From The Kalash Valley Into Swat, Pakistan
The Swat Valley is very fertile and one of the most historically interesting regions of Pakistan because of Buddhism. Buddhism flourished here from the 2nd though the 9th century, and it is believed to be the birthplace of Tibetan Buddhism. Padmasambhava was born here in the 8th century and then embarked on his journey of conversion through Ladakh and Tibet.
Swat is part of the monsoon belt and looked more like the Alps unlike Chitral, Gilgit and Hunza's dry and arid desert areas. The area is also known as the "Switzerland" of Pakistan with its clear rivers and green valleys. Saidu Sharif is the capital city of Swat District in the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan and housed a Museum (not that we saw it).
I think we stayed at the beautiful Swat Serena Hotel. All the hotel stays were in and outs...not exactly conducive to memory...
Peshawar, our last stop, was around 160 kms from the Swat Valley located in the Hindukush foothills.
Swat was a prosperous land in the Buddhist times, There are at least 100 archeological sites in the valley with less then 10% of them excavated. You can explore some of those sites in a half day tour of Swat.
We visited Butkara1, Butkara 2, Udegaram, and Shingardar Stupa from the Kushans Period.
There was always time to visit and break bread (or French Fries) with our excellent jeep drivers. Without them, none of us would have returned from Pakistan alive. Warm and caring individuals.
The trip was almost over....
