11/09/2026
The Dhaba at Margan Top
To reach the remote Warwan Valley, the journey takes you across Margan Top.
And just beyond the pass, in Doka, stands a small roadside dhaba run by Ghulam Muhammad Lone.
There is no internet here. And often, travellers arrive without cash.
But Ghulam Muhammad doesn't let that stop them from having a cup of tea.
He lights the traditional chulha, puts the kettle on the fire, and serves tea to travellers passing through.
"Don't worry about the money," he tells them. "Go to Warwan. When you return, if you find cash somewhere, you can pay me."
His little dhaba is more than a place to eat.
It is a place where drivers stop, travellers rest, conversations begin, and the traditional ho**ah still finds its place beside a cup of tea.
There is his own tandoor, food like rajma chawal, and the warmth of a fire burning on a cold mountain pass.
In a valley where the internet may not reach, trust still does.
This is Ghulam Muhammad Lone's little corner on the road to Warwan.
Sometimes, the most memorable part of a journey is not the destination, but the people you meet along the way.
