ABBOTTABAD

'Abbottabad' (Urdu: 'ایبٹ آباد') is the principal city of Abbottabad District in the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan. It is located 100 km (75 miles) north of Islamabad and 205 Km from Peshawar, at an altitude of 4120 feet (1250 metres) above sea level.
The city is located in a valley and is known for its pleasant weather, educational institutes of high standards and military establishments. It remains a hub of tourism in the summer.

Contents

Demographics

Education

Tourism

Places of Tourism

History

2005 Earthquake

References

External links

See also

Demographics

In 1998 the population of Abbottabad District was 881,000. According to the 1998 census, over 94.26% of the population speak Hindko as their first language, Urdu– 1.05%, Pushto– 2.22% and Punjabi– 2.30% ^[1]. The national language of Pakistan - Urdu is understood by everyone and English is widely used in business and education.

Education

With its good weather and beautiful landscape, Abbottabad attracts people from all over Pakistan, some for tourism but many by its educational institutions. Abbottabad (sometimes called "The City of Schools") is home to a number of schools, colleges and training institutes. These educational institutions help to promote a high standard of education in the entire country.
Military Training Institutes like the PMA Kakul, (Pakistan Military Academy) the Regimental Training Centers of the Pakistan Army are also located in Abbottabad.
Abbottabad has four Medical Colleges namely Ayub Medical College, Women Medical College, Frontier Medical College and Abbottabad International Medical College. An Institute for higher learning for Information Technology, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology is also located here.
Other than that, many private and government school and colleges are located in Abbottabad city which are renowned for their high standard of education. Among these are Army Burn Hall College, Abbottabad Public School, PIPS, Al-Imtiaz Academy, IQRA Academy, Abbottabad Jamia Public School and two Government Colleges.
The Government Postgraduate College offers higher education of Bachelors and Masters level in Literature, Natural Sciences and Exact Sciences. The college attracts students from all over the NWFP.
A few Technical Institutions like Government Polytechnical Institute offer courses for skill-based technical & industrial education e.g Diploma in Associate Engineering. Quite a few Computer Institutes are also functioning in and around Abbottabad. These institutes are generally affiliated with Board of Technical Education, Peshawar.

Tourism

Like much of the mountainous Northern Areas of Pakistan, tourism is one of the important sources of economic activity in Abbottabad, in summer when temperatures in the plains of Pakistan rise to well above 45 degrees Celsius , large number of tourists travel north to Abbottabad to shelter from the blistering heat.
The Karakoram Highway, which traces one of the paths of the ancient Silk Road, starts from Havelian 15 km south of the Abbottabad town, and passes through the city. The Karakorum Highway is an attraction for the adventure tourists. Abbottabad is the last big town, the first mild-weather tourist city in Northern Pakistan for the tourists coming from the plains in the south.

Places of Tourism

Main articles: Abbottabad District

The Karakorams, the Himalayas and the Hindukush mountains can be approached from Abbottabad. Abbottabad continues to be a transit city for tourists, serving as a base for visits to numerous nearby places, such as Hunza, Gilgit, Skardu and Indus Kohistan, of the Karakoram Range.
While other hill stations are deserted during the winter Abbottabad has visitors due to its mild winters. A cricket stadium, is located on the Murree Road. The Cantonment area of Abbottabad is still very British. The European bungalows, the club, the church and cemetery are still there. Abbottabad is an hour's drive from Nathiagali, the summer capital of the North West Frontier Province. Shmila hill, Ilyasi mosque, Lady garden and the city itself is a place where one can enjoy the every movement and liberty of life.
Taking the PMA exit rather the "Supply Road" will put you on a road which will give you pleasant view of the most beautiful area of the city. You will have to take left exit just before PMA Academy and then you will enjoy the lush green fields and extremely beautiful surrounding. Due to the lush green fields and surrounding you will feel the sudden drop in temperature and cool breeze.
The "Chinar Road" (the Maple Tree Road) is a beautiful 500 meters of the road with more than 60 years old Maple Trees on both side. The tree tops are hovering the road high above and you pass through a beautiful tunnel of trees. And during the winter season its so romantic and soothing to have a walk on this road.
Just on the outskirts of the city is a fantastic site and it takes only 15 minutes to reach there, the amazing "Harno", its an awesome place and has extremely picturesque views. Harno has high mountains which run in parallel until Nathiagali (mountains are almost 200 meters apart ) and a stream of fresh water from the mountains flowing in between these mountains. During the summers, on every weekend there is some musical event going on there or a temporary playland or zoo are the reason of tourist attraction. The best part is having some fun in the cold running stream and then having snacks at the local hotels.

History

Abbottabad was a city of British India, the headquarters of Hazara Division (then a district), and named after its founder, Major James Abbott. Abbott settled this district in 1853 after the annexation of the Punjab, and became its first Deputy Commissioner. It was an important military cantonment and sanatorium, being the headquarters of a brigade in the second division of the northern army corps. In 1901 the population of the town and cantonment was 7764. Before leaving Abbottabad, Major Abbott wrote a poem titled "Abbottabad".

2005 Earthquake

On the 8th of October 2005 Abbottabad was affected by the devastating Kashmir earthquake, in the city many building were demolishedBBC News - Doctor's diary.

References

1. People Of District Abbottabad - Language

External links

★ Abbottabad Cemetery

★ Abbottabad Homepage

★ Image Gallery of Abbottabad

★ - More info on PakWheels.com

See also