Chairlift closure depriving tourists of entertainment

President Ayub ordered the ride’s import from Switzerland and installation in 1962

ISLAMABAD: The tourist hill station of Ayubia perched at a height of about 8,000 feet and a virtual paradise for summer-weary excursionists in particular, has temporarily closed an attraction known as the ‘jewel in its crown’.

Recently, Ayubia-bound tourists have been discovering much to their chagrin that the oldest, and perhaps the most sought-after, chairlift of the country is inoperable owing to repairs since August 20, depriving families, and youth the panoramic aerial view of the sprawling Galiyat.

“The chairlift is an economical source of entertainment for tourists and its closure has deprived them of fancy joyrides,” said Amjad Iqbal, a resident of Islamabad who had just returned from Ayubia.

People, longing to wallow in the cool air and tall pine trees of Galiyat, including the nearby Nathiagali, naturally rue the closure of the chairlift at Ayubia, named after President Ayub Khan, who ordered its import from Switzerland and installation in 1962.

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Ever since, tourists have flocked the spot to use the chairlift overlooking the picturesque surroundings.

Every year over 100,000 tourists visit Ayubia National Park and the surrounding Galiyat, such as Changagali, Doongagali and Nathiagali.

Galiyat Development Authority (GDA) Director Raza Habib told APP that temporary repair of the chairlift would cost around Rs1.5 million to Rs2 million, while if the same was repaired and overhauled completely it would cost more than Rs20 million.

Habib said the authority was considering repairing it temporarily, and making it functional for the tourists.



Ayubia National Park is a protected area of 8,184 acres. The climate of the park is cold in the summers, but harsh in the winters. The park remains snow-capped through the later part of winter.

An accountant of GDA said the average per day income from the chairlift during the summer season stood at Rs200,000 to 250,000, while on weekends it reaches Rs300,000 to Rs400,000.

In this way, so far, the GDA has already accrued a loss of an estimated Rs4 million in first 20 days of its closure.

Some other officials of the authority said officers of the Heavy Mechanical Complex, Taxila had visited Ayubia chairlift along with the authority’s director (technical) and examined different sections of the chairlift.

“They had also given an estimate of Rs20 million for repairing the chairlift, which the GDA had conveyed in writing to the provincial government,” the officials said, adding that Tourism Secretary Azam Khan, who also holds the additional charge of GDA director-general, was in Peshawar for the purpose.

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The chairlift also stopped working in 2010 due to some technical faults, and its repair at that time cost Rs2.5 million. Later, the provincial government of Awami National Party leased it out for Rs294 million. The chairlift was then restored for tourists on August 11, 2012.

If the incumbent provincial government releases funds for the repair of the chairlift, it could avert a daily loss of Rs200,000. There is a need on the part of the provincial government of
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to take urgent measures to fix the chairlift.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 21^st,  2015.