Chitral & the Kalash valleys
Three valleys holding an ancient culture that is not like anywhere else
Altitude
1,500 m
Worth going
May–Oct
How long to stay
3–5 nights
Getting a signal
Signal in town only — assume none outside it
Bumburet, Rumbur and Birir shelter the Kalash, a few thousand people with their own religion, calendar and festivals, living in wooden houses stacked up the valley sides. It is a long journey and it demands a visitor who behaves like a guest, not a photographer at a zoo — which is why we brief every traveller before they go in.
- Chilam Joshi, the spring festival, in mid-May
- The three Kalash valleys, walked slowly and quietly
- Chitral Fort and the Shahi Masjid
- Shandur Pass towards Gilgit, at 3,700 metres, in summer only
The honest downsides
- It is a long way. Twelve hours from Islamabad, and the Chitral flight rarely operates.
- The Kalash are a small community under real pressure. Photography without asking is not acceptable, and we will say so.
- Accommodation in the valleys is simple guesthouses.
