Daily Times

Being the second most beautiful capital in the world, Islamabad hosts unaccountable lavish sceneries. Islamabad is one of the best and, most certainly the beautiful capital in the world. The Pakistani capital is famous for plenty of things such as pleasing visions, peaceful atmosphere, and abundant lavish foliage among so other things. Adjoining Islamabad is the enchanting Margalla Hills which have become synonyms to the capital’s endless beauty. It was built in 1960. And was the new capital of Pakistan replacing Karachi. Islamabad is for all those who admire living in greenery and silence.

There are numerous wonderful places in Islamabad like hotels, waterfalls, trails, food courts and historical monuments et al. This city is famous to attract tourists from all over the world. If you are planning to visit the capital you must visit these fine places that define ‘Islamabad’, without which your visit to Islamabad is fruitless.

Here are the top 5 best places you must visit in Islamabad

THE MONAL — the Monal restaurant is located on the top of the Margalla hills. Its reputation is second to none in the city’s restaurants. More so, it is famous all because of its breathtaking location. You can enjoy the delicious food with the mesmerising view of the capital that Monal offers. The Monal is opened all day, but the most preferred time is evening and night when all the city’s rush is found on the tracks leading towards Monal. The Monal has a view that could potentially take your breath away.

The Monal restaurant is located on the top of the Margalla hills. Its reputation is second to none in the city’s restaurants. More so, it is famous all because of its breathtaking location. You can enjoy the delicious food with the mesmerising view of the capital that Monal offers. The Monal is opened all day, but the most preferred time is evening and night when all the city’s rush is found on the tracks leading towards Monal

BRUTI — Bruti is a waterfall that exists in the Margalla hills. It takes almost one and a half hours’ hiking to see this amazing waterfall. The colour of the water is blue and green due to the reflection of the trees and sun. The trees are old and elegant which makes the place all the more stunning. You can feel the nature and, takes a long sigh of breaths in front of the waterfall. In summers you can also swim and enjoy BBQ with your friends and family. One advice: return with your plastic bags which harm animals.

FAISAL MOSQUE — Faisal mosque is built on the foothills of Margalla. This mosque is a gift of the late Saudi King Shah Faisal to Pakistan. It is the largest mosque present in Pakistan. The Mosque is made with the white that enhances the beauty of the mosque. By visiting the mosque, you can feel the peace inside and outside of yourself. It attracts a huge crowd at the weekends and, on every Friday prayer. This mosque attracts tourists in large numbers. According to the capacity, it is the 4th largest mosque in the world.

PAKISTAN MONUMENT — Pakistan Monument is a national heritage site built by the government of Pakistan on a hilly area known as Shakarparian. The design of the monument is of petal shape and, features the Mughal architecture. There are 4 larger petals and 3 small. Larger petals are a symbol of the 4 main cultures which exist in Pakistan i.e. Punjabi, Sindhi, Baloch, and Pashtun. Smaller petals represent the minorities, Azad Kashmir and Tribal areas. It’s a historical spot as well as a heritage museum that highlights the struggle of independence and, of those who had sacrificed their lives. You can see the history of struggle and life of the heroes of independence portrayed on the walls of the monument. In the museum, you can see the statue of Fatima Jinnah, Allama Iqbal and Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

TRAILS — one of the favourite tourist attractions of Islamabad is its trails. In

Margalla hills, there are different trails for hiking. You can choose that fits you best. But the most famous trail is the trail 5. In trail 5, there are waterfalls, wild animals and amazing sounds of the birds. The whole trail is full of countless trees. You can also find old trees which grab the tourist’s attention. When you are trailing in track 5, take a long breath, enjoy the ambiance and nature. When you reach the top of the hill, all you would think of is to stay there forever.

The writer is a graduate of Quaid-i-Azam University. She can be reached at iammehreenali@gmail.com