page_title: Kalash people
section_title: Location, climate and geography
hierarchical_section_title: Kalash people / Location, climate and geography
caption_attribution_description: English: Birir Valley Chitral is a Natural protected coniferous forest area. Kalash people live there and in two other valleys namely Rumbur and Bumbret. Kalasha Desh (the three Kalash valleys) is made up of two distinct cultural areas, the valleys of Rumbur and Brumbret forming one, and Birir valley the other; Birir valley being the most traditional of the two. The picture of two kalash girls in their traditional dress and head-wear was taken with forest in the background.
context_page_description: The Kalasha, or Kalash, also called Waigali or Wai, are a Dardic Indo-Aryan indigenous people residing in the Chitral District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. They speak the Kalasha language, from the Dardic family of the Indo-Aryan branch. They are considered unique among the people of Pakistan. They are also considered to be Pakistan's smallest ethnoreligious group, practising a religion which some authors characterise as a form of animism, while academics classify it as "a form of ancient Hinduism".
  The term is used to refer to many distinct people including the Väi, the Čima-nišei, the Vântä, plus the Ashkun- and Tregami-speakers. The Kalash are considered to be an indigenous people of Asia, with their ancestors migrating to Chitral valley from another location possibly further south, which the Kalash call "Tsiyam" in their folk songs and epics. Some of the Kalash traditions consider the various Kalash people to have been migrants or refugees. They are also considered by some to have been descendants of Gandhari people.
context_section_description: Located in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan the Kalash people live in three isolated mountain valleys: Bumburet (Kalash: Mumuret), Rumbur (Rukmu), and Birir (Biriu). These valleys open towards the Kunar River, some 20 km south (downstream) of Chitral,
  The Bumburet and Rumbur valleys join at 35°44′20″N 71°43′40″E (1,640 m), joining the Kunar at the village of Ayrun (35°42′52″N 71°46′40″E, 1,400 m) and they each rise to passes connecting to Afghanistan's Nuristan Province at about 4,500 m.
  The Birir Valley opens towards the Kunar at the village of Gabhirat (35°40′8″N 71°45′15″E, 1,360 m). A pass connects the Birir and Bumburet valleys at about 3,000 m. The Kalash villages in all three valleys are located at a height of approximately 1,900 to 2,200 m.
  The region is extremely fertile, covering the mountainside in rich oak forests and allowing for intensive agriculture, despite the fact that most of the work is done not by machinery, but by hand. The powerful and dangerous rivers that flow through the valleys have been harnessed to power grinding mills and to water the farm fields through the use of ingenious irrigation channels. Wheat, maize, grapes (generally used for wine), apples, apricots and walnuts are among the many foodstuffs grown in the area, along with surplus fodder used for feeding the livestock.
  The climate is typical of high elevation regions without large bodies of water to regulate the temperature. The summers are mild and agreeable with average maximum temperatures between 23 and 27 °C (73 and 81 °F). Winters, on the other hand, can be very cold, with average minimum temperatures between 2 and 1 °C (36 and 34 °F). The average yearly precipitation is 700 to 800 mm (28 to 31 inches).
caption: Birir Valley
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 5D Mark III", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CC 2014 (Windows)", "Image DateTime": "2016:05:22 23:45:24", "Image ExifOffset": "220", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "914", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6468", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/250", "EXIF FNumber": "22", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Aperture Priority", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "1000", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF RecommendedExposureIndex": "1000", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2016:04:28 09:47:00", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2016:04:28 09:47:00", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "995723/125000", "EXIF ApertureValue": "8918863/1000000", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "200", "EXIF SubSecTime": "82", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "82", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "82", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "5962", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3600", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "160", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "160", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "4", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "063024017314", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[70, 200, 0/0, 0/0]", "EXIF LensModel": "EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM", "EXIF LensSerialNumber": "00004040d8"}