Pharwala is an historic Fort located about 40 km from
Rawalpindi in
Punjab,
Pakistan. It is naturally defended by one side by a small Himalayan range and the other by the
Swaan River. It is a
Gakhar fort built in the 15th century on the ruins of a 10th century Hindi
Shahi Fort. The Mughal Emperor
Babur conquered the fort in 1519, however after the Mughals reconciled with the Gakhars the fort was returned to them. Later, in 1825,
Sikhs expelled
Gakhars from this fort. The fort is in a bad shape, being situated in the
Kahuta area, is only open for
Pakistani visitors.
A small community of Kaini Gakhar lives inside the fort these days. An old and huge Banyan tree is also found inside the fort. There is no road and electricity for the fort.
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