Soon Valley (

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

, ur, ) is in the north west of Khushab District,

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. Its largest settlement is the town of

Naushera Nowshera (with alternative spellings Nowshehra and Naushera) may refer to: Places India * Nowshera, Jammu and Kashmir, a town and tehsil in Rajauri district in the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir * Nowshera, Srinagar, a notified area in Srin ...

. The valley extends from the village of Padhrar to

Sakesar Sakesar (Punjabi, ur, ), is the highest mountain in the Salt Range in Punjab Pakistan. Its height is 1,522m. It lies on the outer fringes of the Soon Valley in Khushab District in the Punjab Province. Uchhali Lake is just below it. It is a ...

, the highest peak in the

Salt Range The Salt Range ( pnb, ) is a mountain range in the north of Punjab province of Pakistan, deriving its name from its extensive deposits of rock salt. The range extends along the south of the Potohar Plateau and the north of the Jhelum River. Th ...

. The valley is long and has an average width of . It covers a area. Soon Valley has an abundance of scenic beauty, with

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much lar ...

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in severa ...

jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''ja� ...

, natural pools and

pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or Artificiality, artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% Aquatic plant, emergent vegetation helps in disting ...

s. The valley has been settled since ancient times, most recently by the Awan tribe, which still resides in the valley. The peak of

Mount Sakesar Sakesar (Punjabi, ur, ), is the highest mountain in the Salt Range in Punjab Pakistan. Its height is 1,522m. It lies on the outer fringes of the Soon Valley in Khushab District in the Punjab Province. Uchhali Lake is just below it. It is ...

is at above sea level. It was once the summer headquarters of the Deputy Commissioners of three districts –

Campbellpur Attock ( Punjabi and Urdu: ), formerly known as Campbellpur (), is a historical city located in the north of Pakistan's Punjab Province, not far from the country's capital Islamabad. It is the headquarters of the Attock District and is 61st larg ...

(now

Attock Attock (Punjabi and Urdu: ), formerly known as Campbellpur (), is a historical city located in the north of Pakistan's Punjab Province, not far from the country's capital Islamabad. It is the headquarters of the Attock District and is 61st larges ...

Mianwali Mianwali (Punjabi/ ur, ) is the capital city of Mianwali District in Punjab, Pakistan. The 81st largest city of Pakistan, it is known for its diverse population of, Punjabi and Pashtun ethnicities. History Mianwali District was an agricult ...

and Shahpur (now

Sargodha Sargodha (Punjabi and ur, ) is a city and capital of Sargodha Division, located in Punjab province, Pakistan. It is Pakistan's 12th largest city by population and one of the fastest-growing cities of the country. Sargodha is also known as ...

). It is the only mountain in this part of the Punjab which receives snowfall in winter. In the late 1950s the

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

placed a radar station on Sarkesar to monitor airspace over north-eastern Pakistan. Also on the mountain is a television transmission center with which the

Pakistan Television Corporation Pakistan Television Corporation ( ur, ; reporting name: PTV) is the Pakistani state-owned broadcasting, broadcaster. Pakistan entered the television broadcasting age in 1964, with a pilot television station established at Lahore. Background ...

relays its transmissions to the surrounding area.

Geography

Location

*Distance from

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capita ...

: 230 km *Distance from

: 120 km *Distance from

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest ...

: 320 km *Distance from

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former ...

: 1262 km

History and Demography

In 997 CE, Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, took over the

Ghaznavid dynasty The Ghaznavid dynasty ( fa, غزنویان ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin, ruling, at its greatest extent, large parts of Persia, Khorasan, much of Transoxiana and the northwest ...

empire established by his father, Sultan Sebuktegin. In 1005 he conquered the Shahis in

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Ac ...

and followed it by conquests within the

Punjab region Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

. The Delhi Sultanate and later

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the ...

ruled the region. The Awans of the Soon Valley were also amongst those the British considered to be "

martial race Martial race was a designation which was created by army officials in British India after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, in which they classified each caste as belonging to one of two categories, the 'martial' caste and the 'non-martial' caste. T ...

". The British recruited army heavily from Soon Valley for service in the colonial army, and as such, the Awans of this area also formed an important part of the British Indian Army, serving with distinction during World Wars I and II. Of all the Muslim groups recruited by the British, proportionally, the Awans produced the greatest number of recruits during the First and Second World Wars. Contemporary historians Professor Ian Talbot and Professor Tan Tai Yong have asserted that the Awans (amongst other tribes) are viewed as a martial race by not only the British, but neighbouring tribes as well. Awans occupy the highest ranks of the Pakistani Army. A village by the name of Manawan (formerly ''Man Awan'' – The heart of the Awans) is also among the notable historical villages of the valley.

