Amid hide and seek between sunshine and clouds over Galiyat hills, tourists alongwith families flocked to Nathiagali and Thandyani to celebrate Pakistan’s independence day in most beffting manner
NATHIAGALI, (APP – UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 10th Aug, 2026) Amid hide and seek between sunshine and clouds over Galiyat hills, tourists alongwith families flocked to Nathiagali and Thandyani to celebrate Pakistan’s independence day in most beffting manner.
For 32-year-old Statistics lecturer Sundas Omar, Pakistan’s Independence Day was not merely a date on the calendar rather it was a historic occasion to celebrate her identity, prestige and love for the country in the lap of the serenity of Nathiagali.
With her car painted in the green and white colours of the national flag and national songs echoing from its music system, she alongwith family first arrived at Thandiani Top to mark Jashn-e-Azadi in a beffting manner.
As the clouds repeatedly covered the sun and intermittent rain swept across the hills, she remained busy hammering tent pegs into the damp ground, preparing a makeshift campsite for a night in the cool mountain air amid Dil Dil Pakistan’s song that enthralled her daughters.
“We started our journey towards Thandiani after performing Fajr prayer on Monday and reached here in about five hours amid a hide-and-seek between the sun and black clouds, sometimes accompanied by erratic rainfall,” she told APP, smiling as she shared fruit with family.
“Instead of disturbing us, the changing weather doubled our joy before arrival of Pakistan’s birthday.”
For Sundas and her family, the journey itself became part of the celebration. The national songs such as Dil Dil Pakistan and Sohni Dharti has provided the soundtrack as the friends travelled towards one of Abbottabad’s most scenic mountain destinations.
“We selected Thandyani and Nathiagali as our first camping site because from here tourists can enjoy breathtaking views of distant mountain ranges and lush green valleys of Kashmir and Muree,” he said.
Situated at around 2,700 metres above sea level, Thandiani is known for its cool climate, pine forests, hiking trails and expansive mountain vistas. Official tourism material described it as a popular destination for domestic families and small groups, while plans for an Integrated Tourism Zone envision additional recreational and visitor facilities.
Wearing a green shirt and traditional Peshawari chappal, her husband Omar Khan looked every bit an enthusiastic Independence Day traveller.
“Pakistan, being the most beautiful country, has given us everything, including identity, prestige and honour. Our identity as Pakistanis is something we must cherish and protect just as we guard our caste and family name,” he said.
“I celebrate Pakistan’s birthday like my own birthday. Independence is a great blessing from Almighty Allah, and we should cherish it like other blessings with great enthusiasm.”
For them, however, patriotism should not end when the flags hoisting ceremonies.
“Every year, August 14 reminds us of the supreme sacrifices rendered by our forefathers. The incredible fervour and enthusiasm displayed on Jashn-e-Azadi should remain alive throughout the year and this spirit should be visible in every good step we take for the betterment of our beloved country,” Omar said.
His friend Zeeshan Khan, a public sector employee, believes that Pakistan’s young population represents both its greatest opportunity and its greatest responsibility especially in tourism and Information technology.
“About 64 percent of Pakistan’s population comprises young people, and great responsibilities rest on them to work tirelessly for the country’s economic prosperity,” he said.
“Every nation has milestones to reach on the road to development and prosperity. We, as a nation, need to work hard, demonstrate greater dedication and commitment and reach for the high skies by making Pakistan an economic power.”
Zeeshan recalled Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s message to students during his visit to Islamia College Peshawar on April 12, 1948, when he urged young people to support the government and contribute through patriotic, honest and constructive efforts.
For the family and friends camping in the mountains, that message seemed especially relevant as patriotism, they suggested, is not only expressed through flags and songs but also through love for Pakistan, spreading rays of education, professional integrity, hard work and service to society.
The Independence Day rush also brought a welcome economic boost to communities across the Galiyat region.
From Nathiagali and Ayubia to Thandiani, Bagnotar and Harnoi, the valleys are started transforming into a sea of green and white as residents decorated roads, homes, vehicles and businesses with Pakistani flags.
Tourists arrived from different parts of the country, particularly Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, turning the mountain resorts into lively gathering places.
Hotels, inns, restaurants and roadside vendors benefited from the influx, while horse and camel riders and other small-scale service providers also found additional customers for the national day celebration.
The wider tourism sector has increasingly been viewed as an avenue for employment and local economic activity in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The provincial government stressed that tourism should be promoted as an industry capable of generating employment for young people and strengthening the provincial economy.
Saad Khan, KP Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA) spokesman told APP on Monday that the government has also introduced initiatives aimed at enabling young people living in tourist areas to benefit directly from tourism.
A provincial scheme, launched in collaboration with the Bank of Khyber, offered interest-free financing for improving or establishing tourist accommodation in areas including Galiyat and Kaghan, with particular preference for women entrepreneurs.
Tourism officials and planners, however, increasingly face the challenge of balancing visitor growth with environmental protection.
The natural environment remains one of Galiyat’s greatest assets and potentially its most vulnerable.
Recent provincial tourism initiatives have placed greater emphasis on environmental protection in the region. During a July 2026 visit to Galiyat, Special Assistant to the Chief Minister for Tourism Malik Adeel Iqbal directed authorities to halt illegal construction and stressed that the region’s natural beauty and environment would be protected. Officials also outlined plans involving wastewater treatment and improved tourism management.
The message is particularly significant for places such as Thandiani and Nathiagali, where the very features that attract visitors such as forests, cool weather, wildlife, mountain views and tranquillity can be threatened by unmanaged development, littering and excessive tourist pressure.
Tourism researchers have similarly identified infrastructure, environmental management, planning, safety, visitor awareness and sustainable development as key challenges for long-term tourism growth in South Asia.
For Thandiani and Nathiagali, sustainability could therefore become as important as promotion.
A destination can attract thousands of visitors for a national holiday, but its long-term success depends on whether those visitors leave behind income for local communities without leaving behind mountains of waste.
As evening approached, the clouds thickened over Nathiagali and the temperature dropped. Around the campsite, national flags fluttered in the cool breeze while families and groups of young people continued to arrive.
For some visitors, the 14th August holiday may be an opportunity to escape the heat of the plains but for Sumbal family, it was something more personal and promoting patratism.
They had brought a unique Independence Day to the mountains, a decorated car, a tent, traditional footwear, songs of patriotism, fruit shared among nearby tourists and a determination to celebrate 14th August away from the crowds of the cities.
Their small celebration mirrored a much larger national scene unfolding across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In Peshawar, Abbottabad, Mansehra, Haripur and other cities of KP, flag-hoisting ceremonies will be held at Deputy Commissioner offices, while the national anthem and police bands to mark the historic occasion with national enthusiasm.
Across Peshawar, homes, cars and markets were being dressed in green and white, while flags, buntings, banners and miniature models of the Pakistan Monument become popular among children and families.
But perhaps the most telling images came from places such as Galiyat, where patriotism are blended naturally with Pakistan’s landscape.
As the national songs continued to play and the mist settled over the pine-covered mountains, Sundas looked towards the surrounding peaks. “Independence is a great blessing,” she repeated.
For her, celebrating Pakistan birthday meant more than remembering the past rather looking towards a future in which the country’s young people could transform their enthusiasm into education, honest work, economic progress and responsible citizenship.
And on a cool Monday afternoon at 2,700 metres above sea level, beneath a sky shifting between sunshine, clouds and rain, that message found an unlikely but fitting backdrop are the green mountains of Galiyat.
