The two-day Broghil Festival will kick off from September 5 at the Broghil National Park in Upper Chitral district.
Being organised by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tourism Department and the Upper Chitral district administration, the two-day festival will showcase various activities and traditional games including the famous Buzkashi game.
Buzkashi is an ancient Chitrali game in which a dead goat is pulled the player while riding a horse.
He who succeeds in carrying the dead goat around the ground without being snatched by other players is declared as a winner.
Besides the Buzkashi game, yak race, yak polo, football, marathon race, wrestling, horse riding, fireworks, traditional music and food shows are the main attractions of the festival.
According to multiple media reports, preparations for the two day festival have already started off. A tent village will be established in Broghil to facilitate the participants and tourists.
Shah Saud, Deputy Commissioner of Upper Chitral, said the upcoming Broghil festival will be the first event being held in 2020 as the earlier ones, including the Shandur festival, were cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The festival aims to highlight different aspects of the ancient and unique Wakhi culture.
The Broghil valley, bordering the Wakhan corridor of Afghanistan, is situated about 250km from Chitral city. The valley is the home of the beautiful Chiantar glacier surrounded by many other glaciers, which feed the Chitral River.
The valley’s incredible wildlife, glaciers, scattered wetlands, rich wilderness and green meadows are the main tourism potential of the area. It has about 30 freshwater lakes of various sizes, which present breathtaking sights.
The Broghil National Park, where the festival is held every year, was established in 2010. It is a treasure of wild indigenous and migratory fauna especially of Pamirian and Siberian bird species.