It’s hard to pick favourites, but if I absolutely had to, Peshawar and Swat Valley would be pretty high on the list of highlights from our travels in Pakistan in the summer. And that’s saying a lot since there really wasn’t any part of Pakistan we saw that we didn’t like (ok, so maybe it’s actually not saying much). Anyway, Peshawar is the absolute friendliest big city I’ve ever been to and Swat Valley was more of the same, but all rolled up in some incredible scenery.
This travel guide explains how to get to Peshawar and on to Swat, getting around in the valley, and where to stay, along with some practical information about these areas too.
Is it Safe to go to Peshawar and Swat Valley?
Security, Checkpoints and Police
Money and Costs
Transportation
Accommodation
Peshawar
Swat Valley
Is it Safe to go to Peshawar and Swat Valley?
This is probably the number one question most people have when they’re considering Peshawar and Swat Valley. Before we went to either one we put some thought into it: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), the province these two places are in, has a lingering reputation for danger compared with say, the ‘safe havens’ of Islamabad, or the Hunza Valley. The unstable (and at times, downright dangerous) security situation since the 90s until recently has led to much of the area, Swat Valley in particular, being mainly off-limits to foreign travelers for a long time. But things have improved in the last couple of years and we couldn’t find any reason not to go. The Pakistani government, which is incredibly concerned with the safety of foreign travelers (some might say obsessed), has eased up and doesn’t require us to get permits for the valley anymore, or to move around with a personal armed guard. So in other words, Peshawar and Swat Valley are opening back up for tourism. The locals know this: we were there in the summer time and tourists from southern Pakistan were out in droves. Even still, the valley felt far from busy and that’s one of the reasons we chose it as a destination over going to Fairy Meadows.
As always, checking what your own government has to say before you set off is a good idea (at the very least, in case your travel insurance is impacted by what’s considered a ‘high-risk’ zone). Most western governments still have travel warnings in effect advising their citizens to stay away from KPK altogether.
We didn’t encounter any annoying, persistent or threatening touts or run into any attempted scams. I would say those things pretty much don’t exist here (yet).
Security, Checkpoints and Police
Apparently in previous years you could expect a visit from ISI (Pakistani Intelligence) when you checked into a hotel in Peshawar or Swat, and end up with your own bodyguard. This isn’t a thing anymore, and you don’t require a permit to enter the valley anymore either.
There is still a checkpoint on the way in/out of the valley: foreigners will need to get out of the bus and talk to the police. Bring your passport and a few copies. They’ll take down your details and that’s about it.
Money and Costs
There are plenty of ATMs in Peshawar. Visa is the most widely accepted card. If you’re going to Swat Valley, bring cash. I believe there are ATMs in Mingora (the main village in Swat) but there are none after that. Have some USD with you that you can change as needed. Keep in mind ATMs are often unreliable, and you should have more than one card with you.
Costs are really low. For your reference, we paid between 3500 – 4500 rupees (22 – 28 USD) per night in all of the locations in this post (and in other parts of the country, much less), for nice hotels that were fine, clean, comfortable and most importantly in the summer, air-conditioned. Eating at local places and in the bazaars, the cost of food is negligible. Even in good restaurants in the cities, it’s very cheap. The Motorway Express minivans I mention later cost no more than 700 rupees (4.50 USD) per person, and other regular public transportation cost from 100 to 550 rupees (0.60 – 3.50 USD) each depending on the distance and type of vehicle. Adding in extra for things like hiring a jeep/driver/guide, it’s safe to say that two people can very comfortably travel this area on 50 USD per day (total, for both), or significantly less than that depending mainly on your choice of room, and on days when you don’t do any travelling.
Transportation
Pakistan in general is pretty easy to get around. It may take time, but the infrastructure is there and things tend to work, if not on a schedule. You have quite a few kinds of public transport, and where there isn’t public transport, there’s always hitchhiking (that was easy in Gilgit-Baltistan anyway).
Most roads and vehicles are ok, depending on how you feel about precipitous mountain driving. You can forget about seatbelts and drivers are often reckless.
Even in Swat Valley, the main villages are well-connected. You can get around using local minibuses and shared jeeps/taxis. All of these are usually quite crowded and they leave when full. The driver/conductor will tell you the price per seat as you get on and you’ll pay partway through the ride. Be really clear about how many seats you want. Maybe it’s just us (we’re both pretty tall) but on several occasions it was assumed for us, that we wanted a whole row to ourselves (we didn’t).
Accommodation
You can get online at your hotel in Peshawar and in Mingora, but not in the other villages in Swat Valley. And have patience, because the WiFi will probably not be fast or reliable, or in many cases usable at all.
There is tourist infrastructure in most areas in Pakistan including Swat Valley, but it’s definitely not like that which you find in neighboring countries (not as built-up, comfortable, backpacker-oriented, etc – so much the better, honestly). There is not exactly tons of tourism in Pakistan and most of what there is seems to be concentrated in the mountains. Do not expect a travellers’ scene: there isn’t really one.
Peshawar
As I said before, Peshawar is probably the friendliest big city I’ve ever been to. It’s also a very conservative one and you should keep that in mind. Women travelers, especially, should dress very modestly (long sleeves, long loose pants or skirt) and for that matter men should too, as wearing shorts will look very strange. A shalwar kameez is a great option (for both), especially in the heat, and I wore a headscarf most of the time as well because I didn’t see a single woman without a scarf at the very least (most had their faces covered too). And on that note, you probably won’t see a lot of women out in public anyway. Men were always very polite to me and quite often addressed Oyv rather than both of us.
