The document provides information on various tourist sites in the Malakand region of Pakistan, including the Swat and Chitral districts. It describes archaeological sites like the Swat Museum and Buddhist stupas, towns like Mingora known for handicrafts, and hill stations like Miandam suitable for hiking. Further sites mentioned include the villages of Bahrain, Kalam, and Madyan on the Swat River known for their scenery and handicrafts. Chitral is highlighted as the "Jewel of the Hindukush" with features like the Chitral Fort and Kalash valleys home to the Kalash people and their unique culture. Various festivals, mountains like Tirich Mir, and passes

2. Tourism Potential Of Malakand Region
A Presentation By
Mr. Allah Dad Khan

3. MALAKAND AND SWAT REGION
The Malakand division of the North West Frontier Province of
Pakistan covers one third of the total area of the Province. The
region is further divided into Chitral, Dir, Swat, Buner, Shangla
Districts and Malakand Agency. It's distinctive features make the
area a "Tourist's Heaven"

4. SWAT MUSEUM
This museum is situated
between Mingora and Saidu
Sharif. The archaeological
finds belong to Gandhara
Buddhist art of Swat. The
samples of local embroidery,
jewelry and carved wood
objects are on display.

5. NIMOGRAM BUDDHIST STUPAS
While travelling from Chakdara
towards Saidu Sharif, one
reaches Landakai. About 7 km
from here, a road leads towards
Nimogram, which is further 21
km away. A Buddhist monastery
is situated here on the top of a
hillock, giving an overall view of
the area. There are three main
stupas, surrounded by a
number of small votive stupas.
Dressed stones have been
used in the construction and
bear similarity to Andan Dheri
monastery.

6. SHINGARDARA STUPA
Site
About three kilometres from
Barikot, one gets a glance of a
magnificent Buddhist stupa on
the right side. This stupa is
perhaps the only one, whose
dome is complete. The period of
its construction is estimated
between third and fourth
centuries AD. Just about one
and a half km away from this
stupa, one can see large figures
of Buddha carved on the rock.

7. MINGORA
Site
Mingora has been an
important trading centre
for the last 2000 years.
The bazaars are
interesting to explore for
semi precious stones,
hand-woven and
embroiled clothes,
shawls, bedsheets,
woodwork, tribal jewelry
and antiques of different
kinds. The hills having the
world famous "Emerald
Mines" are located to the
north of the town.

8. SAIDU SHARIF
Site
Saidu Sharif and Mingora
are twin cities. Saidu Sharif
has several government
buildings, the Swat Museum,
the Tomb of Akund of Swat
and the archaeological
remains of the Butkara
Buddhist Stupa.

9. MARGHZAR
Marghzar is a small town
situated at the foot of Mount
Ilam about 13 krn away from
Saidu Sharlf. It is famous for
its White Marble Palace, built
by the Wali-e-Swat in early
1940's. The palace now
serves as a hotel. While
going towards Marghzar, a
road turns to Islam Pur,
which is famous for its
woodwork, shawls and
blankets.

10. MIANDAM
Site
This is one of the
upcoming hill resorts,
about 56 km away from
Saidu Sharif. The
surrounding area offers
natural beauty, with
forests, orchards,
mountains and streams
which can be enjoyed
by hiking.

11. MADYAN
Site
Madyan is a tourist resort on the
banks of Swat river. It is 1312 m
above sea level. The town is
famous for handicraft, embroidery
and antique shops. A trout hatchery
is also located here. Many beautiful
side valleys can be approached
from here. The distance of Madyan
is 56 km from Saidu Sharif.
The town of Bahrain is situated 66
km from Saidu Sharif and is 10km
from Madyan. It is another popular
riverside resort, with bazaars worth
exploring for their handicrafts. The
surrounding area has beautiful
valleys and is suitable for hiking.
The mosques and buildings are
worth seeing for wooden carved
pillars and other fixtures.

12. Bahrain:
Site
 Bahrain is ten kilometres north
of Madyan and only slightly
higher, at about 1,400 meters
(4,500 feet). It is another
popular riverside tourist resort,
with bazaars worth exploring for
their handicrafts. Some of the
houses have carved wooden
doors, pillars and balconies.
These show a remarkable
variety of decorative motifs,
including floral scrolls and
bands of ornamental diaper
patterns almost identical to
those seen on Buddhist shrines
and quite different from the
usual Muslim designs.

