Once popular trail in Kuldana is now a forlorn path

3.4km trail offers footprints of history, including colonial era

MURREE:

The Kuldana Trail is a picturesque 3.4-kilometer path serving as an historic link between the main bazaar and the Karamkot ground. With its fairly level terrain, this trail is a haven for trekking enthusiasts. It offers breathtaking views of untouched natural beauty which owes quite a bit to it being less frequented and hence home to untamed growth.

With roots tracing back to the British era when infantry battalions were stationed in Kuldana, the trail preserves remnants of history along its path.

It includes old buildings, a stone engraving at the Karamkot cricket ground, a playground, two old cemeteries, and a charming tiny chapel that have withstood the test of time.

Other buildings and structures, including some from the 19th-century, in the use of the armed forces add to the trail's historical allure.

The area is rich in flora and fauna, according to Dr Banzeer Ahsan Abbasi, an assistant professor at the Rawalpindi Women University. He describes that a dense forest of coniferous trees with nearly 48 genera and 1200 species of the polyganaceas family and two hybrids.

It also serves as a sanctuary for rare animals like leopards from the neighboring Galiyat region, monkeys, wild boars, foxes, and various species of pheasants. Dr Abbasi believes that with proper maintenance, tourists can enjoy observing these natural wonders.

A paper authored by Habib Rana in 2012 described the Kuldana Ridge as an elongated knoll adorned with dense pine forests and vegetation, stretches along the Murree-Nathiagali road from Sunny Bank to Kali Mitti. It is situated at the junction of the Murree-Nathiagali-Abbottabad road. The ridge covers an area of five to six square kilometers at an elevation of 7,500 feet above sea level, it says.

Abdul Raheem Abbasi, the heads the Rural Areas Development Organization (RADO) told The Express Tribune about the trail's historical significance during the pre- and post-partition period of British India.

The hill station of Murree, apart from serving as summer retreats for families of the English rulers, became the summer headquarter of the army's northern command during the latter half of the 19th century, he said. Kuldana, among many other smaller cantonments, is considered one of the oldest.

Raheem, whose organisation is dedicated to environmental preservation, lamented that the track has been forgotten due to a lack of interest from authorities, leaving tourists oblivious to its existence.

The track currently falls under the management of the Army School of Logistic, (ASL) Kuldana Murree. They are responsible for its maintenance and acknowledged that – with adequate funding – it could become one of the best tracks for visitors to Murree. Efforts have been made with collaboration between cantonment authorities, RADO and ASL, including putting up benches along the track.

Ultimately, however, it comes down to the government to ensure that the track is restored to its previous glory while offering visitors a trail that follows the footsteps of history.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 7^th, 2023.