paradise on earth: swat valley ,kalam

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

swat valley ,kalam

The picturesque Swat Valley lies in north of Peshawar and has remained in ancient times the center of Buddhist Civilization. Its old name was Udyana that means the land of gardens.

Abbottabad is named after its founder James Abbot. It is a distance of 121 km from Islamabad via Hasan Abdal and is 1220 meters above sea level. It is situated at the crossroads of areas of tourist attractions in Pakistan like Nathiagali, Murree, Thandiani, Kaghan valley, Swat valley, Skardu, Gilgit and Khunjrab.

Kaghan is magnificent and breathtaking mountain town blessed with plenty of scenic beauty and is 64 km from Balakot. It is one of the most attractive valleys in Hazara. The valley is about 160 km long and between 1000 to 4000m above sea level at various places.

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About NWFP

The North West Frontier Province sits mainly on the Iranian plateau and lies primarily in Central Asia, while parts of it overlap onto South Asia as well. The NWFP is Pakistan’s most diverse province, covering an area of over 1,01,741Sq.Kms (including Federally Administrated Tribal Areas 27,220 Sq.Kms. It stretches form the Pamir in the extreme North, to all the way south as far as Dera Ismail Khan on the banks of the Indus, encompassing high mountains, fertile river basins and semi-arid deserts. The capital and largest city of the province is Peshawar and other main cities include Nowshera, Mardan, Charsadda and Abbotabad. The region varies in topography from dry rocky areas in the south to forests and green plains in the north. The climate can be extreme with intensely hot summers to freezing cold winters. Despite these extremes in weather, agriculture remains important and viable in the area. The hilly terrain of Swat, Kalam, Naran and Kaghan is renowned for its beauty and attracts a great many tourists from neighbouring regions and from around the world. Swat-Kalam is also termed 'a piece of Switzerland' as there are many landscape similarities between it and the mountainous terrain of Switzerland. The chai-khanas of Peshawar's Old City allow visitors to witness the multicultural inhabitants in a relaxed setting. The Khyber Bazaar, Qissa Kahani Bazaar and other parts of Peshawar can remind visitors of an Arabian Nights tale. The province has a number of archeological sites and historical monuments wherein one can find the rich historical background of the inhabitants of the region. Most of these sites dates back to the 1st century BC. The Northern Areas Geographical and climatic diversity are two of the many features that attract international tourists to Pakistan. History, culture and religion also contribute to the Country’s potential as a tourist destination. The northern areas with their high altitude mountains of the Himalayas, HinduKush and Karakoram ranges attract a particular group of tourists, mountain trekkers and mountain climbers. The Northern areas of Pakistan are unsurpassed in natural beauty. It is the confluence of the world’s three mighty mountain ranges, the Himalayas, the Karakoram and the Hindukush. Some of the world’s highest peaks are found here, including the second highest K-2 (Mount Godwin Austin). These attract large number of mountaineers from all over the world. In between these peaks, there are heavenly valleys, largest glaciers outside the polar areas and bubbling springs and blue lakes and rivers. The area is ideal for mountaineering trekking and just nature walking; an ideal place to be seen when one wants to discover peace of mind.