ISLAMABAD: An ancient winter festival in Pakistan’s northwestern Chitral valley is underway, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) tourism department said on Wednesday, featuring local and foreign tourists, traditional rituals and festivities such as singing and dancing. 

The Kalash are a group of about 4,000 people, possibly Pakistan’s smallest minority, who live in the mountains of the Hindu Kush, where they practice an ancient polytheistic faith.

Members of the tribe come together each year in December to celebrate the two-week Chawmos festival to mark the winter festival and the upcoming new year. The festival features various rituals, animal sacrifice, dance, songs and feasting, preserving the Kalash culture and attracting a number of tourists to KP each year. 

“The religious festival of the Kalash tribe, Chitramas (Chawmos), is underway in the Kalash Valley,” the KP Tourism department said in a statement. 

“The festival is being celebrated in all three Kalash valleys — Rumbur, Bumburet and Birir,” it added. 

The provincial tourism department said people distribute fruits, vegetables and dry fruits as gifts to spread peace and harmony during the festival. 

It said police personnel were facilitating tourists and providing them security to enjoy the festival.