The North-West Frontier Province ( NWFP)

* The North-West Frontier Province runs along the border with Afghanistan. Peshawar is its capital, and the Vale of Peshawar, fertile and well watered by the Kabul and Swat rivers, is its heart. This was also the heart of the ancient kingdom of Gandhara and is rich in archaeological remains. The northern half of the province consists of five river valleys running roughly parallel, north to south: the Chitral, Swat, Indus and Kaghan. These valleys are on the northern edge of the monsoon belt, so are fairly green and partly wooded in their southern sections. Northern Chitral and the upper regions of the Indus Valley are mountainous deserts, where cultivation depends entirely on irrigation. The NWFP south of Peshawar is below the monsoon belt and consists of low, rocky mountains and wide, gravelly plains.


* The Tribal Areas, which cover nearly half the province along its border with Afghanistan, are autonomous regions governed by tribal law under the supervision of the Pakistani government. Because the government cannot guarantee the safety of people who enter these areas, they are closed to foreigners. Even Pakistanis need permission to enter. The increased cultivation for opium in the Tribal Areas in recent years has intensified the risks faced by outsiders who attempt to slip in for whatever reason.

Pakistan has well defined seasons; Winter (December - February), Spring (March - April), Summer (May - September) and Autumn (October - November). During summer in plains, the temperature may go as high as 45C. Between July and August, the monsson brings an average 38 to 51 cm of rain to plains and 152 to 203 cm in tower Himalayan valleys of Murree. Kaghan, Swat and Azad Kashmir.