14-Day Swat Valley Trekking Tour with Chitral and Kalash Valley

Arrive in Islamabad.

Transfer by an air-conditioned coach to Peshawar.

On arrival in Peshawar, check in at the hotel.

Later, enjoy a city tour. Stroll through the bazaar of storytellers, Kissa-Khawani Bazaar, and visit the historic Mahabat Khan Mosque and the traditional Caravan Serai next to it.

If time permits, visit the splendid collection of Gandhara Buddhist sculptures at Peshawar Museum.

Stay overnight at the hotel.

Have breakfast at the hotel, then proceed by road to the fabled valley of Chitral. Pass through the lush green plains of Peshawar and ascend the Malakand Pass, which brings you into the Swat Valley.

Drive briefly through the Swat Valley and arrive at the village of Dir for lunch.

From Dir, leave the asphalt road and continue on a jeep track to ascend Lowari Pass (3,200 meters), the gateway to Chitral Valley. From the top of the pass, enjoy fascinating views of the Hindukush mountains stretching northward.

The descent of the pass is even more interesting than the ascent, with 96 hairpin turns leading down to the valley floor.

Pass through the dry and rocky landscape and arrive in Chitral town.

Stay overnight in Chitral.

Embark on a morning tour of Chitral town.

Stroll through the narrow single-lane bazaar with Tirich Mir (7,708 m), the highest summit of the Hindukush range, as a dramatic backdrop.

Later, drive by soft-top 4x4 jeeps from Chitral town to Bomburet village in the Kafir Kalash Valleys. The journey takes about an hour and a half.

Arrive in the Kafir Kalash Valley, where a tribe of around 3,000 people lives, practicing an old religion that is a mix of animism and fire worship.

Drive by soft-top 4x4 jeeps through the main Chitral Valley early in the morning.

Follow the Mastuj River upstream through the dry landscape of the Hindukush range, passing many small villages perched on rock faces.

Enjoy fascinating views of Tirich Mir (7,708 m), Buni Zom (6,551 m), and Drassan Peak (6,553 m) as you drive northeast. At Mastuj village, turn south on the jeep track to arrive at the small, charming village of Sorlaspur.

Stay overnight at the campsite.

Drive to the Polo Arena. This wide, flat pass is covered with snow from November to May. In summer, it turns into a lovely pasture with two small lakes.

Every year, polo lovers from northern Pakistan gather here to choose the Polo Champion of the year.

Camp overnight at Sorlaspur.

Begin the trek with Chitrali porters carrying the loads.

Walk through the mountains along the Laspur River. After three to four hours of walking, arrive at the village of Nalgar, the last permanent settlement on this trek. The tiny village is surrounded by birch and willow trees and fields of wheat and barley.

After resting at the village, continue southwest for another three hours on foot to the meeting point of the Bashkar River and the Kachikani River.

Camp overnight at 3,415 m.

Begin the trek and take a 90-degree turn to the southeast, following the Kachikani River. Then cross the river on a footbridge to walk along the right side of the river.

At lunchtime, arrive at a small pasture with some bushes and greenery.

Continue walking through a landscape that is typical of the Hindukush: dry and barren.

Walking through the boulders, arrive at your campsite at Khunzazoe, meaning "the place of the queen." In this landscape, it is a royal place with greenery and a freshwater stream, surrounded by snowy peaks in every direction, rising from 4,871 to 5,500 m.

Stay overnight at the campsite.

Start the trek early to cross Kachikani Pass before the snow becomes soft and difficult to walk on. Approach the glacier covered with small stones, then move onto snow, where the ascent becomes gradually steeper for about an hour.

As you approach the wide pass, the ascent becomes easier. From the top of the pass at 4,766 meters, enjoy magnificent views of the snow-covered peaks of the Hindukush and the forested green slopes of the Swat Himalayas. The immediate descent from the pass is steep, narrow, and covered with soft snow, requiring careful footing.

After an hour of steep descent, the slope becomes easier and more relaxing to walk on, with many glaciers flowing in different directions.

Camp overnight at Bokhtshal (3,875 meters).

A rewarding and romantic walk follows through the gradually descending valley, filled with turquoise blue lakes, occasional waterfalls, and groves of birch and willow shrubs.

Follow the Bokhtshal stream through the valley to the point where it is joined by another stream flowing from Bashkaro Pass in the north. The meeting place of the two streams, called Shonz, is also a popular summer settlement for the Gujjar nomads. This tribe visits the summer pastures every year with flocks of goats, sheep, donkeys, and horses to feed on the abundant grass of the pasturelands. They stay here in June before moving on to higher grazing grounds, and in September and October they descend from the mountains to the plains of the Indus Valley to spend the winter.

Meals and overnight at Shonz camp.

Begin with an easy downhill trek through the green wooded valley.

About an hour after leaving camp, cross the stream and continue along the left bank on a wide track.

Around lunchtime, arrive at the summer settlement of Diwanger, where a few houses built of stone and wood provide shelter for goats during bad weather.

Continue on the gradually descending, well-marked trail to Mahodand Lake, a charming freshwater lake set in a wide meadow. Around the lake are Deodar and pine trees that add to the beauty of the scene. The lake also attracts fishing enthusiasts who come here to try their luck for the famous trout fish of Swat. Enjoy fascinating views of Falaksair (5,918 m), the highest summit of Swat Valley.

Stay at Mahodand camp (2,890 meters).

Board soft-top 4x4 jeeps for a short drive through the pine forests of Swat to the popular summer resort of Kalam. At Kalam, the valley opens into a fertile little plain that was once the basin of an ancient lake. The town is inhabited by Kohistanis from the upper Indus River Valley and by the dominant Pathan population. Pathans speak Pushto, which is also spoken in southern Afghanistan.

Arrive and check in to the hotel.

Enjoy lunch at the hotel.

Explore the single-lane bazaar and the town.

Stay overnight in Kalam.

Begin the drive to Mingora.

Make a short stop in Swat Valley to visit the Gandhara Buddhist Stupa at Shigardara.

Board air-conditioned transport for the drive through the lower Swat Valley to Islamabad. Travel through the lush green Swat Valley and its orchards, then arrive at the broad Malakand Pass, the normal entry and exit point of the valley.

En route, visit the best-preserved Buddhist monastery at Takht-I-Bhai, dating back to the 1st century AD. Built on top of a rocky hill and surrounded by the fertile green fields of the Peshawar Valley, the monastery stands in a peaceful setting.

Arrive in Islamabad and check in at the hotel.

Drop off at the airport.