Freshwater springs, forested mountains beckon tourists

ASBANR VALLEY, Lower Dir: As the sunrays fall on the green hills in Asbanr valley of Lower Dir district, the wheel of daily life begins turning gradually with children on way to school and farmers to their fields.
Aslam, about 17, has the knack of walking through flowing streams in the valley amid lush green forests and towering hills.
He gave up schooling when he was a student of class-VIII, and so are most of the youth in the valley.
“Take to the left, be careful, your feet may slip on the wet rocks of the khwar (stream),” he says jumping from one stone to another.
Most schoolchildren abandon schooling in the valley because they either go abroad to earn or manage affairs of the house in the village.
For a population of about 40,000 in the Asbanr valley, life is simple and predictable - getting up at the crack of dawn, going to the fields, running errands and getting into a peaceful sleep after daylong activities.
The valley is famous for freshwater springs. Locals have grown plants around the springs or piled up stones so that people can take a bath in the spring water without being seen.
Along with their subsistence farming, scores of families also rely on the overseas earning as they own small lands that cannot sustain their livelihood.
The agricultural produce includes wheat, rice, maize and vegetables.
Asbanr valley, part of Chakdara tehsil in Lower Dir district, is located 37 kilometres from Malakand.
It is the border area between Lower Dir and Swat
districts. Swat’s main
cities of Mingora and Saidu Sharif and Lower Dir headquarters Timergara are located on its eastern and western sides, while the high mountains of Upper Dir are sited to its north and Chakdara to its south.
With an area of almost
120 square kilometers, the Asbanr valley has several villages including Shorshing, Butt Qilla, Abbeshah, Guli Bagh, Kashmir Dherai, Bamboli, Qilla Shah, Banda Shah and Kumbar.
It requires perseverance to travel to the valley due to the rough patch as the area lacks metalled roads.
Though the valley is just 15 kilometres from the Chakdarra bazaar, the journey up to
central parts of Asbanr
takes almost two hours due to the winding and tough route that has several bends and slopes.
However, upon reaching the place, one is amazed to see the beauty of nature in the valley.
The scenery is such that one forgets the difficulties encountered on the way.
The valley can become a magnet for tourists if the tourism authorities start paying attention to it.