Shah Allah Ditta (; ) is a centuries-old village and a union council located at the foothills of the

Margalla Hills The Margalla Hills () are a hill range within the Margalla Hills National Park on the northern edge of Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan, just south of Haripur District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They are part of the Himalayas, Himalayan foothi ...

in the

Islamabad Capital Territory The Islamabad Capital Territory is a federal territory of Pakistan, centred around Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. It is located on the northern edge of the Pothohar Plateau, at the foot of the Margalla Hills, in the northwest of the ...

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 s located adjacent to Sector D-12 of

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

Etymology

The village is named after a Punjabi

Dervish Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from ) in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage is found particularly in Persi ...

who lived during the Mughal-era.

History

The village is believed to be more than seven hundred years old and lies on the route which was used to travel from

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

to the Gandharan city of Taxila by

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

and

Sher Shah Suri Sher Shah Suri (born Farid al-Din Khan; 1472 or 1486 – 22 May 1545), also known by his title Sultan Adil (), was the ruler of Bihar from 1530 to 1540, and Sultan of Hindustan from 1540 until his death in 1545. He defeated the Mughal Empire, ...

, while Mughal rulers and other emperors often passed through while traveling from

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

to the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

. Local people used to call that route ''Gernaili Road'' (Sher Shah's road), and some of its remnants are still visible today. It is said that

Mughal emperor The emperors of the Mughal Empire, who were all members of the Timurid dynasty (House of Babur), ruled the empire from its inception on 21 April 1526 to its dissolution on 21 September 1857. They were supreme monarchs of the Mughal Empire in ...

Akbar Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...

built a watering hole for travelers in this village.

Archeology

Relics of the Buddhist era dating back to the 8th century can be found here along with burnt diyas and trees with amulets tied to them. Shah Allah Ditta caves are located on the route leading towards Khanpur. These caves are next to the shrine and tomb of Shah Allah Ditta. 2,400-year-old Buddhist era murals of Buddha appear on the walls of caves at Shah Allah Ditta. Archaeological evidence indicates that the caves and the platform-like formations surrounding the area were first used for meditation by Buddhist monks and later by Hindu

sadhus ''Sadhu'' (, IAST: ' (male), ''sādhvī'' or ''sādhvīne'' (female), also spelled ''saddhu'') is a religious ascetic, mendicant or any holy person in Hinduism and Jainism who has renounced the worldly life. They are sometimes alternativel ...

before Muslim ascetics took over during the Mughal period. Marked on the ground close to the caves the location where

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

arrived and was received by Raja Ambi, King of Taxila. The road next to the caves that leads to the main top of the mountain, Shah Allah Ditta road, is said to be built on the exact path followed by

Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...

emperor

during his visit. Moving up the mountain from the caves, there is a stepwell called Losar Baoli and a mosque built by Shahāb-ud-Din Ghori. The mosque has broken walls and the road leading to it is dilapidated.

Preservation

* In October 2010, Capital Development Authority (CDA) finally approved the plan after realizing the importance to preserve this 2,400-year-old archeological site. The plan covers conservation of the Buddha caves as well as the adjacent garden known as 'Sadhu ka Bagh'. This is the second heritage site in Islamabad which has been targeted for preservation; the first was the historical Saidpur Village, also situated at the foothills of the Margallas. * The Taxila Institute of Asian Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University, the Natural History Museum and Department of Architecture, and a recent effort by the Mass Communication Department of NUST has urged the government to preserve such sites of Mughal heritage. * Embassy of Japan in Pakistan, reportedly offered to provide funds for the preservation of Shah Allah Ditta caves.

Residential land

There is approx. 23,000 kanal land located in Shah Allah Ditta village and its surroundings. As of July 2011, approx. 17,000 kanal land is privately owned, and approx. 6,000 kanal of land has been purchased by the housing society developers of sectors D-13, E-13 and C-13. The federal government has only 30 kanals of land in and around Shah Allah Ditta.

Margalla Ridge Trail

The village also serves as the starting point of the Margalla Ridge Trail. Inaugurated on 3 November 2018 as Pakistan's longest single trans-provincial trail, 15 of its 44 km length lies within Islamabad Capital Territory, while the rest passes through districts Abbottabad and Haripur districts of Hazara in the

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 ...

province. It passes though six villages, including Talhar (in Islamabad Capital Territory) and Lora (in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), and has multiple exit points. It ends at Summa.

Gallery

File:Sadhu ka bagh.jpg, The ''Sadhu ka Bagh'' near the caves

References

External links

Sadhu Ka Bagh ProjectA memorable trip to Shah Allah DittaPhotography: Shah Allah Ditta Caves
{{Cultural heritage sites in Islamabad Capital Territory , state=autocollapse Union councils of Islamabad Capital Territory Villages in Islamabad Capital Territory