13. Kalam:
Site
 Kalam, 29 kilometres (18
miles) from Bahrain and
about 2,000 meters (6,800
feet) above sea level, the
valley opens out, providing
rooms for a small but fertile
plateau above the river. In
Kalam the Ushu and Utrot
rivers join to form the Swat
river. Here, the metalled road
ends and shingle road leads
to the Ushu and Utrot
valleys. From Matiltan one
gets a breath-taking view of
the snow-capped Mount
Falaksir 5918 meters
(19,415 ft.), and another un-
named peak 6096 meters

14. Ushu Valley:
Site
 The valleys of Ushu,
Utrot and Gabral
beyond Kalam,
constitute some of the
most beautiful parts of
Swat. There is good
trout fishing around
Utrot. Foreign tourists
are advised to contact
the local police
authorities at Kalam
before preceding to the
valleys of Ushu, Utrot
and Gabral.

17. Utrot and Gabral Valleys:
Site
 The valleys of Utrot
and Gabralbeyond
Kalam, constitute some
of the most beautiful
parts of Swat. There is
good trout fishing
around Utrot. Foreign
tourists are advised to
contact the local police
authorities at Kalam
before preceding to the
valleys of Utrot and

20. CHAKDARA MUSEUM
Site
The Chakdara
Museum is situated
about one km from the
fort. It has an excellent
collection of Buddhist
Gandhara Art, from first
to seventh century AD.
It helps people to learn
about the rich cultural
heritage of the area.


21. CHURCHILL PICKET
Site
 Close to the Chakdara
Fort, a picket crowns
the hillock towards the
west. This is known as
the Churchill Picket
because Winston
Churchill came here
during the Pathan
Revolt of 1879. This
place was used by him
for sending reports. He
was then a war
correspondent.


22. CHITRAL
 Chitral is the "Jewel of the
Hindukush" guarded by the
majestic Trichmir Peak. The
famous town of Chitral is
situated about 322 km from
Peshawar. It is also connected
to Peshawar by air. The whole
area is mountainous, having
green valleys and the towering
Trichmir Peak (7700 meters) of
the Hindukush. The Chitral Fort
is one of the famous
monuments of the town. There
is also a palace inside the fort
and a beautiful mosque outside
the fort. All the foreign visitors to
Chitral must register with the
police on their arrival. Chitral is
about 322KM (10 hours
jeepable journey) from
Peshawar. Daily two flights are
available from Peshawar to

23. KALASH VALLEYS
 The world famous
Kalash People live in
the three valleys of Birir,
Bumburet and Rambur.
The Kalash are an
ancient tribe and have a
religion and a culture of
their own. They have
many festivals around
the year during which
the men and women
perform colourful
dances. The major
festivals are
Chilamjusht, Phool and

24. GARAM CHASHMA
Site
 Also known as "Hot
Springs". The village by the
same name is about 45 km
to the north west of Chitral.
The jeep journey takes about
3 hours. These hot springs
contain sulphur in their water
which is good for healing
skin diseases, headache and
other pains and gout. The
village has a big market,
where the caravans from
Badakhshan bring precious
stones and other products.
The town gives a look of
"Caravan Sarai". It is also
famous for "Patti" a typical
woolen cloth.

25. Hotel Innjigaan Located at Innjigaan
(Popularly known as Garam Chashma).
 It is quite modest
hotel but takes care of
basic necessities. The
best it offers is a very
clean and healing
outdoor Swimming
Pool, fed by Natural
Hot Springs.

26. Pathak Festival at Garam Chashma in
Lutkoh Valley, Chitral.
 Lutkoh Valley, commonly
known as Garam Chishma,
celebrate its traditional cum
religious spring festival of
Pathak. Pir Nasir Khisraw,
an 11th century spiritualist
poet and Sufi philosopher
came here to preach Islam.
He went into 40-day spiritual
solitude. His disciples
believe that in his 40-day
meditation, he attained
spiritual enlightenment, and
they celebrate Phatak
Festival in the memory of
this day of enlightenment
that falls on the first week of
February.

