Thandiani (literally meaning "very cold") is a hill station in the Galyat area of the

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the northwestern region of the country, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ...

Province of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. Thandiani is located in the northeast of

Abbottabad District Abbottabad District () is a district of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is part of Hazara Division and covers an area of 1,969 km2, with the city of Abbottabad being the principal town. Neighbouring districts are Mansehra to ...

and is about from

Abbottabad Abbottabad (; Urdu, Punjabi language(HINDKO dialect) آباد, translit=aibṭabād, ) is the capital city of Abbottabad District in the Hazara region of eastern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the 40th largest city in Pakistan and fourt ...

in the foothills of the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

. To the east beyond the Kunhar River lies the snow-covered

Pir Panjal The Pir Panjal Range (Kashmiri: ) is a group of mountains in the Lesser Himalayan region, running from east-southeast (ESE) to west-northwest (WNW) across the Indian territories of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir and then Pakistan's ...

mountain range of

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

. Visible to the north and northeast are the mountains of Kohistan and Kaghan. To the northwest are the snowy ranges of

Swat In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

and

Chitral Chitral ( khw, , lit=field, translit=ćhitrār; ur, , translit=ćitrāl) is situated on the Chitral River in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It serves as the capital of the Chitral District and before that as the capital of Chitral ...

. The hills of Thandiani are about above sea level. Most of the people residing here belong to the Qureshi- Damal , Karlal, Syed,

Awan Awan may refer to: Places * Awan (ancient city), a city-state in Elam in the 3rd millennium BCE * Awan (region), a town in Guna district, Madhya Pradesh, India * Awan, Bhulath, a village in Kapurthala district, Punjab, India, Punjab, Pakistan ...

, Abbasi, and

Gujjar Gurjar or Gujjar (also transliterated as ''Gujar, Gurjara and Gujjer'') is an ethnic nomadic, agricultural and pastoral community, spread mainly in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, divided internally into various clan groups. They were tradi ...

tribes.

History

Thandiani was originally granted as a lease to some members of the Battye family in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, who were

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

missionaries and also found in civil and military service, and who produced scions such as Wigram Battye and Quintin Battye. The Battyes subsequently gifted the location to the church authorities, where a

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...

and various other facilities were set up during the

British rule The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was hims ...

, mostly for the convenience of missionaries,

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

church personnel and officers stationed at the neighbouring cantonment of

. It also contained some private European houses, a camping ground, a small bazaar, and the small seasonal church of St. Xavier in the Wilderness which were occupied only during the summer months.

Tourism

Thandiani is characterized by excellent weather and lush greenery in the summer months, and snow-covered vistas and hills in the winter. Many tourists from

and all over Pakistan visit here, especially in the summer season. Being at a high altitude, with attractive scenery and several hiking trails into the forests and other nearby locations, it is a very attractive prospect. A beautiful trek leads to Thandiani from Abbottabad that passes through

Dagri Naka Dagri Naka is a mountainous area in Galiyat region Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan located between the trek of Thandiani and Nathiagali at 2720 meters or 8924 feet above sea level. Dagri (also called Dugri) means "The home of leopards" in the loca ...

. It has famous villages namely, Sialkot, Chamiyali, Kotla, Basali and Pattan Kallan. Sialkot is the nearest village in fact Thandiyani Lis in the boundaries of Sialkot village. Village Sialkot'' Its Well known personalities are Jan Muhammad Qureshi s/o Muhammad Ismail Qureshi (Social Worker and representative of Janyal Bradari) retired as Tech Officer from OGDCL, Pakistan and had strong hold in politics as well as arbitrary committee. Muhammad Bashir Qureshi belongs to Janyal Bradari and Ex. chairman of Zakat Committee also retired from NAtional Bank of Pakistan. Haji Ali Akbar Qureshi (Ex-Nazim UC-Patan Kallan) representative of Rakhyal Bradari & member of arbitrary committee. Jan Muhammad Qureshi Ex-Nazim UC Pattan Kallan representative of Jamyaal Braadri & member of arbitrary committee. Sufi Muhammad representative of Lashkriyal Bradari & member of arbitrary committee. Zulfiqar Qureshi representative of Oundwaall Bradari & member of arbitrary committee.

Forests and Wildlife

The mountains around Thandiani are quite thickly forested compared to most other hill stations in the locality, which have suffered some degree of deforestation over time. The local wildlife includes

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, ...

monkeys Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incom ...

, several kinds of pheasants and the increasingly rare

flying squirrel Flying squirrels (scientifically known as Pteromyini or Petauristini) are a tribe of 50 species of squirrels in the family Sciuridae. Despite their name, they are not in fact capable of full flight in the same way as birds or bats, but they a ...

and

pine marten The European pine marten (''Martes martes''), also known as the pine marten, is a mustelid native to and widespread in most of Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus and parts of Iran, Iraq and Syria. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. ...

, to name only a few.

2005 earthquake

The area and its surrounding villages were damaged by the

2005 Kashmir earthquake The 2005 Kashmir earthquake occurred at on 8 October in Pakistani-administered Azad Kashmir. It was centred near the city of Muzaffarabad, and also affected nearby Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and some areas of Indian-administered Jammu an ...

. Now, it is very developed spot for tourists.

References

External links

Thandiani Revisited
* {{Wikivoyage-inline, Murree
Pictures of Thandiani

VTEAMS/NXB Thandiani Trip March 2009
Galyat of Pakistan Populated places in Abbottabad District Abbottabad District Hill stations in Pakistan Tourist attractions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa