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Chitral, or Chitrāl (Urdu: چترال), is the name of a town , valley, river, district, and former princely state in the former Malakand Division of the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan.
Chitral Town, capital of the Chitral District, is situated on the west bank of the Chitral (or Kunar) River. The town is at the foot of Tirich Mir, the highest peak of the Hindu Kush, 7,708 m or 25,289 ft high. It has a population of about 20,000, while the District (of 14,833 km² or 5,727 sq mi), has a population of about 300,000. The altitude of the valley is about 1,100 m or 3,700 ft.
Geography
The easiest access to Chitral is in the southwest along the Chitral/Kunar valley towards Jalalabad; this route is open all year and provides direct access to Kabul. However the Pakistan-Afghanistan border prevents this being used as an internal route to Peshawar and the south.
The other routes are over mountain passes. To the south, the dangerous Lowari Pass (3,200 m or 10,499 ft) leads 365 km (227 mi) to the region of Peshawar; this now has a jeep road. In the north, the easiest route during summer (it is closed by snow in the winter), and the only one which allows the use of pack animals, runs over the Broghol Pass (3,798 m or 12,460 ft) to Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor. To the east, there is a 405 km (252 mi) route to Gilgit over the 3,719 m (12,201 ft) Shandur Pass. And in the west, the Dorah Pass provides an additional route to Afghanistan.
Population
The main tribe, the Khos, speak Khowar (or Chitrali), one of the Dardic languages, which is also spoken in parts of Yasin, Gilgit and Swat. Pashto and Farsi are also spoken and understood in the city. Chitral is known for the famous Kalash tribe that resides in three remote valleys west of Ayun, which is ten miles down from Chitral town.
History
A British garrison was besieged in Chitral Fort for over a month in 1895.
References
- Decker, Kendall D. (1992) Languages of Chitral http://www.ethnologue.com/show_work.asp?id=32850
- Khowar English Dictionary (by Mohammad Ismail Sloan, 1981) (published in Pakistan)
See also
External links
- Government of NWFP
- Government of Pakistan
- Yidgha, A Language of Pakistan
- Dardic Languages of Chitral
- History of Chitral
Cities and towns in North-West Frontier Province | Hill Stations in Pakistan | Valleys of Pakistan | Chitral District
"Chitral"