Photo: Samikhan86 · CC BY-SA 4.0Field guides / Khyber Pakhtunkhwa / Swat Valley / White Palace, Marghazar
Field guide · Heritage
Swat
Swat District · Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
White Palace, Marghazar
The marble summer palace of Swat's first ruler at Marghazar, 13 km from Saidu Sharif, where Queen Elizabeth II stayed in 1961.
The White Palace stands at Marghazar, 13 km from Saidu Sharif, at about 7,136 feet on Marghazar hill. Miangul Abdul Wadud, Badshah Sahib, the first ruler of Swat, chose the spot in 1935 for its green landscape and had the palace built with marble from Agra, bronze from Belgium and craftsmen from Turkey, completing it in 1941; it was called first the Swati Taj Mahal, then the Moti Mahal and finally the Sufed Mahal, the White Palace. It has 24 decorated rooms, two conference halls where the ruler held his cabinet, and the royal suite where Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip stayed for three days in 1961. Later the summer residence of the Wali, Miangul Jehanzeb, it is now a hotel, with a 200-year-old chinar shading its lawns.
Why go
- ✦Built of Agra marble, completed in 1941
- ✦Where Queen Elizabeth II stayed in 1961
- ✦A 200-year-old chinar on the lawn
How to Reach
At Marghazar, about 13 km from Saidu Sharif, Swat.
Planning tip
Best Time to Visit, April to October; summers here are cool.
Getting there, At Marghazar, about 13 km from Saidu Sharif, Swat.
Allow, One to two hours.
What to Do
Nearby
Straight-line distance from White Palace, Marghazar, within 5 km.
