A Kalash elder in a traditional beaded headdress and woven shawl, seated in a wooden doorway

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa · 1,500 m

Chitral

Hindu Kush, Khowar, and Tirich Mir over the town.

The place

Hindu Kush, Khowar, and Tirich Mir over the town.

Chitral is on the other side of the Lowari tunnel from the rest of Pakistan, which is why it feels like somewhere else. Tirich Mir, 7,708 metres and the highest peak in the Hindu Kush, is visible from the polo ground.

The town has a fort, a mosque built in 1924, and the best polo in the country. To the south are the three Kalash valleys. To the north, the Yarkhun runs up to Broghil and the Wakhan corridor.

1,500
Metres above sea level: April – October
Best months: 3 – 6 days
Worth staying

A river running between green and brown mountainsides

Flat-roofed village houses among poplar trees

A green valley between forested slopes in Swat

What people do here

Worth the detour.

Chitral Fort

On the river, with Tirich Mir behind it.

Shandur Polo Festival

Early July, at 3,700 m, against Gilgit. Free-style rules.

Journeys

Ways to travel here.

All 1 journey

Chitral · Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Chitral & Kalash Cultural Journey

7 days Easy Max 10

Seven days in the Hindu Kush — Chitral town, the three Kalash valleys, and the Garam Chashma road, with Tirich Mir over all of it.

$780 per person

Next 19 Sep · 6 places left

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Before you go

The practical part.

Getting there: Flights from Islamabad when the weather is right. By road, 12 hours via the Lowari tunnel, or over Shandur from Gilgit in summer.
Permits: Foreign nationals pay an entry fee for the Kalash valleys.
Connectivity: Good in Chitral town, weak in the Kalash valleys.
Seasons: Spring (March – May), Summer (June – September), Autumn (September – October)

Within Chitral

Go deeper.

A carved wooden door in a stone village house

1,900 – 2,200 m

Kalash Valleys

Three valleys, four thousand people, and a religion older than the region.