Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

	WARNING: Before going to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Swat, and Peshawar, check for travel advisories from your government, as these regions have become volatile and unstable, with fighting between Taliban and Pakistani forces.

Location
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Quick Facts
Capital	Peshawar
Government	Pakistani province
Currency	Pakistani rupee (PKR)
Area	74,521 km2
Population	20,215,000 (2012 est.)
Language	Pashto, Urdu and English.
Religion	Islam
Time Zone	UTC +5:00

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Urdu:خیبر پختونخوا), locally Puktunkhwa and formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province, is a province of Pakistan.

Cities

• Peshawar
• Abbottabad
• Chitral
• Hangu
• Haripur
• Havelian
• Kaghan
• Naran
• Swat

Other destinations

• Chitral District
• Kaghan Valley
• Khyber Pass
• Swat Valley

Understand

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa offers an invitation to see a spectacular landscape and cultural diversity. Peshawar is the business and administrative hub of this province though other cities have their places. Some of the tourist’s hotspots include Khyber pass, old interior city, industrial estate famous for smuggled goods, Islamia College, Peshawar fort, (KisaKhawani) story teller bazaar. Its food street is famous for barbecued sheep meat as well as karahi meat.

The Khyber Pass leads into Afghanistan. There are very amenable people in this area, especially in the mountains in Shandoor, Kalash regions. The province has an area of 28,773 mi² or (74,521 km²) - comparable in size to South Carolina in the United States.

Talk

Pashto and Hindko are the predominant languages in the region. Pashto is mostly spoken in rural areas and Hindko in urban areas. Many people also speak Urdu and English.

Get in

By air

Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad are the main gateways to Pakistan by air.

Peshawar International Airport (PEW) is located about a 25 min drive from the centre of Peshawar, it is the 4th busiest airport in Pakistan. It is served by all Pakistan carriers including national flag carrier "PIA". Moreover, many Middle East airlines also serve this airport, such as Emirates, Etihad, Gulf, Kuwait and Qatar airlines.

Peshawar airport has international direct flights to Al Ain, Bahrain, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha , Jeddah, Kabul, Muscat, Kuwait and Riyadh. The connections to/from other Asian, European and American cities are available VIA Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad airports. The domestic flights to/from Peshawar Airport are Chitral, Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore.

By train

You can reach Peshawar by train with Pak Rail from Karachi (36 hr) and Quetta (25 hr), both are via Lahore and Rawalpindi.

There are currently no passenger trains from Landi Kotal in the Khyber Pass.

By bus

Buses and minibuses run to many parts of the country from here.

• Daewoo operates the most luxurious services to Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Multan, Faisalabad, Abbottabad and Lahore (Rs 600, 6.5 hours).

By Road

Peshawer is connected with Islamabad via Motorway M-1 and via national highway N-5

Get around

By Bus, Car, Train

See

• Bala Hisar Fort
• Burj Hari Singh - Sikh fort founded by Sikh General Sardar Hari Singh Nalwa (no longer exists)
• Panch Tirath - An ancient Hindu site now converted into a park
• Sikh Temple at Jogan Shah
• Gor Khuttree - An ancient site of Buddha's alms or begging bowl. Headquarter of Syed Ahmad Shaheed, Governor Avitabile
• Pakhtu Academy - The site of an ancient Buddhist University
• Shah Ji Ki Dheri - The site of Kanishka's famous Buddhist monastery.
• Chowk Yadgar - Formerly Hastings memorial
• Cunningham clock tower built in 1900. Called Ghanta Ghar
• Avitabile's Pavilion
• Victoria memorial Hall

Itineraries

Bazaar of Peshawer

Beauty of Swat & Kaghan Valley & Chitral

Do

In the summertime hiking tours to the mountains are offered. Ask at Green Tours in front of the Greens Hotel, Peshawar Cantt, and Pearl Tours of the Pearl Continental Hotels. This can also be done by hiring a car, jeep or pickup from local 'Rent-a-Car' servicing private agencies at a very cheap rate ranging from US$20-US$60 per day, depending upon the condition of the vehicle.

Eat

• Chapli Kabab, a beef kebab shaped like the sole of a sandal is most famous dish of Peshawar. Several famous kabab selling shops are around. Information about them can be obtained from the travel agents or local hotels and guides.

• The restaurants in *Namak Mandi serve marvelous tikka and karai. Meat is ordered by the kilogram, and then prepared according to your preference, either as tikka (barbecued) or as karai (an oil-rich stew with tomato and chili).

• Faluda, a sweet dish mainly found on the Peshawar markets and bazaars especially Qisa-Khwani Bazaar.

Drink

• Peshawar is known for its Kawa (Green Tea) which has a unique flavor, and is usually served sweet.

• Sharbat-e-Sandal is a sweet, non-carbonated drink unusually found in markets in summer. It has a good taste and a yellowish-green transparent colour - look out for the black seeds. Served ice cold.

The towns bordering tribal areas are not considered particularly safe. You should always seek information about off-limits areas before travelling to this region.

Stay away from towns near tribal areas and the sensitive Afghan border regions as the Pakistan government has little to no authority in these areas and cannot aid you in an emergency.

Get out

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