Malam Jabba: snow above the orchards

A short history

The resort was built as a joint Pakistani-Austrian project, and for a while it was genuinely well equipped — chairlifts, skating rinks, snow clearing, the lot. For a generation of Pakistani travellers it was where you learned to ski.

In June 2008 Taliban militants burned it. The hotel, several houses and the chairlift went; a large part of the resort was reduced to ash. For years afterwards Malam Jabba was a place people talked about in the past tense.

It came back. A new 800-metre chairlift was inaugurated in September 2016, and a 76-room hotel opened in 2020. The rebuilding of Malam Jabba is, locally, shorthand for the rebuilding of Swat tourism in general — which by recent counts accounts for something like 38 per cent of the district's economy.

Places worth your time

The chairlift

Runs in summer as well as winter, and the summer ride is the better value — you go up through forest and walk back down.

The slope

Short, well suited to beginners, and busy at weekends. Equipment hire is on site. Go midweek.

The drive up from Mingora

Through apple and apricot orchards, then pine. About an hour and genuinely part of the experience.

Zip line and the summer setup

Out of season the resort runs as a general hill station, which is how most Pakistani visitors actually use it.

Before you go

Snow is usually reliable from December to February. Weekdays are markedly quieter than weekends. The summer chairlift runs through the warm months and pairs well with a Gandharan archaeology day lower in the valley.