Photo: Shah Tahsin Anwar · CC BY-SA 4.0Area guides / Khyber Pakhtunkhwa / Chitral
Area guide
Chitral
The Hindu Kush frontier town beneath Tirich Mir
Region
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
When to go
April to October for the valleys. The Lowari Tunnel now keeps the road open in winter.
Getting there
Fly Islamabad-Chitral (45-60 minutes, weather permitting), or drive through Dir and the Lowari Tunnel, 7-8 hours from Islamabad.
Places
16 field guides
Overview
About Chitral
Chitral sits at 1,494 m on the Chitral River beneath the Hindu Kush, the former capital of the princely state of Chitral. The Shahi Masjid, the fort and the old bazaar lie under Tirich Mir (7,708 m), with the Kalasha valleys, Garam Chashma's hot springs and Chitral Gol National Park close by.
Fly Islamabad-Chitral (45-60 minutes, weather permitting), or drive through Dir and the Lowari Tunnel, 7-8 hours from Islamabad.
Town and valleys
Use Chitral town as the base: Chitral Gol for forest walks, Garam Chashma to the north-west for its hot spring and trout river, and the Kalasha valleys about 20 km away for their festivals and wooden villages.
North to Booni and Shandur
Upper Chitral opens up beyond the town toward Booni, Mastuj and the Shandur Pass, where the polo festival is held each summer. It is a long, high road, so allow time.
Festivals in Chitral
Festival calendar →
July (7 to 9 July by tradition)Shandur Polo Festival
Chitral against Gilgit-Baltistan in freestyle polo on the world's highest polo ground, 3,700 metres up on the Shandur pass.
13 to 16 MayChilam Joshi (Joshi)
The Kalasha spring festival, milk stored for days, processions, and group dancing at the Charso grounds in Bumburet.
7 to 22 DecemberChoimus (Chawmos)
The Kalasha winter solstice festival, fire, feasting, and rites that carry the community through the coldest months.
September - OctoberPul Festival
The autumn festival celebrated only in Birir, the smallest and most secluded of the three Kalasha valleys.
AprilQaqlasht Festival
One of Chitral's oldest spring gatherings, polo, paragliding, and mountain culture on the Qaqlasht plateau.
JulyBroghil Festival
A remote Wakhi mountain festival in upper Chitral, yak polo, buzkashi, horse sports, and high-altitude valley life.
Resorts
All resorts →
Chitral: Questions Travellers Ask
What is there to see in Chitral?
16 places in Chitral have their own field guide here, the most in parks and gardens (8), landmarks and buildings (5), mosques, shrines and tombs (1) and forts, gates and palaces (1).
When is the best time to visit Chitral?
April to October for the valleys. The Lowari Tunnel now keeps the road open in winter.
How do you get to Chitral?
Fly Islamabad-Chitral (45-60 minutes, weather permitting), or drive through Dir and the Lowari Tunnel, 7-8 hours from Islamabad.
What day trips can you take from Chitral?
4 within about 40 km of Chitral, all listed on this page: Lowari Pass (about 1 km outside), Kumrat Valley (about 14 km outside), Jahaz Banda (about 35 km outside) and Katora Lake (about 39 km outside).
The complete guide
Everything to See in Chitral
All 16 places in Chitral with their own field guide, grouped by kind.
Mosques, shrines and tombs · 1
Forts, gates and palaces · 1
Museums, libraries and colleges · 1
Parks and gardens · 8
Bashqar Gol Lake, LaspurA high alpine lake at 3,679 m in the Laspur valley of Upper Chitral, the fourth largest in northern Pakistan, reached by a 20 km hike.
Broghil Valley National ParkBroghil Valley National Park, Chitral's northernmost valley, with some 30 lakes and wide peatlands near the Wakhan Corridor.
Buni (Booni)Buni, the headquarters town of Upper Chitral below Buni Zom, near the Qaqlasht Meadows festival ground.
Chitral Gol National ParkA steep protected mountain landscape west of Chitral, conserving dry-temperate forest, high valleys, and important Kashmir markhor habitat.
Garam ChashmaA Chitral side valley named for its sulphur hot spring, about 48 km north-west of Chitral town.
Laspur, ChitralThe valley at the top of Chitral below the Shandur Pass, about 125 km from Chitral town.
MadaklashtA Persian-speaking village at the head of the Shishikoh valley, 40 km from Chitral, founded by Badakhshani ironsmiths.
MastujThe main settlement of upper Chitral at 2,359 m, with the ruins of an 18th-century fort.
Landmarks and buildings · 5
ChitralGateway to the Hindu Kush, a historic frontier town beneath Tirich Mir, known for polo, the Kalasha valleys, Shandur Pass, and as the base for expeditions into Pakistan's Hindu Kush.
Darkot PassA 4,700 m glacier pass between the Broghil valley of Chitral and the Yasin valley of Ghizer, open from May to October.
Istor-o-NalIstor-o-Nal, the third highest peak of the Hindu Kush, a horseshoe-shaped massif across the Tirich Glacier from Tirich Mir in Chitral.
Koyo ZomKoyo Zom (6,872 m), the highest peak of the Hindu Raj, above the Yarkhun valley.
Tirich MirAt 7,708 m the highest peak in the Hindu Kush, a dominating presence above Chitral town, first summited in 1950 and still a major expedition objective.
Around Chitral: day trips · 4
Outside Chitral, straight-line distance from its boundary.
