After 10 years: PTDC set to reopen Satpara Lake motel

Lodge had been closed owing to a dam built on the lake

ISLAMABAD: After nearly a decade, Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) has decided to reopen its motel at Satpara Lake in Skardu.

The popular resort has been shut nearly for 10 years due to the construction of the Satpara dam.

“Soon the motel would become functional for tourists,” PTDC Managing Director Abdul Ghafoor told APP.

The corporation was making efforts to reopen the motel to spur activity from the private sector and to get a leg up on the competition. Ghafoor said that PTDC has at least nine other motels located all over Gilgit-Baltistan.

“Tourism not only earns foreign exchange for the country, it also provides direct and indirect income to the local people,” he said. Scores of trade and services including transport, food and hospitality sectors thrive on tourism.

The Gilgit-Baltistan government recently said that this year it saw nearly a million tourists, up from 500,000 tourists last year.

Ghafoor suggested focusing on the beauty of Gilgit-Baltistan region to show true face of Pakistan to the world.

The 12-room motel, overlooking on Satpara Lake, was frequented by the foreign and local tourists alike for many years till its closure a decade ago.

The natural lake is one of the largest fresh water lakes in the country and offers ample attractions to visitors.

The motel is situated just nine kilometres from Skardu, and takes about 20 minutes to reach by jeep. Another hour-long drive by jeep from the motel takes tourists to the second largest plateau of the world, the Deosai Plains located at an altitude of 16,000 feet. Its usual operating months are May through October.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 29^th, 2016.