Known as the Switzerland of Pakistan, Swat district started attracting a significant number of adventure and snow sports enthusiasts due to its seven unique features including snowfall, ice skiing, snow-capped mountainous valleys, and trout fish, making it an ideal winter tourism destination of Pakistan.
Arriving for their honeymoon at the breathtaking Kalam Valley, Umar Khayam, a tourist of the Nowshera district, was excited after seeing the mesmerizing natural beauty of Malam Jabba, Bahrain, Madain, and Gabin Jabba on Thursday.
“Swat is my favorite winter tourist destination due to its seven unique features, including river rafting, adventure snow, ice hockey, trout fish, snowfall, and easy accessibility through the Swat motorway. It is my third consecutive yearly visit to Kalam and Malama Jabba to enjoy snowfall, skiing, and its famous trout fish along with my family in its peaceful but cold weather,” he told APP.
“I traveled to many tourist destinations of Pakistan in my life but hardly seen find together the combination of seven distinctive features including snowfall, river rafting, trout fish, motorway, Gandhara civilization and ice skiing in any tourist destination of Pakistan,” he said.
Bakht Zada Khan, senior research officer of the archeology department, said that Swat is home to primitive Gandhara civilization where every stone speaks of the primitive age, besides attracting monks and followers of Buddhism from across the world.
They enhanced Swat’s significance, besides Lord Buddha artifacts and ancient stupas, ice skiing, river rafting, adventure sports, snow-clad mountain peaks, trout fish, and the Swat motorway. Attracting Buddhists, monks, and archaeologists from across the world throughout the year, the Swat’s archaeological treasures and ancient artifacts housed at Saidu Sharif Museum become a distinctive feature, taking tourists to the glorious history of Swat.
Tourists from Peshawar, Nowshera, Mardan, Charsadda, Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Islamabad were seen in large numbers at Kalam, Malam Jabba, and Bahrain, hoping for snowfall. Another striking feature of Swat is skiing sports being played at Malam Jabba every year during winter. Such sport was hardly placed in any part of the country.
Bakht Zada said these distinctive characteristics, which are second to none in any other district of the country, draw adventure athletes, archeologists, water rafters, mountaineers, snowfall lovers, foodies, and eco-tourists throughout the year.
The 150-kilometer-long freshwater of the Swat originating from different glaciers and lakes, including the Mahodand and Gabral mountains, offers unique opportunities for adventure sports enthusiasts to explore in a single-day trip with loved ones.
Fazagut, Fatehpur, Barikot, and Chakdara were most suitable for water rafting in river Swat and, if developed on modern lines, could attract a large number of tourists during winter. River Swat is ideal for ‘fish jumping and disappearing water sports’, and the introduction of such sports would help bolster the rural economy and promote tourism and transport industries in KP.
Bestowed with more than 50 high-altitude small and big lakes, Swat’s Mahodand Lake is an exceptional source of attraction for tourists enjoying its blue- waters and boats riding amid cold breezes and snowfalls in winter.
Bakht Zada said Mahudand and Gabrial lakes carried unique charm and clean air, and nearby birds chanting valleys take tourists into a lap of serenity. “I have ordered two KG trout fish to enjoy with my family members,” Umar Khyam said, adding that the green trout of Swat attract foodies at Kalam, Madain, and other district areas.
Besides its famous Deodar trees and precious wildlife, he said the Swat’s snow-clad tall mountain ranges of Falakser, Mankial, and Elum peaks offer significant challenges to mountaineers and trekkers to explore, especially during winter. Likewise, its extensive plains and orchards that bear fruits and vegetables carry a unique comparative advantage compared to other tourist destinations of the country.
Tourism and culture authority spokesman said from January 1 to December 26, 2023, a record 16,988,946 tourists visited KP, mostly Malakand, including the Swat and Hazara divisions. These include 4,554 foreign tourists, emphasizing the province’s growing global recognition as Pakistan’s friendly tourist and travel destination. Galyat Valleys attracted 6.34 million tourists, 5.08 million from Naran Kaghan Valley, and 3.54 million from Malam Jabba Swat.
Similarly, the Upper and Lower Dir districts received 1,380,740 tourists, Lower Chitral 591,330 tourists, and Upper Chitral 38,771 visitors last year.
To promote tourism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a project costing Rs238 million was prepared to organize different winter sports and tourism events in various districts, including Swat. Besides Kalam’s winter gala and sports rafting at River Swat, an international paragliding event at Saidu Sharif was also planned.
