Kumrat Valley
Kumrat is a charming valley in the Upper Dir District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, of Pakistan. It is one of the beautiful valleys of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and a picturesque spot for travelers. Every summer season thousands of tourists from different areas of the country visit to Kumrat valley and enjoy the pristine greenery and cool weather.
Unlike Kalam region of Swat valley, Kumrat is covered with lush green pastures, snow clad mountains, gushing river Panjkora, mesmeric foggy mounds and romantic forests are ever alluring attractions of the region, which serve as habitats for variety of flora & fauna.[1]
It is located in the Upper Dir Kohistan region at the back side of which Swat Kohistan area of Gabral is located.
Geography & Climate
Kumrat valley is located in the foothills of Hindu Kush mouantains range, surrounded by Chitral to the north, Swat valley to the east, Afghanistan to the west & Lower Dir to the south. The landscape of the valley is featured by hilly terrain, lush green meadows, snow clad mountains and rushing streams cuts through the region. The weather of Kumrat valley is alpine climatic in nature and mild cool summers are common throughout the area, with an average temperature ranges from 20C to 25C. While in winter the temperature is very low due to heavy snow fall i.e. is 3 to 11 feet and the temperature ranges from -4C to -10C. The maximum rain fall is 255mm and mainimum is 100mm. In comparison with other plain parts of Khyber Paktunkhwa, Kumrat valley enjoys a more moderate climate but weather conditions are unpredictable in moonsoon season & winter due to which movement is restricted to it.
Access
Kumrat Valley is located in the upper reaches of Dir Kohistan and can be accessed through four-wheel drive due to lack of proper metalled road beyond Sheringal. After crossing the Kalkot region, the commercial center and gateway of the valley comes up which is known as Thall, where essential food items can be purchased, beyond that there is no commercial outlets.[2]
Camping
Kumrat is a largely hidden picnic spot and relatively undeveloped due to which there is lack of commercial hotels & restaurants. So, the region is perfect spot for camping and most of the people bring their own tents and pitch for lodging. The valley provides ideal options for mountaineering, trekking and rock climbing to adventurists and holiday makers. Similarly, it provides a perfect base camp for a hike to an alpine glacial Katora Lake which is located at an elevation of 11,500 ft on a trek of 3-4 hrs from the main valley. Jahaz Banda, Patrak, Kalkot, Lamutai, Seri and Thall are the worth seen areas come across the way into the valley.[3]
Flora & Fauna
Diverse species of grasses and trees are found in Kumrat valley. In trees Deodar, Cheer, Kail, Fir Spruce, Chalghoza, Pines, Oak, and Alpine pastures are covering huge area of the land in the form of forest.
The fascinating sights of the valley are covered with lush green grasses, most common species are Polygonum spp, Saxifrages spp, Potentilla spp etc. In case of shrub vibrmum, cotton ester (khawra) etc. and in grass Agropyron, Canalicilatum, epoasoides etc. are common. Many of the medicinal plants are also found here, they are Atropa Belladroma, Artemisa Martima, Saxifrage spp etc. in case of fruit tree the most abundant are walnuts (Juglans Regia), Amluke (Diosphyeslotus), Mulberries, Chalghoza, toots, Cherry (Prunus Padus) etc. while in fauna, Brown Bears, Snow Leopards, Monkeys, Porcupines, Ibex, Markhor, Musk, Deer, Jackals, Chakores and Monal Pheasants etc.
