The city is known as Switzerland of Pakistan because of its magnificent landscapes. Swat is in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a North-Western province that has defined as stunning and natural landscapes that leaves you in awe and astonishment. Saidu Sharif is the capital city of Swat and Mingora is one of the main towns where tourists come to visit this stunning region to mark the most beautiful places in the country. Afghans and Pashtuns are the inhabitants of this place where Pashto is the local language of the Valley.
The valley presents a heavenly view of swirling waterfalls, dense forests, lush green meadows, calming rivers, and lakes. Swat was once called ‘The Yusufzai of Swat’ because the chiefs known as the Akhunds and merged into West Pakistan in 1969 and ruled the place. The places in Swat are popular for honeymoon destinations and great for those travellers who love to visit the stunning physical features.
The best time to check out these places to visit in Swat is from spring until autumn. Some lower Swat places are open throughout the year. The best months to see the places to visit in Swat are around October, November, April and May. The autumn in Swat presents the most beautiful scenery with yellow, orange and golden trees. The roads covered in thick snow in December and January, so it would be advisable not to travel in these months due to the warning hazards of landslides.
The lightweight cotton clothing is advised while visiting in the spring and summer season and for winters, travelers must wear thick and warm clothes to save from shivering and frostbite in the cold.
Swat Marina, Pizza Point, Smoke House, Hujra Restaurant Swat, Food Bank, Bannu Beef Pulao & Sweets Bar and Swat Serena Hotel are some of the popular restaurants and eateries in the valley.
There are various things to do in Swat like visiting physical features and diving into the historical and archaeological sites to expand the historical knowledge about the stunning place in the North-Western region.
The markets in the valley are full of marble stone utensils and decoration pieces. The precious stone ‘Zumurad’ is also available for buyers. Traditional clothing and wearables are also worth buying. Carpets and shawls handcrafted are popular amongst visitors to purchase the stunning shawls and carpets to add to your home.
Travelling from Islamabad takes some 1 ½ hour drive if using the M1 motorway. The total distance from Islamabad to Mardan interchange is around 131km and many small towns of the valley lead towards the capital Saidu Sharif. There is only one stop for refreshment from Islamabad to Mingora and it takes around 5 hours to reach the place.
Travelling to Saidu Sharif is more convenient as it takes 30 minutes to travel from Islamabad to Saidu Sharif Airport. There are three flights available in a week to place the tickets in PIA. The local bus services are available to travel different areas in the Northwestern province.
To talk about the cost of travelling, the estimated price to travel by plane from Islamabad to Saidu Sharif would cost around 13,110 to 19,400 PKR. Personal car travel costs from 3,300 to 5,500 PKR. The rented car will cost approximately 15,600 to 20,300 PKR.
To enjoy the stunning landscape and visit the fantastic view of the Northwestern province, here are the 14 best places to visit in Swat. Once you visit the map of Swat valley, you will never take your eyes off these beautiful landscapes!
14 Places to Visit in Swat for Beautiful Landscapes
1. Malam Jabba
is the most popular ski resort in Pakistan where skiers come and enjoy different winter activities. Once you enter these spectacular mountains, you can enjoy snowboarding and ski down the steep hills! Malam Jabba locates 314 km from Islamabad and 51 km away from Saidu Sharif airport and marks Swat Valley’s most famous hill station that situates next to Hindu Kush Mountain Range.
The route into Malam Jabba is curved where adventure enthusiasts love to enjoy skiing showing fun and enthusiasm down the road covered in thick snow. This magnificent ski area surrounds by dense green forest, which marks a popular spot for skiing. Malam Jabba Resort also has its class in Pakistan with enormous winter sports and big-time tourist attractions.
The beautiful view of the massive mountains lures many travellers to enjoy visiting their wonderful excursions. Malam Jabba declares as skier’s heaven by coming to Pakistan to participate in the International Alpine Cup to beat other skiers to win the championship. If you love to visit a place for skiing, this place is a must-go skiing resort!
2. Kalam Valley
Kalam Valley is situated 99 km away from Swat Valley and considers as the most prominent place to visit in Swat. Kalam Valley is also known as Wadi Kalam as this landscape has surrounded by the iconic green hills and steep mountains to leave you in awe and astonished. Once you visit the Kalam Valley, you will wonder in amazement and enjoy each physical feature of its surroundings!
Millions of tourists are attracted to Kalam valley due to the wide horizon of the mountains and a river. Matiltan, Usho, Utror, and Gabral are one of the remarkable places to visit in Kalam where each place leaves a significance of nature. The weather creates an ideal mixture for tourists with a cool and pleasant climate that makes a suitable time to visit this iconic tourist attraction.
The best time to visit Kalam Valley is from April to September to explore since winters are harsh to cope with and covers in thick snow that is too cold to visit. In addition, the valley is the best place to explore the beauty of Swat and tourists can enjoy fishing and hike through the steep green mountains.
