A look back while climbing uphill at Ranigat 1

The Valley of Peshawar ( ps, د لوی پېښور وادي; ur, وادئ پشاور), or Peshawar Basin, historically known as the Gandhara Valley, is a broad area situated in the central part of the

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

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 ...

. The valley is in area, and is traversed by the Kabul River. It has a mean elevation of . The valley takes its name from the city of

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

, which is situated at the western part of the valley close to Warsak Dam. To the west of the valley lies the

Khyber Pass The Khyber Pass (خیبر درہ) is a mountain pass in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, on the border with the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. It connects the town of Landi Kotal to the Valley of Peshawar at Jamrud by traversi ...

. The five most populous cities in the valley are Peshawar,

Mardan Mardān (Pashto and ; Urdu ; Pashto: ) is a city in the Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. Located in the Valley of Peshawar, Mardan is the second-largest city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (after Peshawar). It is a fast-growi ...

, Swabi,

Charsadda Chārsadda ( ps, چارسده; ; ur, ; ) is a town and headquarters of Charsadda District, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.

, and Nowshera.

Districts located in the valley

These

districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa The province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the third-largest province of Pakistan by population and the smallest province by area, is divided into 36 districts and seven divisions. Below, you will find a detailed overview of the history of Khyber Pa ...

are completely located in the Valley of Peshawar: * Charsadda District (population: 1,616,198) *

Mardan District Mardan District ( ps, مردان ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district in Mardan Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. The district is named after Mardan city, which is also the headquarters of the district. The district is famo ...

(population: 2,373,061) *

Peshawar District Peshawar District ( ps, پېښور ولسوالۍ, hnd, , ur, ) is a district in Peshawar Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. It is located about 160 km west of the Pakistan's capital Islamabad. The district headquarter i ...

(population: 4,269,079) In addition, most of

Nowshera District Nowshera District ( ps, نوښار ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district in Peshawar Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. The capital and district headquarter is Nowshera city. Overview and history Nowshera was a tehsil (sub d ...

, most of

Swabi District Swabi District ( ps, سوابۍ ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district in the Mardan Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. It lies between the Indus and Kabul Rivers. Before becoming a district in 1988, it was a tehsil within ...

, and smaller portions of Khyber (including

Jamrud Jamrūd (Pashto/ ur, جمرود) or Jam ( ps, جم) is a town in the Khyber District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Located in the Valley of Peshawar, on the western fringe of Peshawar city, Jamrud is the doorway to the Khyber Pass which is j ...

), Mohmand, Malakand, and Frontier Region Peshawar are also located in the Valley of Peshawar.

References

{{Reflist, 30em Indus basin Peshawar District