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Garam Chashma گرم چشمہ | |
---|---|
Town | |
![]() Spring in Garam Chashma | |
Country | Pakistan |
State | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa |
District | Lower Chitral |
Established | 14 August 1947 |
Government | |
• Type | Municipal Corporation |
Area Metric | |
• Total | 52 km2 (20 sq mi) |
Elevation | 2,550 m (8,370 ft) |
Population (2003) | |
• Total | 50,000 |
• Density | 960/km2 (2,500/sq mi) |
Languages | |
• Spoken | Khowar, Persian |
Time zone | UTC+5 (PST) |
Postal Code | 17130 - 0xx |
Website | chitral |
Garam Chashma (literally: Hot Spring) is one of the many branch valleys of Chitral District, situated in the extreme north-west of Pakistan. [1] It is one of the highest human settlements in the Hindukush ranges with an altitude of almost 2550 meters (8389 feet). The place is known for its hot spring, which is one of the tourist attraction sites. It is also famous for its trout fish. The water flowing down through the length of the valley is famous for fishing sports. The Lotkoh River (Garam Chashma River) running down from the lofty peaks of the Hindu Kush is most suitable for the brown type of trout fish. Other features of the area include snow-covered peaks, pleasant weather, and natural springs, and more recently, has remained in the limelight for being a potential site of hydropower generation. [2] Besides tourists, people suffering from skin diseases also visit the hot spring for treatment (not proven scientifically). [3] It is located in the northwest of Chitral at a distance of about forty-eight kilometres by road. [1] It shares international borders with Afghanistan being situated in the extreme northwest of Pakistan. Dorāh Pass (14,940 feet [4,554 metres) connects this part of Pakistan with Badakhshan, the adjacent province of Afghanistan. [4] [5]
The spring water emerges from underground sulfur deposits making its temperature rise above boiling point. For the same reason, the spring is also known as Sulphur Spring. [3] The spring is the warmest in the westward extension of the Himalayan Geothermal Belt. It emerges from leucogranites of the Hindu Kush Range that date from 20–18 Ma. Reservoir temperatures may be as high as 260 °C (500 °F). It is not clear whether the circulation of deep groundwater in this region is driven by topography or by tectonic lateral stress. [6]
The Khowar is the official language spoken in this valley. The population of Garam Chashma is approximately 50,000 people. Since the last census in Pakistan was conducted in 1998, there is no precise source of information in this regard. The male-to-female ratio is almost 50-50. Almost 60 percent of the population is young people. The majority religion in Garam Chashma is Ismaili Shi'ite Islam and adherence to the Aga Khan is widespread.
Khowar is the main language spoken and understood by the majority of the population. [7] The second most spoken language is Yidgha, an Iranian language spoken by a few thousand people in Parabeg valley. [8] An small number of people, in Gobor Valley, also speak Sheikhan-War, a dialect spoken in the Nuristan province of Afghanistan.
In addition, many people understand and some can even speak Persian. This is due to the influence of Nasir Khisraw, the eleventh-century poet and philosopher. [9] One of his disciples had come to this part of the region and settled here permanently. He preached the Ismaili thought, hence marking the dawn of Ismailism in this part of the world. [10] More recently, the neighbouring country, Afghanistan, was involved in the war with the USSR and as a result, a huge influx of refugees fled to this area. Since Garam Chashma was easily accessible from Badakhshan, many Afghans chose to stay and some of the refugees are still living here. This interaction with Dari speakers refreshed the memories associated with Persian.
Badakhshan is a historical region comprising parts of modern-day north-eastern Afghanistan, eastern Tajikistan, and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in China. Badakhshan Province is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Much of historic Badakhshan lies within Tajikistan's Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region in the southeastern part of the country. The music of Badakhshan is an important part of the region's cultural heritage.
The Wakhan Corridor is a narrow strip of territory located within the Badakhshan province of Afghanistan. This corridor stretches eastward, connecting Afghanistan to Xinjiang, China. It also separates the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajikistan in the north from northern Pakistan in the south. This high mountain valley serves as the source of both the Panj and Pamir rivers, which converge to form the larger Amu River. For countless centuries, a vital trade route has traversed this valley, facilitating the movement of travelers to and from East, South, and Central Asia.
The Wakhi people, also locally referred to as the Wokhik, are an Iranian ethnic group native to Central and South Asia. They are found in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan and China—primarily situated in and around Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor, the northernmost part of Pakistan's Gilgit−Baltistan and Chitral, Tajikistan's Gorno−Badakhshan Autonomous Region and the southwestern areas of China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The Wakhi people are native speakers of the Wakhi language, an Eastern Iranian language.
