Chitral
Encyclopedia
Chitral or Chetrar translated as field in the native language Khowar, is the capital of the Chitral District
, situated on the western bank of the Kunar River
(also called Chitral River), in Pakistan
. The town is at the foot of Tirich Mir
, the highest peak of the Hindu Kush
, 25289 ft (7,708.1 m) high. It has a population of 20,000, while the district (of 14,833 km² or 5,727 sq mi), has a population of 300,000. The altitude of the valley is 3700 ft (1,127.8 m).
towards Jalalabad
. This route is open all year and provides direct access to Kabul
. However the Pakistan–Afghanistan border (Durand Line
) prevents this being used as an internal route to Peshawar
and the south. The other routes are over mountain passes. To the south, the Lowari Pass (3,200 m or 10,499 ft) leads 365 km (227 mi) to Peshawar. In the north, the easiest route during summer runs over the Broghol
Pass (3,798 m or 12,460 ft) to Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor
, however during winter this route is usually closed. To the east, there is a 405 kilometres (252 mi) route to Gilgit
over the 3719 metres (12,201 ft) Shandur
Pass. In the west, the 4300 metres (14,107.6 ft) Dorah Pass
provides an additional route to Afghanistan. The territory is home to rare falcon
s and the snow leopard
, and is cut off by snow from the rest of the country for six months a year, a problem soon to be relieved by the completion of the Lowari Tunnel
which will reduce transit time to Chitral as well as allow the district to be connected to the rest of the country even during the cold winter months.
(Köppen
Csa) with almost no rainfall during the very hot summers. Precipitation occurs mainly from spring thunderstorms brought about by western frontal systems, but even this precipitation is not so heavy as on the southern side of Nanga Parbat. Winter snow in the town is not heavy, but at higher elevations where there is monsoon precipitation even on the northern side of the Himalayas snowfall can reach as high as 20 metres (65.6 ft).
(or Chitrali), one of the Dardic languages
, which is also spoken in parts of Yasin
, Gilgit
, Ghizer and Swat
. Pashto language
is also spoken and understood by some in the city. Chitral is known for the famous Kalash tribe polytheist native inhabitants that ruled the region for centuries later invaded by "Khow". The Kalasha reside in an enclave of three remote valleys west of Ayun, which is ten miles (16 km) down from Chitral town. The Chitral culture is Islamic and contrasts considerably with the urban cities of Pakistan as well as the adjacent district of Gilgit. Women are nearly invisible except to their male relatives and other women. They avoid walking the streets of the town, so men or children do most of the shopping. Travel requires the company of a close male relative and sometimes the wearing of a burqa
. There is also a sizeable population of Nuristanis, Tajiks and Uzbeks
most of whom arrived from Afghanistan in the late 1980s.
is the most watches sport and soccer the most played sport. A number of sport festivals and tournaments are held throughout the year, including the Shandur
polo tournament held at the highest polo ground in the world. Around 15,000 people travel to Shandur for the tournament, which lasts around a week.
Chitral has also produced some national players such as Muhammad Rasool
who plays for the national football team
. There are many football clubs in Chitral.
country before the extention of Islam, and traces of Buddhism are also found.
A British garrison, sent from Gilgit to oversee the smooth transition of power to the heir apparent after a ruler was murdered, was besieged in Chitral Fort
for over a month in 1895.
Chitral District
Chitral is a district in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan that contains the town of Chitral. It has an area of 14,850 km² and a population of 318,689 at the 1998 Census, which had subsequently risen to about 378,000 people by 2004. It has one of the highest mountains of the world,...
, situated on the western bank of the Kunar River
Kunar River
The Kunar River is about 480 km long, located in eastern Afghanistan and north-western Pakistan. The Kunar river system is fed from melting glaciers and snow of the Hindu Kush mountains....
