Chitral situated on the Chitral River in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It serves as the capital of the Chitral District and before that as the capital of Chitral princely state that encompassed the region until its direct incorporation into West Pakistan on 14 August 1947. It has population of 49,780 peoples in 2017 census

Early history 

The Kho Chitralis came to Chitral as part of the Indo-Aryan migration into South Asia. They settled in northern parts of Chitral near the Torkhow and Mulkhow Region.

The presence of the Gandharan tomb culture in Chitral, with various grave sites scattered throughout its valleys, indicates its proximity to the Gandharan culture as well as the period of the Indus Valley Civilization and the subsequent Persian rule. provides insightful information about its inhabitants among

 Chitral also belongs to Iron Age tribes known as Dardas. The Darida country extended from Chitral in the west to the Kasanganga valley in the north of Kashmir. According to the Hindu Mahabharata, Darada is said to have gone to war against Arjuna.

Chitral is also said to be the site of the ancient kingdom of Kamboja, which is mentioned in Hindu epics.

The region that now forms Chitral was allegedly conquered by the Persian Achaemenids and was part of their easternmost empire. Chitrali culture and vocabulary is heavily influenced by Persian and is said to be a mixture of both Avestan and Sanskrit.

 In the 3rd century AD, Kanishka, the Buddhist ruler of the Kushan Empire, captured Chitral. Under the Kushans, many Buddhist monuments were built around the area, especially Buddhist stupas and monasteries. The Kushans also patronized Buddhist art, with some of the finest examples of Buddha images produced in the region during Kushan rule.

Rock inscriptions found near the village of Brenas show that the area was once a part of the Hindu kingdom during the reign of its fourth king.