3. Shingardar/ Ghalegay Stupa
The Buddhist Stupas in Shingardar have their significance of presenting the historical site in the North-Western region. The Ghalegay Stupa is one of the most iconic attractions where the Stupa lies next to the Swat River. The monument locates 3 km away from Barrikot Village and 14 km away from Mingora.
What makes this place so attractive? Colonel Dean and S.A. Stein discovered Shingardar Stupa where the dome was constructed by King Uttarasena. When the King arrived at the spot, the white elephant dropped down and turned into a rock. This myth has derived from a local tradition where the stupa has preserved by Hieum Stang who visit Swat in the 7th Century AD. To plan to visit a historical site in Swat, be sure you visit the stunning spot where you will expand the mysterious story!
Shingardar Stupa consists of a lower drum decorated with two cornices, one is the upper drum and the other is a dome that measures 12 meters. The total height from the dome to the existing base is 27 meters, which marks the most archaeological places to visit in Swat.
4. Marghuzar
Marghuzar is a beautiful little town in Swat that locates 13 km from Saidu Sharif. While travelling to the Swat valley, you will find the White Marble Palace, a historical place of the Royal Family of Swat. While on the way to Marghuzar, you will come across a place called Islam Pura that is known for selling wooden works, shoes and blankets.
Wali-e-Swat Jahanzeb built this palace in the early 1940s where Wali-e-Swat Jahanzeb used to live in this palace during the summer. The White Marble Palace was used as a summer resort for a while and then converted into a tourist resort or a hotel.
Another wonderful experience is the night view of the White Palace where the place illuminates in the darkest hours that will leave you in amazement. During the winter months, the palace covers in thick snow that make it feel like to enjoy cloudy weather for a peaceful place. Once you visit the White Marble Palace, you will enjoy the beauty and the architecture of the site! This marks Swat valley tourisms to visit this stunning palace
5. Kumrat Valley
Kumrat Valley Swat is the next list of places to visit in Swat where it marks as the iconic place to check out this tranquil scenery. In the Upper Dir District, just the opposite of Gabral, Kumrat Valley provides some of the greatest places to stay. This surrounds by trees, riverbanks and waterfalls in which you cannot take your eyes off once you enter this fascinating place!
Kumrat Valley is known for its flat and stunning greenery that makes a perfect place for camping or staying nearby hotels after 3 hours of tracking downtown. Kumrat Valley locates 9 hours’ drive from Islamabad and a one-hour drive from Swat. This makes a great place in the North-Western region where you can drive away from the noisy city and enjoy this calming area!
To widen the horizon and explore the peaceful sound of the water, Kumrat is popular for many lakes like Kalkot Banda, Jandrai, Do Kala Chashma Lake, Jahaz Banda and many others are tourist’s attractions.
When planning to visit this valley, be sure you check out these nearby lakes to enjoy the tranquillity and the beauty of these features! This marks the most iconic places to visit in Swat.
6. Fizaghat
Fizaghat Park is a favourite tourist resort to eat meals with a lovely atmosphere. The Park locates 3.6 km away from Mingora and it is the first tourist stop to visit Swat Valley. Fizaghat Park marks as one of the Swat places to visit where you will enjoy the cool breeze and the mouthwatering food for enjoyable scenery.
Once you enter this park, you will enjoy the sound of the gushing water from the river and mark the most panoramic view! This fast-flowing river adds a peaceful sound and surrounds the line of mountains to enjoy the wide view of the beautiful park. To stop by and enjoy the view, you will find nothing greater than Fizaghat Park! When you visit this park, you will forget about the noise and enjoy the calming waters gushing through the bank!
7. Madyan
Madyan is one of Swat’s most prominent hill stations. Due to the Swat River and its surroundings, th
Madyan is one of Swat’s most prominent hill stations where this spot considers as one of the most beautiful places in Swat. Due to the Swat River and its surroundings, the hill station is desirable for visitors to explore the marvellous view with a pleasant atmosphere. The entire region has a magnificent view over the valley and is popular for its ambience.
Tourists love to visit Madyan during the summer because of its excellent trout fishes and pleasant weather where no sweat or cold will bother you once you enter this spectacular landscape! In this mountainous station, many tourists come to Madyan due to the fluvial Swat River.
Various hotels in Madyan provide the best services to tourists. To plan to visit these fantastic hill stations is during the summer months as the weather around this time is great where there is hardly heated sun rays.
8. Spin Khwar Lake
Spin Khwar Lake is an underrated attraction where the lake supplies the glacier flow and is encircled by the huge Karakorum Mountains. This marks one of the most unexplored places to visit in Swat where the lake surrounds the hidden laps of mountains and leaves a clear sign of the small white stream! This makes the main source of water for flowing down the east. Spin Khwar Lake locates on the north side of Kundol Lake and the east of the Utror Valley.
Once you come to this unexplored lake, you will enjoy this stunning landscape and you will not take your eyes off for one second to stop by and be awed by the view! The lake is accessible by walking through two tracks. One is from the Kundol Lake and the other is from the Ladu Valley.