(also called Chitral River), in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. The town is at the foot of Tirich Mir
Tirich Mir
Tirich Mir is the highest mountain in the Hindu Kush region and the highest mountain outside of the Himalaya-Karakoram range, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The mountain was first climbed in 1950 by a Norwegian expedition consisting of Arne Næss, P. Kvernberg, H...
, the highest peak of the Hindu Kush
Hindu Kush
The Hindu Kush is an mountain range that stretches between central Afghanistan and northern Pakistan. The highest point in the Hindu Kush is Tirich Mir in the Chitral region of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.It is the westernmost extension of the Pamir Mountains, the Karakoram Range, and is a...
, 25289 ft (7,708.1 m) high. It has a population of 20,000, while the district (of 14,833 km² or 5,727 sq mi), has a population of 300,000. The altitude of the valley is 3700 ft (1,127.8 m).
Geography
The easiest access to Chitral is in the southwest along the Chitral or Kunar ValleyKunar Valley
Kunar Valley or Chitral Valley is a valley in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In Afghanistan the length of the valley is almost entirely narrow with steep and rugged mountains on both sides. The center of the valley is occupied by the Kunar River flowing south where it joins the Kabul River...
towards Jalalabad
Jalalabad
Jalalabad , formerly called Adinapour, as documented by the 7th century Hsüan-tsang, is a city in eastern Afghanistan. Located at the junction of the Kabul River and Kunar River near the Laghman valley, Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar province. It is linked by approximately of highway with...
. This route is open all year and provides direct access to Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
. However the Pakistan–Afghanistan border (Durand Line
Durand Line
The Durand Line refers to the porous international border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which has divided the ethnic Pashtuns . This poorly marked line is approximately long...
) prevents this being used as an internal route to Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
and the south. The other routes are over mountain passes. To the south, the Lowari Pass (3,200 m or 10,499 ft) leads 365 km (227 mi) to Peshawar. In the north, the easiest route during summer runs over the Broghol
Broghol
Broghol, also spelled Broghil, Boroghil and several other ways, is a high mountain pass that crosses the Hindu Kush and connects the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan with Chitral in Pakistan....
Pass (3,798 m or 12,460 ft) to Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor
Wakhan Corridor
Wakhan Corridor is commonly used as a synonym for Wakhan, an area of far north-eastern Afghanistan which forms a land link or "corridor" between Afghanistan and China. The Corridor is a long and slender panhandle or salient, roughly long and between wide. It separates Tajikistan in the north...
, however during winter this route is usually closed. To the east, there is a 405 kilometres (252 mi) route to Gilgit
Gilgit
Gilgit is a city in northern PakistanGilgit may refer to other terms related with the area of the city:* Gilgit River* Gilgit Valley* Gilgit District* Gilgit Agency * Gilgit Airport...
over the 3719 metres (12,201 ft) Shandur
Shandur
Shandur Top located in District Ghizer of Gilgit-Baltistan.Shandur-Top in Ghizer is often called the 'Roof of the World' where the Hindukush in Gilgit-Baltistan, Between Afghanistan and Gilgit-Baltistan and Karakorum mountainous ranges of Gilgit-Baltistan meet. The top is flat, a plateau and can...
Pass. In the west, the 4300 metres (14,107.6 ft) Dorah Pass
Dorah Pass
Dorah Pass, also spelled and pronounced Durah Pass, connects Badakshan in Afghanistan with Chitral in Pakistan. The Dorah Pass is more than high. It crosses the Hindu Kush. Situated at the foot of pass is Lake Dufferin, also known locally as Hauzi-Dorah. The lake is roughly 2 3/4 miles long by...
provides an additional route to Afghanistan. The territory is home to rare falcon
Falcon
A falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....
s and the snow leopard
Snow Leopard
The snow leopard is a moderately large cat native to the mountain ranges of South Asia and Central Asia...
