Festivals in Chitral

There are various festivals which are celebrated in the district of Chitral which people from other parts of Pakistan have most likely never even heard about. One of such festivals is Jashn-e-Nowroz which is celebrated on 21st march every year. This is basically a religion festival which is celebrated in the memories of a Sufi saint who introduced the Ismaili faith in this region, the name of the Sufi Saint was Peer Nasir Khisraw. Another very famous festival held in this region is the Shandoor Polo festival, now everyone in Pakistan as well as around the globe is aware that Polo is played in this region at 10,000 feet’s above the sea level and this is not something very ordinary, ordinary people have breathing issues at such heights but these people not only manage to breath but play in such conditions which shows how strong and immune they are to these conditions. The main event and match is between the teams of Gilgit and Chitral who are arch rivals. This event is played normally during the summer because it is impossible to play during the harsh weather which the winter brings, so normally the event is organized in the month of July annually.

Qaqlasht Festival:

Celebrated in Chitral during mid April every year. The festival is called Jashn-E-Qaqlasht dates back to the time immemorial. However some local historians believe that the festival is almost three thousand years old. This event used to be organized by the Rais rulers of Chitral and was continued by the succeeding Katoor family. After Chitral's merger in the federation of Pakistan, holding of the festival as a calendar event came to an end.The main objective of the event was to protect and preserve Chitral's unique cultural heritage and to give currency to the culture of tolerance, cooperation and coordination through cultural.