Tourism Potential of British Period Heritage of District Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Pakistan)

Abstract

Mansehra, one of the largest districts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan is located on the easternmost part of the province. The region is presently inhabited by different ethnic groups including Gujjars, Sayyids, Swatis, Kashmiris, Tanolis, Awans, Kashmiris, Mughals and Turks. The archaeological remains reported from Mansehra confirm its continuous occupation by human populations from the 3rd century BCE to the present time. The different phases of human history (Buddhist, Hindu Shahi, Muslim, Sikh and British) are represented by human material remains of historical, religious, artistic and architectural significance with exceptional potential to attract tourists. This paper is an attempt to highlight the potential of the British period heritage for the promotion of sustainable cultural tourism, building on pervious articles focused on tourism (Hameed et al. 2022: 134, 2022:209). It focuses on eight sites constructed during the British era. These include an Iron Bridge connecting But Sung with Garhi Habibullah, a Hindu temple now converted to Government High School (Garhi Habibullah), Atar Singh House (Garhi Habibullah), Muslim Graveyard (Karnol), Shrine of Zinda Pir, Karnol (Karnol) British Period Jail, Agla Garan (Kaghan) and Gurudwara Guru Singh Sabha (Mansehra City).