When: Spring
Duration:09 days
Highlights: Chitral, Kalash Tribes

Chilam Joshi festival is also known as Kalash spring festival. Chilam Joshi festival is held in three Kalash valleys, Bumburet, Birir, and Rumbur where Kalash girls and boys dance to the tune of traditional drum beats.

Chilam Joshi festival celebrations highlight their cultural richness, the plethora of colors and the underlying message of peace. The women dressed up in traditional clothes of vibrant colors, gold, silver jewelers and elaborate headgear. Men wear traditional shalwar kameez with a woolen waistcoat.

chilam joshi festival is famous among Kalashi festivals and throughout the world. Three festivals are more important, celebrated in different months of the year. Chilam Joshi festival is the most important festival celebrated in May for four days. Uchal Festival held in autumn season and Choimos Festival in midwinters.

Chilam Joshi festival starts at Rumbur valley and then moves on to other valleys of Kalash. In this festival, Kalashi people pray for the safeguard of their fields and animals before going to their fields and for this purpose they used to spread milk on their Gods. The festival brought smiles on the unmarried Kalasha boys and girls faces who during the festival get an opportunity to choose their life partners. They announce their life partners name on the last day of the festival.

Highlights –Chilam Joshi Festival

Chilam Joshi festival has a lot to offers. Given below are main highlights of Chilam Joshi festival:

• Experience the spring festival of ethnic minority community of Kalash
• Participate and dance to the tunes of Kalasha music
• View of hundreds of peaks including Tirich Mir (7,708m) in the Hindukush Range
• Rivers (Kunar, Dir, Chitral), tributaries and streams
• Malakand pass, Lowari Pass (3,118 m) or Lowari Tunnel (10.4 kms)
• Valleys of Khyber including Dir, Chitral and Kalash
• Views of forts (Malakand, Nagar, Ayun & Chitral) and Mosques (Shahi Masjid)

Itinerary –Chilam Joshi Festival

Day-01: Islamabad and Rawalpindi
Day-02 Drive from Islamabad to Swat
Day-03: Drive from Swat to Kalash Valleys
Day-04 Kalash- Bomburate valley
Day-05 Rumbur and drive to Chitral
Day-06: Drive from Chitral to Swat
Day-07: Drive from Swat to Peshawar
Day-08: Drive from Peshawar to Islamabad
Day-09 Fly back