Northern Pakistan

Not to be confused with Northern Areas, Pakistan.

Northern Pakistan (Urdu: شمالی پاکستان) is a tourism region in the northern and northwestern parts of Pakistan, comprising the administrative units of Gilgit-Baltistan (formerly known as Northern Areas), Azad Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and the Pothohar Plateau in Punjab.^[1] The first two territories are a part of the wider Kashmir region.^[b] Usually, the federal territory of Islamabad is also considered to be in northern Pakistan.^[2] It is a mountainous region straddling the Himalayas, Karakoram and the Hindu Kush mountain ranges, containing many of the highest peaks in the world and some of the longest glaciers outside polar regions.^[3] Northern Pakistan accounts for a high level of Pakistan's tourism industry.^[4]

Northern Pakistan شمالی پاکستان (Urdu)
Region
From top, left to right: K2 (8,611m); Nanga Parbat (8,126m); Shangrila Lake; Deosai Plains; Chitta Katha Lake; Swat River; Lake Saiful Muluk; 67 km long Biafo Glacier; Murree hill resort
Country	Pakistan
Adm. Units	Azad Jammu and Kashmir  Gilgit-Baltistan  Islamabad  Khyber Pakhtunkhwa  Punjab (Pothohar Plateau)
Area
• Total	210,954 km^2 (81,450 sq mi)
	^[a]
Time zone	UTC+5:00 (PKT)

Geography

The geography of Northern Pakistan is mountainous and terrain is different in each part.^[5][6] The Karakoram range in Gilgit Baltistan cover the border between Pakistan, India and China in the regions of Ladakh and Xinjiang.^[3] The Himalayan range in Pakistan occupies the regions of Kashmir, Kaghan, Kohistan, Deosai and Chilas.^[3] The Hindu Kush rises southwest of the Pamirs extending into Swat and Kohistan areas, separated on the east from Karakoram by the Indus River.^[3]

Snow often falls in the winter and many towns are closed such as Naran.^[7]

Flora and fauna

The regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit Baltistan include portions of two biodiversity hotspots; Mountains of Central Asia and Himalayas.^[8] Some of the wildlife species found in northern mountainous areas and Pothohar Plateau include the Bharal, Eurasian lynx, Himalayan goral, Marco Polo sheep, Marmot (in Deosai National Park) and Yellow-throated marten and birds species of Chukar partridge, Eurasian eagle-owl, Himalayan monal and Himalayan snowcock and amphibian species of Himalayan toad and Muree Hills frog. Threatened species include the Snow leopard, Himalayan brown bear, Indian wolf, Rhesus macaque, Markhor, Siberian ibex and White-bellied musk deer.^[9]

Locations

There are three main locations of Northern Pakistan, the Chitral-Swat area, the Naran-Gilgit-Hunza-Skardu area, and the Murree-Mirpur-Muzaffarabad-Neelum area.^[10]

Western

The western part of Northern Pakistan includes Chitral, Dir, Swat, Shangla, Kolai-Palas, Battagram, Kohistan, and Mansehra. This includes the famous tourist attractions of Chitral, Kalash Valley, and Kalam.^[11] Many top tourists spots are located such as Bumburet Valley, Chitral Valley, Rumbur Valley, Kalam, Bahrain, Kalash, and many others.^[12]

Central and North

Along the Karakoram Highway are major destinations for tourists including the famous Kaghan Valley, Babusar Top, Fairy Meadows, Rakaposhi, Nanga Parbat, Attabad Lake, and Lulusar Lake.^[13] Main cities or towns include Mansehra, Balakot, Kiwai, Naran, Kaghan, Batakundi, Jalkhad, Tatta Pani, Chilas, Gilgit, Karimabad, and Passu.^[14][15] This includes a trip from Islamabad, Taxila, or Wah. It can also be from Peshawar and Mardan too.

East

From Lahore or Islamabad, people sometimes go from Murree to Azad Kashmir.^[16] Main cities of Azad Kashmir include Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Rawalakot, and Sharda.^[17] Banjosa Lake is a major attraction in Poonch district.^[18] It is a man-made lake and a rest stop. Azad Kashmir gets snow in the winter often.

