Malakand Pass

Mountain pass

Malakand Pass is a mountain pass in Pakistan.

The pass road begins at Dargai. The road across the pass is in good condition, but is always crowded with a continuous stream of trucks. From a viewpoint about one kilometre before the top of the pass, one can see the Swat Canal in the valley below. It was built by the British to channel water from the Swat River through a tunnel under the Malakand Pass to the plains around Mardan.

On the left, Malakand Fort guards the road at the top of the pass. On the other side of the pass, the road descends through the market town of Bat Khela, with a Hindu Shahi fort perched above it, and continues past the headworks of the Swat Canal to the Swat River. The first bridge across the river is at Chakdara, which carries the road to Dir and Chitral.