Pakistan - Chitral

Chitral located in the North west of Pakistan is a beautiful valley in the Hindukush range of Mountains. It has always been a very important route for many invaders to south east Asia, Including Alexander the great Scythians, Mangol Changez Khan and numerous others. Chitral is a small town with a one single street bazaar and a few tourist class hotels. At the end of Bazaar on the right (River side) there is the Chitral fort and Palace of Mehtar (Mir Or King) In front of the Fort is the Jami Mosque of Chitral an impressive architecture with beautiful inlays and decorations. You can get to Chitral from Peshawar or Swat via Dir thru the Lowari tunnel. From Gilgit you can get a Jeep to take you to Phander (Below Shandur Pass ) You must overnight at pHANDAR ptdc Motel and Phandar guest house and later continue to Chitral next day.

Festivals in Chitral

Qaqlash Festival

Celebrated in Chitral during mid April every year. The festival is called Jashn-E-Qaqlasht dates back to the time immemorial. However some local historians believe that the festival is almost three thousand years old. This event used to be organized by the Rais rulers of Chitral and was continued by the succeeding Katoor family. After Chitral's merger in the federation of Pakistan, holding of the festival as a calendar event came to an end. The main objective of the event was to protect and preserve Chitral's unique cultural heritage and to give currency to the culture of tolerance, cooperation and coordination through cultural