Batakundi also spelt Battakundi (, ) is a tourist town located 15 km east of Naran in

Mansehra District Mansehra District (Urdu, ) is a district in the Hazara Division, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northern Pakistan. Mansehra city serves as the headquarters of the district. The district has a Hindkowan majority, with a significant Pashtun and Kohista ...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. It is located within the

Kaghan Valley The Kaghan Valley (Hindko, ) is an Alpine climate, alpine valley in Mansehra District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The valley stretches across the northern Pakistan, rising from its lowest elevation of to its highest point at the Babusar P ...

Location

Batakundi is located in Mansehra District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. While traveling towards Babusar, the first town after Naran is Batakundi. It is situated along the

Karakoram Highway The Karakoram Highway (, ), also known as the KKH, National Highway 35 (), N-35, and the ChinaPakistan Friendship Highway, is a National Highways of Pakistan, national highway which extends from Hasan Abdal in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab p ...

(KKH) and is a stop for jeeps. It is the first destination on the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad-Chilas Road to

Babusar Top Babusar Pass or Babusar Region (Urdu: درہ بابوسر) (elevation ) is a mountain pass in Pakistan at the north of the 150 km (93 miles) long Kaghan Valley, connecting it via the Thak Nala with Chilas on the Karakoram Highway (KKH). ...

, and the path further leading to Lalazar and

Gilgit-Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative units of Pakistan, administrative territory and consists of the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has b ...

Tourism and activities

People often stay at hotels in Batakundi when they are planning their trip across Babusar Top. Batakundi is the last town in Kaghan Valley that stays open all year. Many people visit the town to see the Batakundi Waterfall. There are many hotels and restaurants in the town.

Batakundi Hydropower Project

In 2014, a hydropower project ''Batakundi Hydropower Project (HPP)'' planned on

Kunhar River The Kunhar River () or River Kunhar, is a long river, located primarily in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, northern Pakistan. It is in the Indus River watershed basin. Origin and route Kunhar is the main river in the Naran Valley. It orig ...

basin was initiated in the region by Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization (PEDO) and later the feasibilities for the project were completed. The project was started by the recognition of the Sarhad Hydel Development Organization (SHYDO) (now called PEDO) with the help of the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) under the analysis of Identification of Hydropower Potential in Kaghan Valley.

People

Most people of Batakundi are

Gujjars The Gurjar (or Gujjar, Gujar, Gurjara) are an agricultural ethnic community, residing mainly in India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, divided internally into various clan groups. They were traditionally involved in agriculture, pastoral and nomadic ...

who are now

Hindko Hindko (, , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken by several million people of various ethnic backgrounds in northwestern Pakistan, primarily in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and northern Pun ...

speakers.

References

{{reflist Populated places in Mansehra District Hill stations in Pakistan Tourist attractions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa