Mini Travel Series: Rowing at Rawal Lake

I had very limited time in Islamabad (right before moving to Canada) and a lot of friends to meet, so I asked eight of my friends to join me at ‘Rawal Lake’ on a Saturday morning. I became friends with these during different stages of my life. Some of them were my ex-colleagues and the rest were my friends from different excursion tours. When we reached our destination in the morning, I introduced them to each other. I was shocked to see the water level lower than I have ever seen it in my life. I saw some islands in the lake which had never been visible before. 

One of my friends brought his inflatable boat. We took turns to fill up the boat using a foot pump. It was then time to try out the boat in turns. Before stepping in the boat, I asked everyone for forgiveness (with a grin) as I didn’t trust his boat. He had himself casually commented that it leaks. Once we got on, it didn’t seem dangerous at all; even though I could feel my clothes getting wet in the boat. Obviously there was a bit of leakage but we were too distracted and thrilled to worry about it. As soon as we got in, the owner of the boat put his feet up and lay down on full relax mode. We girls had no idea how to row but he said he will let us figure it out ourselves. Our boat was spinning round and round as we hysterically laughed failing to understand how the chapoos work. The views from the boat were really beautiful. Ours was the only visible boat in the whole lake.

After three boat rides, we started packing up. For breakfast, one friend suggested a new cafe named ‘Loafology’ which has opened in Blue area. Another one suggested a local desi khokha near the lake. When we voted, each one of us preferred the latter. I thought I would really miss khokhas (not some fancy cafes) when I move to Canada. We then drove to the secret khokha where we ordered Samosa chaat, Pakoras and Shezan juices. We all had a great time there. I had to drive back to E-11 with one of my closest friends.  We had one hell of a drive back home. We laughed till our stomachs hurt and tears rolled down our eyes. I am so blessed to have such good friends who are only a text (and just 6500 miles…lol) away (now). Sharing the day highlights here today. 

If you want to spend a lovely day out with friends or family at this exotic side of Rawal lake, click here for google map location and just drive there in your car like I did. Alternatively, you can type ‘Banigala Lake Park’ on Google maps on your phone and get directions. This side of Rawal lake is away from the general public and mostly is pretty private. There are local boats available there too. There is a small trail and a lot of trees there too. Perfect break from office and electronic screens.

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