Swat Valley

The Swat Valley is a mountainous valley located along the Swat River in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

The valley was a major centre of early Buddhism of the ancient civilisation of Gandhara, mainly Gandharan Buddhism, with pockets of Buddhism persisting in the valley until the 16th century conquest of Swat by the Yousafzais, after which the area became largely Muslim, along with the Pashtunization of Swat and its neighbouring regions. In the early 19th century, Swat emerged as an independent state under Saidu Baba. The State of Swat became a princely state under British suzerainty as part of the British Raj in 1918.

In 1947, following the Partition of British India and subsequent independence of Pakistan, Swat acceded to the Dominion of Pakistan continuing as a self-governing princely state until it was officially annexed and merged into West Pakistan and later became a part of North-West Frontier Province (later Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) in 1969. The region was seized by the Tehrik-i-Taliban in late-2007 until Pakistani control was re-established in mid-2009.

The average elevation of Swat is 980 m (3,220 ft), resulting in a considerably cooler and wetter climate compared to the rest of Pakistan. With lush forests, verdant alpine meadows, and snow-capped mountains, Swat is one of the country's most popular tourist destinations.