Shandur polo festival begins today

CHITRAL: Shandur Polo Festival will start from Friday (today) in the highest polo ground of the world and it will continue for three days with matches between the teams of Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) being the major event.

The tourists will also enjoy cultural and musical evenings while fireworks and enthralling musical concerts will be arranged at night time.

Arranged by the district administrations of Lower and Upper Chitral districts with the financial assistance of KP Culture and Tourism Authority, the event has been included in the calendar of events of the province.

Tourists have started arriving here to proceed to the venue which is 156 kilometres from the city with travel time of five to six hours while a great number of vehicles is seen on Chitral-Booni Road leading to Shandur.

The polo ground has been renovated and arrangements made for water and power supply, power generators, telephone, transport, media coverage,security and provision of other facilities.

The players of both Chitral and GB have reached the venue a week ago and started playing practice matches to acclamatise themselves and their horses to the high altitude area situated at 10,300 feet above sea level.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2025