Chitral

Chitral is the capital of the Chitral District, situated on the western bank of the Chitral River (also called Kunar River), now located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

Chitral shares a border to the east with Gilgit-Baltistan, to the south-east with Swat valley, to the north and north-east with China and the Wakhan corridor of Afghanistan, and in the west with the Nuristan and Kunar provinces of Afghanistan. The Upper Dir district of Khyber Pakhtunkha province is situated to the south of Chitral.

When one enters Chitral through any of the two main routes – Lowari Pass or Lowari Tunnel and Shandur Pass – the landscape inspires every visitor. Chitral is gifted with wondrous, steep mountains, lush green valleys, beautiful meadows and mammoth glaciers. Chitral is divided into about 35 small sub-valleys; the most important being the Kalash valleys, Garam Chashma, Shishi Koh, Mastuj, Laspur, Yarkhun, Tor Khow and Mor Khow. The highest peak in the Hindukush range is Terichmir, which lies at a height of 25,263 feet, just 36 miles away in the north-east of Chitral town. It is also called the palace of fairies. No mountain in the region is less than 4,000 feet and over 40 peaks have an altitude of 20,000 feet.