Lake Saiful Muluk

Saiful Muluk (Urdu: جھیل سیف الملوک) is a mountainous lake in northern Pakistan, located at the northern end of the Kaghan Valley, 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, and is one of the highest lakes in Pakistan.

Lake Saiful Muluk
The lake is notable for its picturesque setting in the mountains of northern Pakistan
Lake Saiful Muluk Show map of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Lake Saiful Muluk Show map of Pakistan
Location	Saiful Muluk National Park, Kaghan Valley, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Coordinates	34.876957°N 73.694485°E / 34.876957; 73.694485
Lake type	Alpine, glacial lake
Primary inflows	Glacial water
Primary outflows	Stream (a tributary of Kunhar River)
Basin countries	Pakistan
Surface area	2.75 km2 (1.06 sq mi)
Max. depth	113 ft (34 m)
Surface elevation	3,224 metres (10,577 ft)[1]
Settlements	Naran

Location

The road to the lake traverses the mountains of the Kaghan Valley

Saiful Muluk is located in the Mansehra district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, about 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) north of Naran,^[2][3] in the northern part of Kaghan Valley. Malika Parbat, the highest peak in the valley is near the lake.^[4]

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.^{[citation needed]}

Physical features

Saiful Muluk was formed by glacial moraines that blocked the water of the stream passing through the valley.^[5] The Kaghan Valley 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.^{[citation needed]}

Saiful Muluk panorama in spring

Ecology

The lake has rich eco-diversity and holds many species of blue-green algae. Large brown trout are found in the lake, up to about seven kilograms.^[6] About 26 species of vascular plant exist in the area, with Asteraceae the most commonly found species. Other species commonly found in the region are: Ranunculaceae, Compositae, Cruciferae, Gramineae, Apiaceae, Leguminosae, Scrophulariaceae and Polygonaceae.^{[citation needed]}

Folklore

The Lake Saiful Muluk is named after a legendary prince from the tale titled Saiful Muluk, later on put into poem form by the Sufi poet Mian Muhammad Bakhsh.^[7] It tells the story of the Egyptian Prince Saiful Malook who fell in love with a fairy princess named Princess Badi ul-Jamal at the lake.^[8][1]

The Story of Prince Saiful Maluk (Arabic: قِصَّة سَيْف الْمُلُوْك وَبَدِيْع الْجَمَال, romanized: Qiṣat Saif al-Mulūk wa Badīʿ al-Jamāl) is an Arabic fable, a story of love between a prince and a fairy. It is considered a later addition to the One Thousand and One Nights collection of Arabic fables,^[9] and manuscripts of the story are dated to the 17th century.^[10] In South Asia, the story was put into Punjabi verse by 19th-century poet and mystic Mian Muhammad Bakhsh. It has also been retold in numerous languages such as Balochi, Bengali, English, Urdu and Punjabi.^{[11][12][13][14][15]}

According to the folklore, Saiful Maluk (whose name means 'Sword of the Kings')^[16] was a prince of Egypt. He had significant wealth which he had inherited from his forefathers. Inscribed on the treasure were two seals; one bearing the image of Saiful Muluk and the other one being that of Badi-ul-Jamala.^[1] One night, Prince Saiful Maluk saw in a dream, a lake and a fairy. He got up and went to tell his dream to his father, asking him about the place and the fairy. His father told him that he can't meet the fairy as she isn't human, unlike him. However, the longer the prince recollected his dream, the more he was overwhelmed with love for the fairy.^[17][18][19]

Gallery

Hover the mouse click or tap on the following images to see their captions.

• 
  Lake Saiful Muluk under clouds
• 
  A view of lake in Wortez
• 
  Lake Saiful Muluk in a sunny day
• 
  A full view of Lake Saif-ul-Muluk
• 
  Lake Saif ul Malook in May 2017
• 
  The lake freezes over in winter
• 
  Lake Saif ul Muluk in December 2012
• 
  Tourist point with Lake
• 
  A boat in Saiful Maluk Lake
• 
  Lake Saif-Ul-Mulook, Kaghan Valley, Pakistan
• 
  Lake Saif-Ul-Mulook at night
• 
  Lake Saiful Malook Pakistan

See also

• Lulusar Lake
• Katora Lake
• Dudipatsar Lake
• Mahodand Lake
• Ratti Gali Lake