Situated in the south-central Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan and it’s the 35th largest city of Pakistan and 4thlargest in the province. Kohat is famous for Bangash tribe of Pashtuns who are there for the last 6 centuries. This city was an important strategic point for British colonialist forces inthe 19th century. This capital city of district Kohat is a rapidly growing city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its population is over 500,000 peoples. Majority if its population speaks Pashto while the other spoken languages are Hindko and Urdu. It has a British-era fort, several popular bazaars, a military cantonment, two big Government Hospitals, a library, several colleges and a very well-equipped University for science and technology (KUST).Guavas are the famous agricultural product other than that Kohat’s most agricultural class depends on wheat, corn, sugar canes and vegetables. This important city is connected to Hangu, Peshawar, Bannu, Karak, Jand, Rawalpindi and Islamabad by road and train however train service is only available for Jand and Rawalpindi. This article focuses on dissecting different and well-known places to visit in Kohat. Below mentioned are some of the most important and tourist attracted places:
1) Kohat Cantt
It is located in a very ideal position, connects to the city from one end and to the Pindi road and KDA from the other two ends. It is one of the important place in Kohat as it has a very reputed Combined Military Hospital, Army Public School, WAPDA house and PTCL head office. Besides its importance it is very well planned and beautifully built. Greenery and well-maintained old constructions are very attractive to watch. The Railway station is also located in Kohat Cantt, from where a popular train service runs daily for Rawalpindi.
2) Ghamkol Sharif
The founder of the Ghamkol Sharif is HazratKhwajaZinda Peer who was born in 1912 in Jungle-Khail, Kohat, Pakistan. He was a family of Auliya and was very noble, modest and were very well known in the region. Ghamkolsharifdarbar resides outsides from Kohat city, this darbar was constructed in 1952 by khwajaZindaPir himself, who was the GadhaNasheen at that time and until now he is the last and well known sufi saint in the family. Current sajjadanasheen are Peer Habib Ullah Shah Sahib and Peer Badshah. Every year the ORS (Anniversary) of ZindaPir is celebrated in which huge numbers of peoples participate from all parts of the country. This celebration last for three days and it proves to be of economical good to Kohat as the thousands of the guest came to participate in the celebration, spent heavily in shopping.
Kohat Tunnel: this 1.9 km long highway tunnel is in Khigana mountains and it connects Kohat to Peshawar through Darra (Previously a federally administered Tribal area). Construction of this tunnel began in 1999 and was enabled in 2003. This tunnel is also known for Pakistan and Japan friendship as this tunnel was constructed with the help of Japan’s financial assistance. It was constructed with RS 6 Billion budget. This important tunnel has cut the traveling time by 30 min between Kohat and Peshawar, and has helped the people going and coming back to Kohat the same day. People from Kohat, Hangu, Karak, Bannu and other adjacent areas use this tunnel for traveling to Peshawar. It also helps people to find places to visit in Kohat and south area of KPK.
Tanda Dam: happens on Hangu road on approx. 10 km from Kohat, nearby Muhammad zai village. It’s a beautiful touring point as it’s covered with mountains from three sides and opens at one end. The dam’s blue water adds more to its beauty, and the birds from different regions are the cherry on top. This spot is used in both summers and winters by the people of kohat and the surroundings. Tanda dam can be accessed via two approaches, from Shahpoor and from the Hangu Road. The view is scenic as it provides mountains, greenery, water and good carpeted road. Now people can enjoy boating also as lots of jet ski and boats are here for services.
Allaho track: is the gift of the Pakistan Army to the people to increase the places to visit in Kohat and tourism. This track has surely added enchanting beauty to the rough and tough mountains of Kohat. It’s a paradise for hikers as it is a stamina challenging track as it is a snake-like high narrow track. This 6.9 km track starts from Kotal pass and covers three tiers of mountains of Kohat and Darra Adamkhel. It is very well designed as It offers parking place and levelled area for some meters and few stopovers where people can cheer and can cook for themselves. This steep and with twist and tails track can be climbed between 3-4 hours but obviously it depends upon once health and stamina.
Tableeghi Markaz Kohat : also known as Masjid-e-Yousaf is situated in Basti Nizamudin, Kohat. It is famous for huge gathering of Tableeghi Jumaat, some says it is the second biggest in holding gatherings after Raiwind. It includes halls, courtyard and grounds. Special thing about this Markaz are the olive trees and the Wadhu pond.