Mingora is the largest city in Swat District

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...

, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of 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...

. It is located at an altitude of 984 metres (3,228 ft) and lies on the banks of River Swat about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from Saidu Sharif

Saidu Sharif

-Saidu Sharif:Saidu Sharif is the capital city of Swat District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. It is located at 34°45'0N 72°21'0E with an altitude of 939 metres Saidu sharif is traditional seat of government, remains the administrative headquarters of Malakand division .Saidu...

, the present capital of Swat. As of 1998, the population of Mingora was about 175,000. The city was once a major tourist destination and was described by Queen Elizabeth

Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...

 as the "Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

" of the former Empire

British Empire

The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

. However with the rise of Taliban in Pakistan the tourist industry has suffered from clashes between the Taliban and the government.