, and is cut off by snow from the rest of the country for six months a year, a problem soon to be relieved by the completion of the Lowari Tunnel
Lowari Tunnel
Lowari Tunnel is an 8.75 km long under-construction road tunnel situated in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan connecting Dir and Chitral Valley.-History:...
which will reduce transit time to Chitral as well as allow the district to be connected to the rest of the country even during the cold winter months.
Climate
In contrast to more southerly valleys of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Chitral has a dry Mediterranean climateMediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
(Köppen
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Csa) with almost no rainfall during the very hot summers. Precipitation occurs mainly from spring thunderstorms brought about by western frontal systems, but even this precipitation is not so heavy as on the southern side of Nanga Parbat. Winter snow in the town is not heavy, but at higher elevations where there is monsoon precipitation even on the northern side of the Himalayas snowfall can reach as high as 20 metres (65.6 ft).
Languages
The main languages spoken in this area of Pakistan are Khowar and about 13 other dialects. The people of the Kalash Valley speak the Kalash language. Urdu is widely spoken and understood in major towns and to some extent Pashto is also spoken.Population
The main tribe, the Khow, speak KhowarKhowar language
For the ethnic group, see under Chitrali people.Khowar , also known as Chitrali, is a Dardic language spoken by 400,000 people in Chitral in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in the Ghizer district of Gilgit-Baltistan , and in parts of Upper Swat...
(or Chitrali), one of the Dardic languages
Dardic languages
The Dardic languages are a sub-group of the Indo-Aryan languages spoken in northern Pakistan, eastern Afghanistan, and the Indian region of Jammu and Kashmir...
, which is also spoken in parts of Yasin
Yasin Valley
The Yasin Valley, Tehsil Yasin or Babaye-i-Yasen or Worshigum is a high mountain valley in the Hindu Kush mountains, in the northwest region of Gilgit in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. Yasin is separated from the Ishkoman Valley by a high mountain pass...
, Gilgit
Gilgit
Gilgit is a city in northern PakistanGilgit may refer to other terms related with the area of the city:* Gilgit River* Gilgit Valley* Gilgit District* Gilgit Agency * Gilgit Airport...
, Ghizer and Swat
Swat (Pakistan)
Swat is a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, located close to the Afghan-Pakistan border. It is the upper valley of the Swat River, which rises in the Hindu Kush range. The capital of Swat is Saidu Sharif, but the main town in the Swat valley is Mingora...
. Pashto language
Pashto language
Pashto , known as Afghani in Persian and Pathani in Punjabi , is the native language of the indigenous Pashtun people or Afghan people who are found primarily between an area south of the Amu Darya in Afghanistan and...
is also spoken and understood by some in the city. Chitral is known for the famous Kalash tribe polytheist native inhabitants that ruled the region for centuries later invaded by "Khow". The Kalasha reside in an enclave of three remote valleys west of Ayun, which is ten miles (16 km) down from Chitral town. The Chitral culture is Islamic and contrasts considerably with the urban cities of Pakistan as well as the adjacent district of Gilgit. Women are nearly invisible except to their male relatives and other women. They avoid walking the streets of the town, so men or children do most of the shopping. Travel requires the company of a close male relative and sometimes the wearing of a burqa
Burqa
A burqa is an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic religion to cover their bodies in public places. The burqa is usually understood to be the woman's loose body-covering , plus the head-covering , plus the face-veil .-Etymology:A speculative and unattested etymology...
. There is also a sizeable population of Nuristanis, Tajiks and Uzbeks
Uzbeks
The Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China...
most of whom arrived from Afghanistan in the late 1980s.
Sport
Unlike the rest of Pakistan where cricket dominates, poloPolo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
is the most watches sport and soccer the most played sport. A number of sport festivals and tournaments are held throughout the year, including the Shandur
Shandur
Shandur Top located in District Ghizer of Gilgit-Baltistan.Shandur-Top in Ghizer is often called the 'Roof of the World' where the Hindukush in Gilgit-Baltistan, Between Afghanistan and Gilgit-Baltistan and Karakorum mountainous ranges of Gilgit-Baltistan meet. The top is flat, a plateau and can...
polo tournament held at the highest polo ground in the world. Around 15,000 people travel to Shandur for the tournament, which lasts around a week.
