It was cold but
refreshing Sunday morning when we were eating last oranges of the stock in the
sun, when my parents decided to visit Khanpur and see me off to Islamabad from
there. It was sudden unexpected plan like most of our plans to explore the
areas in the vicinity. So we got up and started preparing to leave from Haripur
towards Khanpur for lunch.
Khanpur is a town and one
of the 44 union councils, administrative subdivisions, of Haripur District in
the Khyber Pakhtunhwa province of Pakistan. Khanpur is gradually becoming
tourist attraction for its beautiful resorts and other natural site views of
the region; other than Khanpur Dam. So many people are investing in building
bewitching restaurants and resorts to host people coming from other cities to
cherish the beauty of the region from different perspectives.
Within half an hour or so
we were at Khanpur looking for another resort we heard about there. Following
the directions on the way we finally reached Gandhara Castle Resort hidden in a
partially remote but mesmerizingly beautiful part of Khanpur alongside the dam.
We first went inside to
place the order and then to visit the place. Menu was good but most of the
things were not available, so we went with whatever was told us would be
convenient to be cooed within 30 to 45 minutes. The place was huge as compared
to other places around and what caught our attention was the peculiar and well
planned division of the place into indoor and outdoor spaces. It was a perfect
place for a family trip where interests of people of all ages were served.
There were swings for kids, volleyball net and ball for youngsters, boat rides
for all, outdoor stoves for those who were interested in cooking their own meals
at the spot, bamboo huts for the families who wanted to enjoy their meals while
cherishing the enchanting sites around, and a big restaurant with comfortable
seating for big meet ups or lunch al at one place. The whole resort is
carefully designed with captivating landscape and charismatic architecture.
After taking the ride of
the dam on the boat, we sat in one of the bamboo huts for taking our lunch. We
ordered biryani but that was just okay-ish. It didn’t taste that well as
expected; also it took way longer than the said time. So, on food side, the
place is fine; or may be just we didn’t have a good experience but as for the
place itself it was almost 10/10.
Anyway, we then went to
buy the special Khanpur oranges to relish the last of the season’s stock and
said final goodbyes and left for Islamabad.
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