PESHAWAR, March 23: Hidden among giant crouching hills in the Swat valley, there is a flourishing hotel that was once the summer palace of the former ruler of the area. To cope with the growing inflow of tourists, the hotel is posing a great threat to the surrounding habitat as it eats  away one huge tree every night to keep water boiling for the inmates.

Such is the fate of Swat, the synonym for tourism in Pakistan, that times are fast approaching when no trees would be found in its environs and its river would be polluted. There would then be nothing left to hazard a journey of a few hundred kilometres to behold the spectacle of hotels in an empty bowl.

The scene in Swat is changing for the worse at a rapid pace. In the not too distant past, May to the end of August was considered the prime time for visiting the valley.

The season could now prove too taxing for the tourists as one finds it difficult to find shelter from the blazing sun. The area has been denuded of forests with impunity by the mafia replacing them with an array of hotels that throw their waste into the river.

The most convincing argument, however, that would dissuade one from venturing to Swat in the summer would be to tell one about the condition of the roads. In conjunction with the heat, one is confronted  with the dust blown on a road with potholes, which, ironically, brings to mind the title of an old film, Road to Swat. The title, one assumes, was in keeping with the scenic, shaded road of the past.

It is thus advisable to tread into this tourist resort of sorts in the relatively chilly months of March and April. One is likely to experience fast winds that feel like sweeping away the roofs if you are staying in an old hotel with tin roof. But all that is welcome as long as one is not bothered by the hustle bustle of the traffic created during the onslaught of tourists.

Swat was once famous for its fast flowing river teeming with trout, dense forests, vast glaciers and snow covered mountains and gems and stones.

The most precious asset were the people of Swat, known for their tolerance, beauty and social stature.

Then came Sufi Mohammad of Dir, undauntedly riding in his four-wheeler with a number-plate that read “Non-custom-paid”, and his brigade of zealots who wanted their interpretation of the religion to be preached and practised. Sufi and his disciples found thousands of followers milling around their camp and espousing their cause, nonpayment of taxes and disobedience to the law.

The scenario dealt a fatal blow to the local business that thrived on tourism, as people concerned about the safety of their families stopped visiting Swat.

Swat, once known for all that was beautiful, became the last bastion of the fanatic and the unruly.

Lawlessness reached new scales when hordes of gullible Swatis in obedience to the call of Sufi Mohammad decided to take the B-52 and Daisy Cutter wielding United States head-on.

Those who dared and are still in the captivity of the Afghan merchants are paying for their lives at the prevalent market rates commensurate with their financial position.

A heavy price for ignorance indeed but a blessing in disguise for the tourism industry, as one lurking threat to its survival has died its own destined death.

There are immense treasures of unexplored natural beauty in the region that beckon the more adventurous of us to the beautiful mornings in a vast expanse of idyllic peace.