Kahal Dam, A Beautiful Lake and Excellent Retreat from Bustling Life

🏞️ Kahal Dam — Overview

📍 Location
• District: Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan 🇵🇰
• Coordinates (approx.): 33.9325° N, 72.9600° E 
• Situated on a small tributary called Kahal nullah in the Haripur region. 

⸻

📊 Key Specifications

(Note: Kahal Dam is a small/local dam, not a major reservoir like Tarbela or Khanpur.)

📌 Structure & Capacity
• Type: Earthfill/small irrigation dam (causeway type on Kahal nullah) 
• Storage Capacity (original): ~7,000 acre-feet (~8.6 million m³) 
• Current Capacity: Reduced (estimated 3,000–4,000 acre-feet) due to siltation & lack of maintenance. 

(“Acre-feet” is a standard unit of water volume used for reservoirs; 1 acre-foot ≈ 1,233 m³.)

📆 Construction
• Era: Built in the 1960s during the leadership of Field Marshal Ayub Khan. 
• Exact formal records on “year started” and “year completed” are not broadly published, but the project dates back to that period.

⸻

💧 Purpose

Kahal Dam was constructed primarily to support:
1. Irrigation: Supplying stored rainwater to agricultural areas (expected irrigated area ≈ 80 acres across local villages). 
2. Local water retention: Capturing hill rainfall flows from the outlet stream for beneficial use. 
3. Fisheries & local ecology: The reservoir has functioned as a fish hatchery and a small ecological resource. 

⚠️ In recent years, maintenance issues have reduced its water capacity and canal connectivity — lowering its utility unless desilting/rehabilitation is undertaken. 

⸻

🗺️ Route from Islamabad to Kahal Dam

Here’s a live Google Maps link showing the typical route:

👉 View Route on Google Maps:
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Islam...

✈️ General Directions
• Start from Islamabad (e.g., Zero Point).
• Head northwest toward Haripur Road / GT Road (N-35).
• Turn off toward Haripur district following local roads toward villages like Kahal / Kahal Bala.
• The dam is in rural countryside near Kahal nullah — the final approach is on secondary roads.

📍 Estimated distance: ~60–80 km (≈1.5–2 hours by car depending on traffic).
(Exact distance varies with starting point in Islamabad and chosen route.)

⸻

📌 Notes & Tips
• Visitor access: The dam area is scenic but relatively rural — facilities (signage, rest spots) are limited.
• Best time to visit: Post-monsoon (late summer to early winter) when reservoir levels and natural greenery are higher.
• Nearby major landmarks: Haripur city, Khanpur Dam (larger reservoir ~50 km away), Tarbela Dam further northwest.