Chitral (Booni): A Heaven on Earth

Chitral, a beautiful place that combines aqua blue lakes, sensational glaciers and mountains, rushing water along with amazing traditions, which holds an onlooker astounded and amazed at their natural beauty. Chitral is the capital of Chitral District which is located on the western bank of the Chitral River (also known as Kunar River), in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

However, the jewel in Chitrals crown is Booni. A small village located 80 Kilometers North of Chitral town; Booni is a fan-shaped landmass that emerged as a result of glacial deposit at the mouth of stream of Booni.

This mouth which is also called the ‘Booni Gol’ is very useful in growth of vegetables, crops along with fruit bearing trees of pear, apple, grape etc. The language of the natives is Khowar, also called Chitrali, and Hindu Raj (between the Hindu Kush and the Karakoram ranges) is the mountain range near which it is located. The sun shines directly into the valley due to which it has a warm climate during summers. During winter, the temperature falls to −10 Celsius with winter snowfall being a common feature, accumulating minimum up to two and maximum up to 20 meters (70 ft).

The town has good educational facilities for the locals with four major educational institutions: Government Degree College, Government High School, Government Girls Degree College and Pamir School & College. The Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) Motel is also located in the town that is located at a distance of 75 Kilometers from Chitral, and the route to it is Chitral – Shandur road. It is a four room Motel which provides great view of the valley. For enquiries, Motel’s contact number is: 0943-470661.

Ahmed Raza is a frequent traveller and loves politics. He is a graduate in Journalism works as  Assistant Travel Editor for Kluchit.com