27. Mastuj Valley, Chitral
 . Mastuj is a Valley
and Tehsil of Chitral
District in Khyber-
Pakhtunkhwa
province of Pakistan

28. A Snow Leopard in Chitral
National Park.
 Chitral National Park (also
called Chitral Gol National Park)
is located in Gol Valley and Kafir
Kalash land of Chitral District in
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
Province. The word Gol in the
local language means ‘the
valley’. The Park is at a distance
of two hours drive from Chitral
town.
The snow leopard, an
endangered species, lives in the
mountain ranges of Central
Asia. In Pakistan, their
protected areas are Chitral
National Park, in the Khyber-
Pakhtunkhwa Province
and Khunjerab National Park,
in Gilgit-Baltistan Province

29. Joshi (Spring) Festival in
Kalash, Chitral.
 The Kalash people
celebrate the end of
winter in May each year
with the Joshi (Spring)
Festival. The first day of
Joshi is Milk Day.
People go from house
to house, dancing and
singing. Each
household offers milk
that has been saved for
10 days before the

30. Kalash Museum.

31. PTDC Motel in Kalash Valley

32. Chitral Air Port

33. Khot Valley Torkhow Chitral

34. Rayen Valley Torkhow Chitral

35. Hindukush Heights Hotel, Chitral.
Site
 Hindukush Heights is
the best hotel in Chitral.
Tatler, UK, in its travel
guide 2010 ranks it
among “the best 101
hotels in the world”. The
hotel is run by its owner
Siraj Ulmulk, an ex PIA
pilot, and his wife
Ghazalla
Ulmulk. Hindukush
Heights has a branch of
their hotel at Mastuj in
northern of Chitral.

37. Tirich Mir Peak.
Site
 Tirich Mir is the highest
peak of the Hindu Kush
Range, located in
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,
Pakistan. Tirich Mir
overlooks Chitral town
and can be seen from
the main bazaar. Its
height is 25,289 feet
(7,708 metres). The
mountain was first
climbed in 1950 by a
Norwegian expedition

38. Summer Palace of Former Mehtar of
Chitral.
Site
 Photo by Hector
Salazar. Birmogh Lasht,
located on a prominent
ridge at an elevation of
2,743 meters (9,900
feet), has the summer
palace of the former
Mehtar of Chitral. The
palace is 15 km from
Chitral town and about
1200 metres above the
town and valley.

39. Lowari Pass (or Lowari Top), Chitral
 – 20 June 1989. Photo by Noor
Mohammad Khan. Lowari
Pass (Elevation 10,500 feet)
connects Chitral with Dir. Lowari
Top is the lowest pass to enter
Chitral, the rest all being 12,000
to 15,000 feet. The Lowari Top
is one of the four major
mountain passes to enter
Chitral. The others are the
Dorah Pass from Badakshan in
Afghanistan, Shandur Top from
Gilgit, and Broghol Pass from
the Wakhan Corridor in
Afghanista. Lowari Top is closed
by snow for all type of traffic
from late November to late May
every year. In 1954, the Mehtar
of Chitral was killed when his
airplane crashed into Lowari
Top

40. Lowari Tunnel, Chitral.
 It’s the first time that
Lowari Tunnel remained
open throughout the
harsh winter of 2011-
12. The 8.75 km long
tunnel, which is still
under construction, was
built to reduce the
distance between Dir
and Chitral districts and
ease movement of
traffic throughout the
year. More than 150
vehicles use the tunnel
every day.

41. SHANDUR PASS
The world famous Shandur
Pass is about 3738 m above
sea level and lies midway
between Chitral and Gligit. The
distance from both Chitral and
Gilgit is about 168 km. These
areas remain snow- clad in
winter and turn into a green
heaven during summer. There is
a big lake in the area. One can
approach the Shandur Top by
jeep from either side. The
traditional Polo Tournament
between the Gilgit and Chitral
teams is held here every year in
the month of July. Foreign
tourists and natives come to
see the festival.

42. Polo Match At Shandur

43. Shandur Lake

44. Qaqlasht Festival in Chitral.
 The 4-day long Qaqlasht
Festival is organized every year
in mid April at the sprawling
ground of Qaqlasht, 80 Km from
Chitral town. According to local
legend, Qaqlasht Festival is
being celebrated for the last 500
years. Many sporting teams
participate in a variety of games
including cricket, football,
volleyball, polo, Ghaluzchun
Ghall (Polo without horse, more
like a field hockey) Sia-Khaman
(a shooting competition with an
antique gun called Sia-
Khaman)), falconry (an event
where falconers exhibit skills of
their falcons to hunt its prey),
tug-of-war, athletics and
paragliding

45. Tordeh Chitral near Chitral,
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa-Province

46. Trekking over chateboi Glacier Chitral

47. Trekking in the Yarkun Valley Mastuj Chitral

55. Kalkot Kumrat valley, Upper Dir