Saidpur Village

Saidpur is far older than the city that grew around it, a settlement on a spring at the foot of the Margallas that takes its name from Said Khan, a sixteenth-century Ghakhar chief, and that served as a stop on routes through these hills. When Islamabad was laid out in the 1960s the village was left in place, and in 2006 it was restored as a heritage site: cobbled lanes, restored village houses, a Hindu temple and a Sikh gurdwara preserved as monuments rather than working places of worship, a small museum of village life, and a row of restaurants with terraces looking down over the city. The result is somewhere between an authentic village and a curated attraction, busy in the evenings with Islamabad families eating out. Trails into the Margalla Hills start immediately above, which makes the village a natural start or finish for a morning walk.

History

The village was founded in 1530 by Mirza Fateh Ali as Fatehpur Baoli; Emperor Akbar later gave it to Said Khan Gakhar as a reward for his family's service, and it took his name, and when Said Khan's daughter married Prince Saleem, the future Jahangir, he gave her the village as a wedding gift. Raja Man Singh visited in 1580 and made it a place of Hindu worship, with ponds named after figures of the Ramayana, and in 2006 the Capital Development Authority restored the village (Wikipedia, Saidpur, Islamabad).

What to look for

• The temple and gurdwara - preserved shrines from the village's mixed past.
• Restored lanes - cobbled streets and village houses in the old core.
• Hillside restaurants - terraces looking out over Islamabad.
• The small museum - displays on village life and the restoration.

When to go

October to April for comfortable weather; evenings are the liveliest time, when the restaurants fill and the city lights come on below. Weekdays are quiet. Summer afternoons are hot and the village is best visited after sunset then.

Good to know

The restoration has made the village more of a dining and photo destination than a living heritage site, and parts of it feel staged. The temple and gurdwara are empty monuments, not functioning places of worship. Restaurant prices are high by local standards. Parking is difficult on busy evenings.

Nearby

Margalla trails start above the village; Faisal Mosque is a short drive west.

Key facts