Chitral Khowar also spelled Chetrar, translated as field, is the capital of the Chitral District, situated on the western bank of the Chitral River (also called Kunar River), in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It also served as the capital of the princely state of Chitral until 1969. The town is at the foot of Tirich Mir, the highest peak of the Hindu Kush, which is 25,289 ft (7,708 m) high. It has a population of 20,000.[citation needed] The elevation of the valley is 3,700 ft (1,100 m).
History
The entire region that now forms the Chitral District was a fully independent monarchy until 1895, when the British negotiated a subsidiary alliance with its hereditary ruler, the Mehtar, under which Chitral became a princely state, still sovereign but subject to the suzerainty of the British Raj. Chitral retained a similar status even after its accession to Pakistan in 1969, but was completely incorporated into Pakistan and became an administrative district of Pakistan in 1969.
Nothing definitive is recorded about the town's first settlers. In the 3rd century, Kanishka, the Buddhist ruler of the Kushan empire, occupied Chitral. In the 4th century, the Chinese overran the valley. Raees rule over Chitral began in 1320 and came to an end in the 15th century. From 1571 onwards Chitral was the dominion of the Kator Dynasty until 1969.
Geography and access
The city has an average elevation of 1,500 m (4,921 ft). The easiest access to Chitral, other than by air, is from the southwest along the Kunar Valley. However the Afghan-Pakistan border (Durand Line) and cross border tensions prevent this from being used as an internal route to the rest of Pakistan. There are other routes over the high mountain passes; to the south, the 3,200-metre (10,500 ft) Lowari Pass leads 365 kilometres (227 mi) to Peshawar. In the north, the easiest route during summer runs over the 3,798-metre (12,461 ft) Broghol pass. To the east, there is a 405 kilometres (252 mi) route to Gilgit over the 3,719-metre (12,201 ft) Shandur Pass. The territory is cut off by snow from the rest of the country for up to six months a year, a problem soon to be relieved by the completion of the Lowari Tunnel.[when?]
Climate
Chitral has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa), with warm summers and cold winters.
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| Chitral's Friday mosque. |
According to 1981 census, Khowar is main language and spoken by 98% of population while Pashto is spoken by small population. [8]According to 2011 estimates, the population of town 19,700.
Tourism
Chitral is one of the two major hubs for mountaineering expeditions in the Hindu Kush. Many tourists choose to travel by air, since road travel between Islamabad and Chitral takes 11 hours, whereas air travel takes 30 minutes from Peshawar and 40 minutes from Islamabad.
Shandur Polo Festival is one of the big festivals in Pakistan. This festival is held from 7th to 9 July every year on Shandur Top of Chitral district, KPK. The polo which is played between the polo teams of Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is experienced as a free-style polo match.
Educational institutions
- New City College
- Chitral University Campus
- Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University
- Chitral Model College Chitral
- Government Degree College
- Government Girls Degree College
- Government Centennial Model High School
- Government Centennial Model School for Girls
- Government College of Commerce
- Frontier Corp Public School
- Chitral Public School & College, (Chitral's first English Medium School)
- Langlands School and College, formerly known as Sayurj Public School
- Pearl College of Education
- Frontier Corps Public Schools and College
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