A view of Kalam. The upper Swat valley in KPK, Pakistan
Tour de SWAT valley
Touring SWAT was not an idea that my family agreed at once. For the last 5 years SWAT has been a victim of TALIBANIZATION that had a huge impact on the tourism based economy of SWAT valley. Pak Army after having a furious bloddy war against Taliban lead by their commander FazalUllah, now have a complete control in SWAT valley. Recently KALAM festival was held to promote the tourism in valley. Therefore, after some debate i finally got acceptance for tour de SWAT this year. In these lines i will try to narrate my story in such a way that it will help the reader in chalking out their trip.
Tourist Attractions in SWAT :
Swat valley is famous for its lush green pastures, waterfalls and number of lakes. All these contribute in making SWAT an ideal place to visit. The road infrastructure is good and one can easily drive till KALAM on their own car (even on Suzuki -Mehran). The main tourist attractions are the following places
- Mingora - Saidu Sharif
- Shrine of Akhund of SWAT
- Swat Museum (Currently closed for renovation)
- Butkara Stupa
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| Shrine of Akhund of SWAT |
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| Butkara Stupa |
- Fizzagut (If you have your own conveyance my advice is to have night stay here rather than Mangora)
- Maraghzar (13km from Mingora-Saidu Sharif. Famous for White Palace hotel)
- Madayan (56 km from Mingora)
- Malam Jabba (35km from Mingora)
- Behrain (66 km from Mingora)
- Kalam (98 km from Mingora- 32 km from Behrain)
- Ushu valley-(35km from Kalam)
- Utror valley-(16km from Kalam)
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| Ushu Valley |
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| Utror Valley |
Following are some lakes in Kalam valley. During my visit i manged to visit only the first two lakes. Except Mahodand lake all other lakes needs trekking and local guides are therefore required for a safe trekking:
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| Mahudand Lake |
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| Kundol Lake |
- Mahudand Lake : This lake is at a distance of 35 km from Kalam and the best way of going to this lake is to hire a jeep from Kalam. Jeep fairs are in the range of Rs 3000-3500.
- Kundol Lake: Kundol lake has no direct access through jeep. The jeep trek is till Luddu which is a small village. Local guides are available for those who intend to see this lake. A trek of almost 3.5 hours leads you to the beautiful Kundol lake.
- Spinkhor Lake: From Luddu a 3 hrs trek leads you to Spinkhor lake. This lake is smaller than the Kundol lake.
- Kharkari Lake
- Jabba Lake
- Jaz Dand Lake
- Neel Dand Lake
- Izmis Lake
- Pari Lake
When to GO ?
Mingora and Saidu Sharif are twin cities that are open throughout the year. Malam Jabba is also good for round year trip. It is a famous ski resort and there was a hotel too that was damaged by Taliban . Upper SWAT is also accessible throughout the year but the best time to visit is from APRIL-OCTOBER. December- March the road beyond Bahrain remains snowbound.
How to reach SWAT ?
The best way to reach swat is via road. Mardan is approx. 247 km from Islamabad via M1. Passing through Takht Bhai, Dargai, Malakand pass, batkhela and chakdara Mangora can be reached in 5 hrs. Swat can also be reached through Peshawar and Besham. DAEWOO express Pakistan bus service has its terminal in Mingora and has service from all major terminals in Pakistan. It takes around 10 hrs from Lahore via M2 and M1. DAEWOO bus has two timings for SWAT one in the morning 0930 and second 0030. The fare for DAEWOO bus service from Lahore to Mngora-SWAT is PKR 1350.
Do not travel to SWAT without Computerized National Identity Card
Army and police department check posts are there throughout the route starting from Dargai. CNIC is must for every commuter of SWAT valley. Foreigners are advised to have a valid passport and security clearance documents with them.
My Travel Plan : (From Lahore)
Day 1: Lahore- Mingora (almost 9.5 HRS journey)
Day 1: Mingora to Madayan (2 HRS journey)- Night stay at Madayan (Cheap hotels are available that costs around PKR 800-1500 per night)
Day 2: Madayan - Bahrain - Kalam (3 HRS journey)- Sometimes local transport is not available from Madayan- Kalam therefore the best is then to go to Behrain (35 min drive) and then several wagons and hatch pack cars are available for Kalam. I adopted this way. I started my journey from Madayan around 0730 and reached Kalam at 1015.
Day 2: Kalam - Mahudand Lake and back to Kalam . Night stay at Kalam
Day 3: Kalam - Kundol Lake (Must leave early from Kalam max at 0800 hrs) - Kalam | Trekking is required
Day 4: Kalam - Spinkhor Lake (Must leave early from Kalam max at 0800 hrs)- Kalam |Trekking is required
Day 5: Kalam - Mingora (Site seeing at Mingora) - Lahore
I made a reservation for evening schedule of Daewoo bus service from Kalam and after reaching Mingora around 1200 i havealmost 8 HRS left for site seeing in Mingora. Which is enough to ransack the small city.
In Mingora SWAT museum is closed rest all we have to see is Shrine of Akhund of SWAT,Bhudda Stupa and down town.
Estimated Expenditure:~
It should be noted
that a group of 4-6 people is ideal for tourism as the cost divides
significantly for rented jeeps and hotel accommodation. However, I am listing
here the cost I incurred (in PKR) .I went to SWAT with my brother so the below listed
expenditure is for 2 person group.
Lahore- SWAT 2700
Swat-Madiyan 200
Madiyan Hotel rent 900
Madiyan- Behrain 70
Behrain-Kalam 364
Kalam-Mahodand jeep rent 3000
Exotic dinner at River SWAT 500
Hotel Rent in Kalam 800 (Hotel rent range is from500-3000 /room/night)
Kalam-Kundol lake Jeep rent 3000
Guide /porter till Kundol lake 500
Hotel Rent in Kalam 900 (Better not to check out from hotel. I did so
got the brunt :D)
Kalam-Mangora 500 (Public transport is readily available from morning till night)
Site Seeing in Mangora 500
SWAT- Lahore 1350
Misc. 1000
Some tips:
- Seasonal clothing, Kalam has pleasant nights that can make you feel cold.
- If you intended to do camping then be prepare for the stuff including the sleeping bags and the tent
- Medicine that must include Biscopan ( for stomach pain), panadol and disprine for headache and pain.
Important Information:
- Only ZONG has network coverage in KALAM. Mobilink sometimes also have signals but not all the time
- DCO SWAT office Tel: 0946-9240340
- Central Hospital Saidu Sharif Tel : 0946-9240128
- Police Station Saidu Sharif Tel: 0946-9240398
- Civil-Military Liaison cell Tel:0946-9240421
- DAEWOO Express Bus Service Pakistan schedule
Phone # (0946)-111-007-008 (Booking not before 48HRS prior traveling)
PESHAWAR Fare Rs.460
SWT DEP PSW
ARV PSW DEP SWT ARV
0700 1055 1000 1355
1100 1455 1400 1755
1600 1955 1700 2055
RAWALPINDI Fare Rs.740
SWT DEP RWP
ARV RWP DEP SWT ARV
1200 1645 0145 0630
1400 1845 0510 0955
1730 2215 1000 1445
2045 0130 1425 1910
LAHORE Fare Rs.1330
SWT DEP LHR
ARV LHR DEP SWT ARV
1200 2140 0930 1910
2045 0625 0015 0955