Badakhshan Province is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Tajikistan's Gorno-Badakhshan in the north and the Pakistani regions of Lower and Upper Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan in the southeast. It also has a 91-kilometer (57-mile) border with China in the east.
The Pamir languages are an areal group of the Eastern Iranian languages, spoken by numerous people in the Pamir Mountains, primarily along the Panj River and its tributaries.
Khowar, or Chitrali, is a Dardic language of Indo-Aryan language family primarily spoken in Chitral and surrounding areas in Pakistan.
The Yidgha language is an Eastern Iranian language of the Pamir group spoken in the upper Lotkoh Valley of Chitral in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Yidgha is similar to the Munji language spoken on the Afghan side of the border.
The Munji language, also known as Munjani, Munjhan (مونجهان), and the Munjiwar language, is a Pamir language spoken in the Munjan valley in the Kuran wa Munjan district of the Badakhshan province in northeast Afghanistan. It is similar to the Yidgha language, which is spoken in the Upper Lotkoh Valley of Chitral, west of Garam Chashma in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
Dorah Pass, also called Durah Pass, connects Badakshan Province of Afghanistan with Lower Chitral District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The Dorah Pass is more than 14,000 feet (4,300 m) high. It is located along the Durand Line border and crosses the Hindu Kush mountain range. Situated at the foot of the pass is Lake Dufferin, also known locally as Hawz-i Dorah. The lake is roughly 2+3⁄4 miles (4.4 km) long by over one-quarter mile (0.4 km) broad.
Yasin Valley is a high-altitude mountain valley nestled in the Hindu Kush mountain range, located in the northern region of the Gupis-Yasin District within the territory of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. The valley is situated approximately 148 kilometers away from the city of Gilgit, which serves as the capital of Gilgit-Baltistan. Within the valley's territory lies the Yasin Tehsil, an administrative subdivision of the region.
The Kūnaṛ River, also known as the Chitral River, Mastuj River and Kaama River, is a 480 kilometres (300 mi) long river in northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. It originates just south of the Broghil Pass, in the Upper Chitral District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. It later merges with Kabul river in the Nangahar Province of Afghanistan. The river system is fed by melting glaciers and snow of the Hindu Kush mountains. The Kunar River is a tributary of the Kabul river, which is in turn a tributary of the Indus River.
The Pamiris are an Eastern Iranian ethnic group, native to Central Asia, living primarily in Tajikistan (Gorno-Badakhshan), Afghanistan (Badakhshan), Pakistan (Gilgit-Baltistan) and China. They speak a variety of different languages, amongst which languages of the Eastern Iranian Pamir language group stand out. The languages of the Shughni-Rushani group, alongside Wakhi, are the most widely spoken Pamiri languages.
The Kho or Chitrali people, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group native to the Chitral District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Gupis-Yasin and Ghizer districts in Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan. They speak an Indo-Aryan language called Khowar.
Sher Shall is a village in Lower Chitral District, Karim Abad, Pakistan. It is near Terich Mir, the highest mountain in the terrain of Hindu Kush. Prior to 1947, the area was under the rule of Katoor dynasty of Chitral. At that time the village was governed by local governor prince Muftahul Mulk. When Chitral was acknowledged as a district of Pakistan, Sher Shall fell into the domain of Garam Chashma Tehsil, becoming a part of Chitral. The village has a population of around 700 people across approximately 80 households. The area is known for fruits such as apple, apricot, pear, cherries, and mulberry grapes.
Booni is a town and the headquarters of Upper Chitral District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
Lower Chitral District is a district in Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan.
Upper Chitral District (Khowar: توری ݯھیترارو ضلع)(Pashto: پورتنۍ چترال ولسوالۍ) is a district in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Chitral River flows throughout the district. Upper Chitral District along with the Lower Chitral District were part of the erstwhile Chitral District which was the largest district in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, covering an area of 14,850 km2. Likewise, it served as the Chitral princely state that encompassed the region until its direct incorporation into the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan in 14 August 1947. Upper Chitral District and Lower Chitral District were bifurcated from the erstwhile Chitral District in November, 2018.
Madaklashti is a dialect of Persian, spoken in the village of Madaklasht which is located in the Shishikoh valley in Lower Chitral District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is closely related to the Dari-Tajik dialects spoken in the Badakhshan region of Afghanistan and Tajikistan. It is completely isolated from other languages in the area and rarely draws any loanwords from Khowar. Madaklashti was also influenced by Pamiri languages especially Rushani.
The Yidgha-Munji people also known as Mukhbani are the Iranian-Pamiri peoples inhabiting the Lotkoh Valley in Chitral and Kuran wa Munjan District in Badakhshan in both Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Madaklasht is a valley located in Lower Chitral district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The valley is predominantly inhabited by the Tajik people who speak Madaklashti, a dialect of Persian.