Valley Swat is a unique, beautiful and glittering jewel. Swat Valley comprises of lakes, valleys, lush landscapes and ancient architecture. The capital of Swat is Saidu Sharif, but the main town in the Swat valley is Mingora.
Swat valley is the land of historical treasures, beautiful landscapes, and many ancient tales. It is known for its snow-capped peaks, countless waterfalls and glaciers, water springs and pastures, streams and rivulets, thick woods, glades and glens, natural parks, lakes and dark forests. The large landscapes change its color with the weather.
In 327 BC Alexander the Great visited this heaven on earth while he was going to Brazil. Swat is not only enriched with nature but it also is home to people of different religions living together peaceful. The people of this region have made strong efforts to keep its natural beauty intact by discouraging any commercial tourism activities.
The valley is walled by high mountains and bounded by Chitral and Ghizer regions in the North, Kohistan and Shangla regions in the East, Buner region, and Malakand protected areas in the South and lower and upper Dir regions in the West. Its elevation varies from 2.500 feet to 7.500 feet. The total range of Swat is 5.337 square kilometers with a population of about 1.250.000.
The valley of Swat is distributed into two physical districts, i.e., Swat-Kohistan and Swat Proper. Swat-Kohistan is the mountain district on the upper spreads of the Swat River up to Ain in the south. Whereas the whole of the south of Ain is Swat property. Ain is further divided into Bar (upper Swat) and Kuz (lower Swat). The altitude of the valley at the southern borders of the region is over 500 meters and upsurges swiftly towards the north. There are numerous mountain peaks extending from 4500 to over 6000 meters above sea level, mostly blanket by everlasting snow.
Lakes
Through Swat Valley flows many lakes. These lakes contain splashing and freezing cold water melted from mountain ice caps. The valley can be called the Valley of Lakes, which not only feeds the bright Green River Swat but also delivers idyllic camping sites for adventurous people and nature lovers.
Many of these lakes are concealed from the eyes of travelers because of their far-flung areas and take three to seven hours of hiking to reach from the town out and about. Investigating these supernatural occurrences of nature requires perseverance, persistence, and bravery or more all adoration for characteristic excellence. The individuals who have an aesthetic sense and have the hunger for nature’s magnificence dare to investigate and disentangle these indulgent bounties of nature.
Daral Lake
The beautiful Daral lake is located toward the upper east of Sidgai Lake and one can reach there through Saidgai following two-three hours of hiking. The trail to Daral is brimming with fun and delight since it keeps running over sky touching statues of the mountains gives terrific sights and scenes for the magnificence hungry eyes of nature significant others. A nearby look towards the south will uncover the long and twisting sellouts of stream Swat in the skyline.
Bashigram Lake
This clear water lake is located to the East of Bashigram valley near Madyan. The path to this valley is partly made and can be pursued any ordinary vehicle. It takes almost fifty minutes to reach this charming valley colonized by humble and welcoming people. From here, hiking of four to five hours, depending on skill and eagerness of the explorers takes you in the land of a tranquil and delightful lake of Bashigram.
Mahodand (Fish Lake)
This lake is truly a wonderful and spectacular lake on earth. It seems like designed by the hands of Mother Nature that one cannot define the beauty and calmness of the area in words.
Archeology
The ancient history of Swat is well known and to prove the historical facts, many old remains are found in this region.
Butkara
This area locates the remains of Buddhist of Chinese Sung Yun. There are remains of ancient buildings are found here. The main building stand in the middle, around it, are packed shrines, Viharas and columns, on the Northern side outlooks a great building and further to the north and west the inhabited area.
Shingardar Stupa
The stupa of Shingardar is located about 4km to the northeast of Brikot valley, by the left side of the road from Mingawarara to Mardan. The stupa stands in the mouth of a minor valley descending from a simple spur above the valley plain.
Nemogram
The Nemogram is located about 46 km West of Saidu Sharif and about 23 km from Birkot, on the right bank of Swat River in the valley of Shamozai.