Chitral has also produced some national players such as Muhammad Rasool
Muhammad Rasool
Muhammad Rasool is a Pakistani footballer, who plays for KRL FC. He is also a member of Pakistan national football team....
who plays for the national football team
India national football team
The Indian national football team is the national football team of India and is governed by the All India Football Federation. It is a member of the Asian Football Confederation. Since 1948, the AIFF has been affiliated with FIFA, the international governing body for football. In 1954, AIFF became...
. There are many football clubs in Chitral.
Newspapers
- Chitral News http://www.chitralnews.com
- Chitral Today, English site http://www.chitraltoday.com
- Chitral Today, Urdu site http://www.urd.chitraltoday.com
- Chitral Times, English site http://www.chitraltimes.com/indexe.htm
- Chitral Times, Urdu site http://www.chitraltimes.com
Educational Institutions
- Qutaiba Public School Chitral Denin
- Chitral Model College Chitral
- Government Commerce College, Shahi Masjid Road, Chitral, affiliated with University of MalakandUniversity of MalakandUniversity of Malakand is a higher education institution, established in 2001 which is located at Chakdara in the Dir district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is located on the bank of the river Swat.The university is ranked at No...
http://www.uom.edu.pk/affiliated.php - Government Technical and Vocational College, Gorem Chassma Road, Chitral
- Government Degree College, affiliated with University of MalakandUniversity of MalakandUniversity of Malakand is a higher education institution, established in 2001 which is located at Chakdara in the Dir district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is located on the bank of the river Swat.The university is ranked at No...
http://www.uom.edu.pk/affiliated.php - Government Girls Degree College, affiliated with University of MalakandUniversity of MalakandUniversity of Malakand is a higher education institution, established in 2001 which is located at Chakdara in the Dir district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is located on the bank of the river Swat.The university is ranked at No...
http://www.uom.edu.pk/affiliated.php - Government Centennial Model High School
- Government Centennial Model School for Girls
- Singoor Public School
- Chitral Public School
- Langlands School and CollegeLanglands School and College- External links :http://ukinpakistan.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/working-with-pakistan/Major-Langlands/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-10809202...
, formerly known as Sayurj Public School - Pamir Public School
- Iqra Model School
- Islamia Model School Bombagh
- Aga Khan School
Buddhist and Hindu period
Chitral was a HinduHindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
country before the extention of Islam, and traces of Buddhism are also found.
A British garrison, sent from Gilgit to oversee the smooth transition of power to the heir apparent after a ruler was murdered, was besieged in Chitral Fort
Chitral Expedition
The Chitral Expedition was a military expedition in 1895 sent by the British authorities to relieve the fort at Chitral which was under siege after a local coup.-Background to the conflict:Chitral was at the extreme north west of British India...
for over a month in 1895.
See also
- Badshah Munir BukhariBadshah Munir BukhariBadshah Munir Bukhari Badshah Munir Bukhari Badshah Munir Bukhari (Urdu: بادشاہ منیر بخاری; is a linguist from Northern Pakistan. A native of Chitral, he is an Professor in linguistics and a member of the Department of Urdu, University of Peshawar....
- Chitral AirportChitral AirportChitral Airport is a small domestic airport situated 2 NM north of the city centre of Chitral, in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.-Airlines and destinations:-See also :* List of airports in Pakistan* Airlines of Pakistan...
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Languages of ChitralLanguages of ChitralChitral is the northernmost district in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province and is a former Princely State. Despite being in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chitral is not a Pashtun area. Chitral shares much of its history and culture with the neighboring territory of Gilgit-Baltistan. The major language of...
- State of ChitralState of ChitralChitral was a princely state of Pakistan and British India until 1969. The area of the state now forms the Chitral District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.- Location :...