The Kaka Sahib urs is the annual death anniversary of the Sufi saint Syed Kastir Gul, known as Kaka Sahib, held at his shrine in Ziarat Kaka Sahib, about 12 kilometres south of Nowshera in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It follows the Islamic calendar, so it moves about 11 days earlier each year. Recent urs have fallen between late January and early February, and the saint's death is traditionally given as 24 Rajab. The ceremonies include raising a flag, changing the cloth cover on the grave, lighting earthen lamps and, according to some accounts, qawwali.
This is a local pilgrimage for the Kakakhel community and devotees from across the province, not a tourist festival with a printed programme.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Place | Ziarat Kaka Sahib, about 12 km south of Nowshera |
| Saint | Syed Kastir Gul (Kaka Sahib), also called Rahmkar |
| Urs | Annual, on or around 24 Rajab (Islamic calendar) |
| Recent urs | 380th ended 26 February 2022; 382nd ended 4 February 2024 |
| Duration | Reduced to about two days in recent years |
| Entry | Free, a public shrine |
| Advice | UK advises against all but essential travel to Nowshera |
When is the Kaka Sahib urs?
The urs is tied to the Islamic lunar calendar, and the date depends on the sighting of the moon for Rajab, so it can shift by a day. Press reports give a clear pattern:
- 2 May 2016: the 374th urs (Dawn)
- 1 April 2019: the 377th urs (The News)
- 26 February 2022: the 380th urs concluded (The News)
- 4 February 2024: the 382nd urs concluded (The News)
Each step falls roughly 10 to 11 days earlier in the Gregorian year, which is what a lunar date does. By that reckoning, the urs would have fallen in mid-January 2026 and should come in early January 2027. That is our own calculation from the pattern, not an announced date, and we did not find reports for 2025 or 2026. Ask someone local, or check news in the weeks before.
Our guide on public holidays in Pakistan explains how moon sighting changes Islamic dates from year to year. Note that the urs of Kaka Sahib is not a gazetted public holiday.
Who was Kaka Sahib?
Syed Kastir Gul, born in the 1570s (sources differ by a year), was from a family of Syeds whose ancestors had come to the Nowshera area from Bukhara. He left home, according to Dawn, at around the age of 30 and set up a retreat in the hills that grew into a centre of Islamic teaching. Students came to learn Quranic commentary and hadith.
One of his best-known students was the Pashto poet and warrior Khushal Khan Khattak, and the saint is also said to have been connected to Khushal Khan by marriage through his son. He is remembered as "Rahmkar", the compassionate one, for charity that included, in the traditional account, freeing 3,000 enslaved people and feeding large numbers of visitors from the shrine's langar. A recent local account gives his death as 24 Rajab 1064 AH, around 1653 AD. His descendants are the Kakakhel tribe, found across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the rest of Pakistan.
If the Khattak connection interests you, our post on the tomb of Khushal Khan Khattak covers the poet's own resting place, and Rehman Baba urs covers another Pashtun poet-saint's commemoration.
The shrine at Ziarat Kaka Sahib
Dawn describes a white marble mausoleum built in the early 17th century in Mughal style. Around it are the graves of the saint's family and disciples, a mosque, a langar khana (free kitchen), a library and guest quarters.
Dawn quoted 5,000 to 7,000 visitors a day in 2015, an old figure but a sign of a busy pilgrimage place. The same report noted local complaints about water supply and a poorly stocked library, so do not expect tourist facilities.
What happens during the urs?
Reports of the urs over the years mention the same core ceremonies:
- Opening rites. A leading member of the Kakakhel community, in several years a former or serving provincial or federal minister, starts the urs. Elders place new cloth on the shrine.
- Flag hoisting. The shrine's flag is raised by the caretakers or by the patron-in-chief of the Kakakhel tribe.
- Changing the ghilaf (shawl or cover). The traditional cover on the grave is replaced. The News calls it a tradition kept for centuries.
- Grave washing. Reported in Dawn's coverage of the 374th urs.
- Earthen lamps. Lamps are lit in and around the shrine in the evening. The 2016 report links this to a Mela Chiraghan. For the wider tradition of lamp festivals, see our post on Mela Chiraghan.
- Recitation, qawwali and food. A local account lists Quran recitation, qawwali and distribution of food. The newspaper reports we read for this guide did not mention qawwali, so do not count on a scheduled concert.
Dawn reported that the urs was once a week-long event and has been shortened to two days, which it attributed to security concerns. Plan for a compact event with its main ceremonies concentrated in a day or so.
Is it safe to visit?
Check this before anything else. The UK government's travel advice, updated 22 September 2026, advises against all but essential travel to Nowshera district, and advises against all travel to Peshawar, Charsadda and Kohat. Kohat Police Lines was attacked on 18 September 2026, and several attacks on police have been reported in KP this year.
Large religious gatherings in the province have been targets in the past, and organisers have cut the urs short for that reason. Pakistani visitors do still attend. If you decide to go:
- Check local news and police advice the week before, and again on the day.
- Go with someone from the area, and avoid arriving after dark.
- Expect searches at the approach roads and keep your CNIC with you.
- Do not carry large bags, and keep to the main crowds rather than side lanes.
If you hold a foreign passport, your government's advice may say not to go, and travelling against it can void your insurance. We do not recommend foreign visitors attend.
Visitor etiquette at a shrine urs
Dress modestly, cover your head and take your shoes off before the shrine area. Ask before photographing anyone at prayer, and do not photograph women. If you eat from the langar, leave a donation. Standing quietly and respectfully is all that is expected. Our guide to Pashtun etiquette covers greetings and manners, and our overview of Sufi shrines in Pakistan puts this shrine in context.
Getting there
Nowshera lies on the Kabul River, about 27 miles east of Peshawar on the Grand Trunk Road. The shrine is reached by road, and a regular car can manage it. Coming from Islamabad, you would take the M-1 towards Peshawar and leave for Nowshera, as in our Islamabad to Peshawar guide. We could not find a verified drive time for the final stretch, so ask locally.
Is it worth going?
For a Pakistani reader with a personal or family reason, such as Kakakhel family or a devotion to the saint, yes. For a general visitor interested in Sufi culture, it is a real traditional urs but an unpublicised and hard-to-plan one, in a district with current security warnings. The urs at larger shrines in safer areas are easier to plan, and several are covered in our list of the best festivals to visit in Pakistan. Our experiences page shows what we can arrange.
Frequently asked questions
When is the Kaka Sahib urs?
It is held around 24 Rajab. The 382nd ended on 4 February 2024, and by lunar reckoning it falls in early January 2027, depending on moon sighting. Confirm locally.
Where is Ziarat Kaka Sahib?
About 12 kilometres south of Nowshera city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in hilly ground reached by road.
How many days does the urs last?
Dawn reported that it was once a week-long event and was cut to two days for security reasons.
Is there qawwali at the Kaka Sahib urs?
One local account mentions qawwali, while the newspaper reports on the urs we read describe the flag, cloth, lamps and prayers. Treat it as possible rather than scheduled.
Is it safe to visit Nowshera?
The UK advises against all but essential travel to Nowshera. Pakistani devotees still go, but should check local news and police advice first. Overseas visitors should check their own government's advice and insurance.