Getting to Peshawar from Islamabad
In Islamabad, we stayed at Jasmine Inn in sector G8. It’s right next door to the Motorway Express office. This is a private company that runs minivans with aircon and seatbelts, ticketed seats, and on a schedule. They run hourly departures to Peshawar: we bought tickets on the spot for the next van. It takes about 2.5 hours and they drop you off at their office there.
Before leaving the office in Peshawar, we booked tickets to Mingora in Swat Valley. Then we got a taxi to VIP Hotel on Old Bara Road. It’s comfortable and air-conditioned with a vengeance which you desperately need if you are in Peshawar in summer. It’s easy to get taxis (or do anything at all) in Peshawar – someone, anyone, will almost always assist you with everything: we could not flag a cab ourselves, or try to buy anything in a shop, or walk more than a few steps without an offer of tea or someone springing to our side asking if we were ok or needed help.
- The best thing in Peshawar is exploring the bazaars: the people are so kind and generous, there is plenty of English spoken so you can have conversations, you can shop, and you can snack your way around the bazaar (whether you are hungry or not – as everyone will try to feed you).
- Bala Hisar Fort is one of the more ‘official’ sights, and it’s only open on weekends.
Swat Valley
Mingora is the main village in Swat Valley. We based ourselves there first, and then went to Kalam for a few more days. Again, this is a fairly conservative area so dress modestly.
Getting to Swat Valley from Peshawar
In the summer Motorway Express minivans leave Peshawar for Mingora every day around 7, 11, 1, and 3 pm. The trip is about 4.5 hours – including stops for prayers, petrol, and passport checks. There is only one checkpoint on the way into the valley. The minivan will drop you at the Motorway Express office in Mingora.
Mingora
We stayed at Swat Continental (not part of any chain…just a dramatic name). The staff are very friendly.
There are a few things to do around town:
- Take an auto-rickshaw up to the White Palace, a former royal palace turned into a hotel (which absolutely should be ‘former’ too).
- Get a taxi to the car park point for Jahanabad Buddha, an ancient Buddha carved into the rockface, dynamited by the Taliban in 2007 and restored again in 2016. It’s in another village. The car can take you to the bottom of a short walk up, or you can get lost like we did and climb straight uphill over boulders and thorn bushes (but with a nice bit going through the little village).
- Check out the Butkara site in town. More ancient stupas and carvings, from a time when the valley was predominantly Buddhist.
Kalam
Kalam is a little village with some big scenery, at the other end of the valley from Mingora. It used to be a lot harder to reach thanks to bad roads but they are under improvement.
To get there, take an auto-rickshaw to the Mingora public bus stand. If you can’t find a minibus going straight to Kalam, get on one going to the next village over, Bahrain. It’s about 1.5 hours to Bahrain, where you can switch to a sharetaxi/minibus going to Kalam. It’s another three hours on to Kalam (but should become less as the roadworks finish).
In Kalam check out a few hotels – there is a staggering number of them. We stayed at Empire (again with the fancy names). It was brand new in the summer and nice and clean. Directly across the road from Empire is Cafe de Jan, where you can get breakfast and nescafe, and Jan is really nice and knows things about the area.
Up and down the main street, you’ll find local restaurants that serve up Afghan biryani and a lot of grilled meat, and are run by very friendly people. Pick one and go to it regularly –you’ll feel right at home.
While you are in Kalam:
- Wander around the bazaar, have a chat with basically everyone, check out the village mosque
- Organise a jeep and driver to take you to Mahudand Lake. It’s six hours return with plenty of stopping for viewpoints, villages, waterfalls and so on along the way. At the lake you can take a boat out on the water or have a look at the carnival-atmosphere of locals on holiday. It cost us around 4500 rupees (28 USD) for the trip. There are plenty of lakes where you can trek/camp – any hotel can help you find a jeep, and drivers will definitely find you.
- From Kalam, you can hike for an hour up to Greentop, a hill with another village high above Kalam. Beautiful views, and we met some nice guys who invited us in for tea.
- There’s a river running through town and you can follow it out to another small settlement nearby.
Getting to Lahore from Swat Valley
Sadly, Motorway Express minivans don’t run frequently back out of the valley. If you’re in Mingora early in the morning you can catch one. Otherwise, you can do this trip in two stages:
- Swat Valley to Islamabad. We set off at 7.15 am in a minibus from the main bazaar in Kalam, direct to Mingora, where we arrived around 11. There are plenty of guys at the station in Mingora shouting destinations and we immediately caught a coaster (a cross between a minibus and a bus) to Islamabad. That took five hours and dropped us off in Rawalpindi, where all the buses for Islamabad start and end. There were no checkpoints on the way. You can get a taxi from Rawalpindi into Islamabad for around 400 rupees (2.50 USD). We stayed the night in Islamabad.
- Islamabad to Lahore. We Ubered to the closest Daewoo office which was in sector G7. We bought tickets for the next bus to Lahore: it cost 1550 rupees (10 USD) each including the shuttle that takes you to the main bus station in Rawalpindi. The trip takes 5-6 hours. There are several stations in Lahore – when you buy the ticket, tell them where your hotel is and they can tell you which station to get off at.
From Lahore: Getting to India by Land
The Wagah border near Lahore is the only crossing-point open to foreigners to travel by land between India and Pakistan. You can find my guide to crossing the Wagah border from Lahore to Amritsar (or vice versa), here.
Read More
You might like these stories about our adventures in and around Peshawar and Swat Valley:
Islamabad and Peshawar, One Way or Another
Pakistan: Domestic Tourists and Foreign Guests
Or to read more about traveling in Pakistan in general, check out my stories from the road.
