By Abdul Ghani

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has approved a Rs2 billion tourism and cultural heritage project for the development and maintenance of 12 polo grounds in Upper and Lower Chitral, including the historic Shandur Polo Ground, shows an official document available with Wealth Pakistan.

The project has been designed to preserve and promote polo as one of the most important cultural and heritage traditions of Chitral. The scheme also aims to strengthen sports-based tourism and create income opportunities for local communities.

The Shandur Polo Festival is one of the key tourism events of the region. It is organised at Shandur Top in coordination with Chitral Scouts, the district administration, the police, and the Gilgit-Baltistan government.

The festival generates millions of rupees for the communities of Upper and Lower Chitral through tourism-related activities, including transport, accommodation, food services, temporary stalls, and local trade.

Chitral’s polo culture is deeply connected with the region’s identity. Unlike formal club polo, the traditional version played in Chitral is faster, more physical, and closely linked with local festivals and community gatherings.

The document also lists several promotional festivals for the region, including the Shandur Polo Festival, the Pre-Shandur Polo Tournament, the Qaqhlasht Festival, the Broghil Festival, the Khut Festival, the Chilam Joshi Festival, the Uchal Summer Festival and the Choimus Winter Festival.

The polo grounds project is the largest individual tourism-related scheme mentioned in the document for Chitral. Other projects include tourist rest areas, picnic spots, camping pod villages, and road schemes.

If completed on time, the development and maintenance of 12 polo grounds could help Chitral turn its traditional sport into a stronger tourism product, benefiting local players, transporters, hoteliers, shopkeepers and small businesses.

Credit: INP-WealthPk