Beauty of Swat Valley

Swat

Swat is one of the most beautiful valleys in the world. Swat is situated in the north of Pakistan, thousands of foreign tourists come every year to Swat. Swat is an administrative district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KpK) Pakistan. Swat is the upper valley of the Swat River in the Hindu Kush range. The capital of Swat is Saidu Sharif but the main town in the Swat is Mingora. It was a princely state until 1969 when it was dissolved along with the states of Chitral and Dir and made a part of KpK. The majority of the population of swat valley are Pashtuns, Gujjar, and Kohistani. The main languages spoken in the valley are Pashto, Gojri, and Kohistani.


Swat is the land of high mountains, green meadows, and clear lakes, it has very great places of natural beauty and is popular for tourists. Swat is also called the Switzerland of the East.

History:

Swat has been inhabited for more than two thousand years.  It was known as Udyana and later the name was changed to suvastu. This valley was a very peaceful area for living in until the 11^th century. The game of power led to the destruction of the valley peace and it was first conquered by Mahmud of Ghazni. The ritual of acquiring the lands continued and swat valley was then taken over by the Yusufzai.

In the 19^th century, Swat valley was under Akhund Sahib who believed in Muslim law. At this time the economy of swat valley goes up due to agriculture and it became one of the significant trading areas for businesses.

The Population of Swat valley is around 1,360,000 and they have a number of cultural groups living in which the most prominent ones are Pakhtuns, Yusufzais, Kohistanies, Gujars, and Awans.

Swat valley is known as the Switzerland of the East. 

Buddhism in Swat Valley

Swat valley is also famous in the world as the “Holy Land of Buddhists.” It was one of the major hubs of Buddhist. It was said in the early times that Buddha himself came to Swat Valley. It was also given the name of “Cradle of Buddhism”. As mentioned earlier the name of swat was Udayana and it stands for the ancient epics. It was also mentioned in the history that Alexender of Macedonia had fought many major wars in this land before he was crossed the Indus River. Swat valley has also been named the “valley of hanging chairs.” history also states that Swat was once the cradle of Buddhism where 1400 monasteries had survived and flourished and they also made a Gandhara School of Sculpture.

Characteristics of Swat Valley

• Elevation: The altitude of the Swat Valley is 975.36 meters and reaches to 2900meters.

• The highest peak of the Hindu Kush Range in Swat Valley is Falak Sher/Sar Peak which is 5918 meters.

• The Malakand passes between Mardan and Swat and is 470m to 663 m from sea level.
• Shangla pass/ top is approximately 7000 feet above sea level and covers a 56 km distance from Saidu  Sharif and 45 km from Besham.
• The total distance between Islamabad and Saidu Sharif is 266 km and the travel time is 5-6 hours.