Margalla Hills Trails will be Closed During Parade Preparation

Capital Development Authority (CDA) administration has also appealed to the public to avoid any trouble

Islamabad: Margalla Hills Trails will be Closed During Parade Preparation . On the occasion of March 23 (Parade Day) the administration of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) announced that in Islamabad the tourist places located at Trail No. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 has been closed for public from 19th March to 23rd March from 5AM to 5PM due to Parade preparations.

On this occasion, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) administration has also appealed to the public to avoid any trouble from March 19 to March 23 from 5AM to 5PM on Trail No. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 don’t turn so that they don’t have to face any kind of problem.

It should be noted that after March 23 (Parade Day) the mentioned trails will be opened for the public as per the schedule.

Read More: FC Balochistan Holds Passing Out Parade for Special Conversion Group Soldiers

The Margalla Hills  are a hill range within the Margalla Hills National Park on the northern edge of Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan, just south of Haripur District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They are part of the Himalayan foothills. The Margalla range has an area of 12,605 hectares. It is a range with many valleys as well as high mountains.

Paleontology and archeology

According to the research carried out by scientists and archaeologists of the project “Post-Earthquake Explorations of Human Remains in Margalla Hills”, the formation of the Margalla Hills dates to the Miocene epoch. The dominant limestone of the Margalla is mixed with sandstone and occasional minor beds of shale. The archaeologists of the project have also found two human footprints over one million years old here, preserved in sandstone.

There are around 250 to 300 species of plants on the Margalla Hills. As many as two-thirds of them are used by the people for their medicinal effects to treat or cure various diseases.

The Margalla Hills are home to various species of wildlife, including monkeys, exotic birds and carnivores such as the rare and presently endangered Margalla leopard.

Much less common are leopards, which occasionally come down from the Murree area but usually remain high up in the hills. Villagers dwelling in the Margallas do report sighting of leopards off and on.

Bird watching

The Margallas are an excellent place for bird watchers. The area is home to a large number of birds, including robins, sparrows, kites, crows, larks, paradise flycatchers, black partridge, shrikes, pheasants, spotted doves, Egyptian vultures, falcons, hawks, eagles, Himalayan griffon vulture, laggar falcon, peregrine falcon, kestrel, Indian sparrow hawk, white cheeked bulbul, yellow vented bulbul, cheer pheasant, khalij pheasant, golden oriole, collared dove, wheatears and buntings.

The cheer pheasant, indigenous to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was being reared in Margalla Hills as a part of conservation campaign by the World Pheasant Association and Capital Development Authority.

Hiking trails

There are several hiking trails in the Margalla Hills. Trail 3 and 5 are the most popular ones, starting from the Margalla Road opposite sector F-6 and ending at the Pir Sohawa Road.