Languages

Most languages spoken in Northern Pakistan are Indo-Iranian languages, with most either belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages or Iranian languages.^[19] The dominant languages are Urdu and Pashto and are the languages of communication in the area.^[20] In the Hazara Division, the main language is Hindko, with minor languages including Pashto, Mankiyali, Pahari-Pothwari, and Gujari.^[21] In Swat, the major language is Pashto, while there is Torwali, Ushojo, and Indus Kohistani.^[22] In Waziristan, the major language is Waziri Pukhto. In Dir, the major language is Pashto followed by Torwali and Indus Kohistani.^[23] In Kohistan, the major language is Indus Kohistani with minorities of Khowar, Pashto, Hindko, Kohistani Shina, and Bateri. In Chitral, there are more than 12 languages spoken with Khowar spoken the most, followed by Kalasha-mun, Dameli, Gawar-Bati, Shekhani/Kata-vari, Torwali, Kamviri, Dari, Wakhi, Kyrgyz, Yidgha, Sarikoli, Munji, Kalkoti, Shina, Waigali, Ushojo, Tajik, Uzbek, Gujari, Pashto, Turkmen, Sarikoli, Burushaski, Madaklashti, and Balti.^[24] In the Gilgit Division and Diamer Division, the main languages are Shina, Khowar, Domaaki, Wakhi, Kyrgyz, and Sarikoli . In the Baltistan Division, the languages are Balti, Purgi, Shina, Ladakhi, Brokskat, Burushaski, and Changthang.^[25] The language of Azad Kashmir is Pahari-Pothwari, followed by Hindko, Gujari, Pashto, Punjabi, Dogri, Urdu, Kashmiri, Shina, and Kundal Shahi.^[26]

Notes

1. The total area of regions of Gilgit Baltistan, Azad Kashmir, Potohar and KPK.
2. The Kashmir region also includes Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir which are claimed by Pakistan due to ongoing Kashmir conflict. These portions are de facto under control of India.

References

1. Öztürk, Münir; Hakeem, Khalid Rehman; Faridah-Hanum, I.; Efe, Recep (5 May 2015). Climate Change Impacts on High-Altitude Ecosystems. Springer. p. 455. ISBN 978-3-319-12859-7. The northern Pakistan covers Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, the upper region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including Chitral, and some parts of the central and northern regions of Pakistan.
2. . Pakistan.net. Archived from the original on 30 June 2008. Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan, and is located in the Potohar Plateau in the north of the country...
3. Öztürk, Münir; Hakeem, Khalid Rehman; Faridah-Hanum, I.; Efe, Recep (5 May 2015). Climate Change Impacts on High-Altitude Ecosystems. Springer. pp. 455–456. ISBN 978-3-319-12859-7.
4. "Explore Pakistan's wildest, most beautiful landscapes". National Geographic Society. 16 August 2022.
5. "Swat Valley, Mini Switzerland of Pakistan, Pakistan: Better Tips for Better Trips". 16 February 2017.
6. "Northern Areas of Pakistan". 2 April 2019.
7. "'Steps being taken to promote winter tourism'". 14 December 2021.
8. "Biodiversity Hot spots of Pakistan and the world - SU LMS". Retrieved 30 November 2022.
9. Anwar, M.B.; Jackson, R.; Nadeem, M.S.; Janečka, J.E.; Hussain, S.; Beg, M.A.; Muhammad, G.; Qayyum, M. (2011). "Food habits of the snow leopard Panthera uncia (Schreber, 1775) in Baltistan, Northern Pakistan". European Journal of Wildlife Research. 57 (5): 1077–1083. doi:10.1007/s10344-011-0521-2. S2CID 3004597.
10. "List of Famous Northern Areas of Pakistan". 9 June 2022.
11. "MyTrip - Swat and Chitral".
12. "THE 10 BEST Parks & Nature Attractions in Chitral".
13. "How to Travel the Karakoram Highway (Backpacker's Guide)". 7 April 2020.
14. "Major cities, towns, valleys and villages along the Karakorum Highway".
15. "سی پیک سیاحت: شاہراہِ قراقرم پر پہلا قدم (پہلی قسط)". 20 May 2022.
16. "THE 15 BEST Things to do in Azad Kashmir - 2022 (With Photos)".
17. "Azad Kashmir 2022: Best Places to Visit".
18. "Banjosa Lake".
19. "The languages of northern Pakistan | Political Economy | thenews.com.pk". www.thenews.com.pk.
20. Torwali, Zubair (2019). "The languages of northern Pakistan". Idara Baraye Taleem-o-Taraqi. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
21. "Languages of Northern Pakistan".
22. "Tonal features in languages of northern Pakistan". 24 January 2013.
23. "Preserving Endangered Languages of Northern Pakistan - Forum for Languages Initiative (FLI)". 11 October 2019.
24. lowerchitral.kp.gov.pk
25. "Language of Pakistan Official National Provincial Regional Local Languages in Pak".
26. Shakil, Mohsin (2012). "LANGUAGES OF ERSTWHILE STATE OF JAMMU KASHMIR" (PDF). University of Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK Medical College). {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

List of Amazing Northern Areas of Pakistan