The track from the Ladu Valley is easy to walk, less tiring as the valley is flat while the track from Kundol Lake is very steep, and dangerous which makes it dangerous to walk. Because the track from the Kundol is short, it is advisable to walk through the Ladu Valley, as it is less tiring and easier to walk. If you prefer to walk on a steeper track, you need extra strength and care to save you from severe injuries.
The rich ecosystem surrounds the most underrated landscape in the region as this lake covers in trees and has wide biodiversity. To plan to visit an underrated place, Spin Khwar Lake is a must-go area!
9. Bahrain
Bahrain considers as the riverside hill station where the area marks as the iconic places to visit in Swat valley. The place has called Bahrain because the region has two different rivers merging into one stream that leaves a peaceful sound of the rivers gushing through the bank! Once you visit this area, you will love the stunning merging of the two rivers and the peaceful atmosphere!
Bahrain has various hotels to enjoy staying at night and enjoying the cool breeze of Daral and Swat Rivers. This serves as a base camp to camp near the rivers and enjoys the stunning scenery. To add to this, the track leads to Daral and Saidgai Lakes and considers the busiest tourist spot. The weather has extreme and pleasant weather where it is slightly warm in summers and extremely cold in winters. This makes one of the Swat places to visit to enjoy the nearby surroundings!
10. Khapero Lake
Khapero Lake is relatively unknown to Swat Valley tourism. However, due to their tremendous beauty, several nature l
Khapero Lake also known as the Pari Lake is relatively unknown to Swat Valley tourism and marks another underrated place in the Northwestern region. However, due to their tremendous beauty, several nature lovers visit the lake to enjoy the calmness and add the serene beauty of the lake.
The lake surrounds by mountains and hills and covered in snow during the winter months, which makes it dangerous to visit due to the hazards of landslides.
At a height of 13,400 feet, the lake offers a heavenly view and a nice visiting atmosphere. This marks one of the most unknown places to visit in Swat. To go for physical features in which you have never heard before, you will find nothing greater than Khapero Lake. The best time to visit this immense beauty is from July to September as the weather is pleasant and shows the greenery during this time of weather. No heat or cold will disturb you during the visit to this lake!
11. Mahudand Lake
Mahudand Lake is the most fascinating glacial alpine that locates in the Usho Valley of Kalam. The lake surrounds by beautiful green meadows at a height of 9,603 ft. The vast hills of the Hindu Kush supply the camping visitors to camp and enjoy the beautiful meadows and adding a peaceful atmosphere.
Once you enter Mahudand Lake, you will not take your eyes off the greenery meadows and encircled the lake for a spectacular location! The ideal time to see the lake is mid-summer because the roads lead to blockage and the lake becomes frozen during winter. This will make it inaccessible to visit during the freezing weather.
Above all, Mahudand Lake comprises numerous species of flora and fauna and has enormous fishes to enjoy fishing. This is no doubt a beautiful place in swat to visit and an ideal site to spend an entire day.
12. Saidu Sharif
Saidu Sharif is the main centre of the Swat Valley, which offers its citizens and tourists all the services needed. As mentioned earlier, Saidu Sharif is the capital city of Swat where the town has named after Saidu Baba who was one of the leaders of the Swat Valley.
The Royal Palace, the Tomb of Saidu Sharif, and the Swat Museum are the most popular archaeological sites to widen the knowledge about the region. To visit the historical sites of the Northwestern province, you will enjoy visiting Saidu Sharif! The Swat Museum shows many Buddhist stupas and the Gandhara art antiquities. Furthermore, PIA performs regular air operations for tourists and others from Islamabad to Saidu Sharif Airport.
13. Kundol Lake
In between the giant peaks of the Hindu Kush Mountains lies the Kundol Lake, which draws millions of tourists around the year. The lake surrounds by snowcapped mountains with green meadows located in the North Utror valley. This lake marks a great photography destination where tourists find attractive camping spots to camp near the lake and capture the best shots during the night.
Once you visit this lake, you will capture the best shots of great scenery for a great summer place! Kundol Lake is 9,950 feet above sea level. In winter, heavy snowfall blocks the route and freezes the lake so the best time to visit the lake is in the summer seasons. You can enjoy fishing and boating during the summer months!
14. Shingrai Waterfall
Swat Valley has known for beautiful waterfalls and breathtaking landscapes in which the Shingrai waterfall is one of the most stunning waterfalls in the region. Shingrai Waterfall locates at the foothill of the Dwasaray Mountains about 20 km from North Mingora where you can capture the best shots of the beautiful waterfalls!
The waterfall can reach within a one-hour drive from Mingora and marks as an excellent tourist site with its unique and beautiful spots. Although this spot was unexplored but worth visiting this stunning feature in the region.
Wrap Up
Swat has best known for beautiful landscapes and various physical features that mark as capturing the attention of millions of tourists. The Northwestern region has stunning places to visit in Swat where you can enjoy the breathtaking views and visit different historical sites to expand your knowledge about the province.
Once you visit different places in Swat, you will never feel bored and will not take your eyes off these stunning landscapes and valleys! Do not forget to capture these landscapes for a memorable visit! Be sure you plan to visit this trip safely!