Gateway to Soon Sakesar

The Government of Punjab constructed the road from Nurewala to Naushehra in recognition of services rendered by the Awans of Soon Valley during the First World War. Sir W.M. Hailey, the Governor of Punjab formally opened the road on April 1, 1928 – as commemorated on plaques between

Khushab Khushab (punjabi: خُوشاب) is a town as well as a district of Sargodha Division, located in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The word ''Khushab'' means "sweet water." Khushab city also serves as the headquarters of Khushab Tehsil, an admini ...

and Sakesar as the road enters the hills.

Culture

Many inhabitants of the valley descend from tribes of Arab origin (unauthenticated information). Islamic culture and traditions are the norm. Practices include arranged marriages according to the Islamic traditions, where the wedding ceremony takes place at a mosque. The

Nikah In Islam, nikah is a contract between two people. Both the groom and the bride are to consent to the marriage of their own free wills. A formal, binding contract – verbal or on paper – is considered integral to a religiously valid Islami ...

is attended by close family members, relatives, and friends of the bride and groom. Usually men and women are separated, either sitting in separate rooms or with a ''

purdah Pardah or purdah (from Hindi-Urdu , , meaning "curtain") is a religious and social practice of female seclusion prevalent among some Muslim and Hindu communities. It takes two forms: physical segregation of the sexes and the requirement that wom ...

'' (curtain) separating them.

Luddi Luddi is a traditional folk dance of Punjab. It is performed in cirles by both men and women while clicking their fingers and clapping hands, jumps and half-turns. Luddi is performed on weddings and sports to celebrate victory, it is performed by ...

is a folk dance for celebratory occasions, when the music is often played on the

dhol Dhol (IPA: ) can refer to any one of a number of similar types of double-headed drum widely used, with regional variations, throughout the Indian subcontinent. Its range of distribution in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan primarily includes nor ...

drum and

shehnai The ''shehnai'' is a musical instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is made of wood, with a double reed at one end and a metal or wooden flared bell at the other end. Uchhali Lake is a picturesque

salt water Saline water (more commonly known as salt water) is water that contains a high concentration of dissolved salts (mainly sodium chloride). On the United States Geological Survey (USGS) salinity scale, saline water is saltier than brackish water, ...

lake in the southern

overlooked by mount Sakaser, the highest mountain in the Salt Range. Its brackish water means that its waters are lifeless. Khabikki Lake is also a salt water lake in the southern Salt Range. It is one kilometer wide and two kilometres long. Khabikki is also the name of a neighbouring village. These lakes attract thousands of migratory birds each year including rare white-headed ducks (Oxyura leucocephala) from

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the former ...

. Jahlar Lake is another serene lake in the valley, it is accessible from Nowshehra as well as from Sargodha.

Historical places

* Akrand Fort of Janjua's (Road way & Tracking Way from Kanhati Garden). * Lakes: Uchhali Lake, Khabikki Lake and Jahlar Lake. * Waterfalls at Kufri. * Amb Sharif is a historical place in

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or ''dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global po ...

. * Kanahti Garden, Sodhi Garden, Khabakki Jheel, Ugalisharif & Uchali Jheel, Sakesar and Daip Shareef and the hiking experiences of hills * Angah, an important village. * Sodhi village has waterfalls, a Rest House, and wild animals like

Cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

Rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit s ...

Deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the ...

, Teetar (Urdu name of a bird). * Koradhi is famous for its Historical Madrissa, where Qari Qamar Din used to teach

Amb Shareef Hindu temple

The ancient pre-Islamic ancient Hindu temple, is near the Amb Shareef village, on the

mountain in the Soon Valley. The temple complex, built in brick and mortar, is complex of two temples facing each other. The main temple is several story high, roughly 15 to 20 meter tall. To the west about 75 meters lies another smaller temple, which is 2 story or 7 to 8 meters high. It is located on the

mountain, near Amb Shareef village.Sakesar temple
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References

External links

* http://visitsoonvalley.com/
See you Soon Valley
''

The News International ''The News International'', published in broadsheet size, is one of the largest English language newspapers in Pakistan. It is published daily from Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi/Islamabad. An overseas edition is published from London that cat ...

''
Sakesar temple picture travelogue
{{Coord, 32.58, N, 72.15, E, type:landmark_dim:50000_region:PK, display=title Archaeological sites in Punjab, Pakistan Geography of Punjab, Pakistan Hill stations in Pakistan Khushab District Punjab Punjab, Pakistan Regions of Punjab, Pakistan Tourist attractions in Punjab, Pakistan Valleys of Punjab (Pakistan)