranunculus'' (600 species), '' Delphiniu ...

Compositae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

Cruciferae Brassicaceae () or (the older) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous plants, while some are shrubs. The leav ...

Gramineae Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and ...

Apiaceae Apiaceae or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus '' Apium'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering plant ...

Leguminosae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

Scrophulariaceae The Scrophulariaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the figwort family. The plants are annual and perennial herbs, as well as shrubs. Flowers have bilateral (zygomorphic) or rarely radial ( actinomorphic) symmetry. The Sc ...

and

Polygonaceae The Polygonaceae are a family of flowering plants known informally as the knotweed family or smartweed—buckwheat family in the United States. The name is based on the genus ''Polygonum'', and was first used by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu in 178 ...

Folklore

The Lake Saiful Muluk is named after a legendary prince. A fairy tale called ''Saif-ul-Muluk'', written by the

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

poet

Mian Muhammad Bakhsh Mīān Muhammad Bakhsh (میاں محمد بخش) was a Punjabi Muslim Sufi and poet. Born in the city of Mirpur to a Gujjar family of Paswal tribe, he is renowned as a great poet and Sufi scholar by the people of Punjab and Azad Kashmir. Wri ...

, talks of the lake. It tells the story of the Egyptian Prince Saiful Malook who fell in love with a fairy princess named Princess Badri-ul-Jamala at the lake.

Gallery

Hover the mouse click or tap on the following images to see their captions. File:Lake Saiful Malook naran 05.jpg, Lake Saiful Muluk under clouds File:Saif ul Malook, House of Fairies.jpg, A view of lake in Wortez File:Saif ul malook lake-01.jpg, Lake Saiful Muluk in a sunny day File:Lake-Saiful-Malook.jpg, A full view of Lake Saif-ul-Muluk File:Saif-ul-malook naran valley.jpg, Lake Saif ul Malook in May 2017 File:The Frozen Saif Ul Malook Lake.jpg, The lake freezes over in winter File:Saif Ul Muluk.jpg, alt= Saif Ul Muluk, Lake Saif ul Muluk in December 2012 File:Lake Saif ul Malook, Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa.jpg, Tourist point with Lake File:Boat in Saif ul Maluk Lake.jpg, alt=A boat in Saiful Maluk Lake, A boat in Saiful Maluk Lake File:Lake Saif-Ul-Mulook.jpg, Lake Saif-Ul-Mulook, Kaghan Valley, Pakistan File:Saif_ul_Maluk_Lake_Pakistan_(Night_view)_Abdul_Majid.jpg, Lake Saif-Ul-Mulook at night

References

External links

About Saiful Malook LakePTDC Official websiteKaghan Valley & Lake Saiful Muluk - PicturesFull text of the fairytale associated with the lake.
{{Authority control Saiful Muluk Pakistani folklore