PESHAWAR: The provincial government has announced to organise the Annual Snow Sports Festival-2022 at different scenic places all across Malakand Division.
The festival will start in the first week of January and continue till April 2022. According to Deputy Commissioner (DC) Swat Junaid Khan, the Ski slopes of Malam Jabba, a hill station a top 9,200 feet above sea level and located nearly 300km from Islamabad, welcomed tourists from all over Pakistan as well as foreigners.
Different competition and activities including snow tubing, ice skating, snow sculpture as well as concerts, cultural events and fireworks would be part of the festival. The stunning hill station of Malam Jabba has become a major winter sporting and adventure tourism destination.
The area offers the best scenic spots that have much to attract tourists due to its rich culture and natural beauty. To promote local culture and entrepreneurs, the festival will also include stalls of traditional dresses, food and handicrafts which are an added attraction for the tourists and an advantage for the locals.
The aim of the festival is to attract domestic and foreign tourists to the picturesque spots in Malakand Division of KP province. The government is determined to build link roads to all tourist spots to attract a maximum number of local and foreign tourists.
The festival would be organised at places like Malam Jabba, Gabin Jabba, Kalam, Mahu Daan, Athrrot, Badgoi, Kumrat, and Dir Upper, which have been included in the calendar of activities. Apart from the off-road jeep rally in Malam Jabba, like every year, ski, mountain bike rally at Athrrot and Maho Dhand, bicycle race, table tennis, badminton, Teqball, futsal, martial arts, archery, athletics would enhance the status of the sports festival. He said that tourists from all over the country enjoy various adventurous sports activities including a leap of faith, “zip line and rock climbing”.
The tourists are likely to take keen interest in 90m height and 550m long zip line at Malam Jabba. Tourism in the valley will not only boost the local economy, rather will also create employment opportunities for the youth.
New tourist spots have also been explored in various parts of Malakand division including Swat.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021