Sites & Sounds

The older portion of Peshawar is a walled city, to which the British added their own Cantonment guarded by barbed wires. This old city answers to a traditional Central Asian concept of a high citadel dominating the . . . Read More

Which place in Pakistan do you think is the most beautiful? I am asked whenever I return from one of my travels into the remote hinter-lands of Pakistan. I really can't say for sure . . . Read More

The legendary Khyber Pass in the North West Frontier of Pakistan is the most famous passageway in the Himalayas. No other pass in the world has possessed such strategic importance or retains so many historic associations and romance as this gateway. . . . Read More

The Bannu district is the most northern of the three districts of the Derajat division. It comprises an area of 3,868 square miles, with an extreme length from north to south of 58 miles and an extreme breadth from east to west of 94 miles. It is bounded . . . Read More

In the late 1800s, the Hindu Kush was the setting for one of the most heroic events of the Great Game. Amar Grover visited northern Pakistan to retrace the remarkable journey taken by a small British Army contingent to rescue their comrade in arms. . . . Read More

Throughout the 19th century the Khans of Dir effectively controlled only upper Dir and their attempts to dominate lower Dir and even lower Swat were strongly resisted. A notable opponent was the famous Umra Khan of Jandool, a bitter enemy of British hegemony. . . . Read More

It is some testimony to the relations between the countries formerly constituting the British Indian Empire that, just as the only air connection between Bangladesh and India is a route between Dhaka and Calcutta, so, too, the only connection between Bangladesh and Pakistan - formerly East and West Pakistan - is a route between Dhaka and Karachi. . . . Read More

ONE of the major attractions of the Chitral valley is its fabled Kalash tribe. Traditionally called ‘the wearers of black robes’, they are a pagan tribe who some historians believe are descendants of five soldiers of the legions of Alexander’s army. Today, just over 3,000 Kalash people live in the three valleys of Bumburiet, Birir and Rumbur. . . . Read More

The Chitral valley; at an elevation of 1127.76 meters (3,700 feet) is a favorite with mountaineers, anglers, hunters, hikers, naturalists and anthropologists. The 7787.64 meters (25,550 feet) Trichmir, the highest peak of the Hindu Kush Mountains dominates this 321.87 km (200 miles) long exotic valley. Afghanistan is located to the north, south and west of the district. . . . Read More