Besham | |
---|---|
Country | Pakistan |
Province | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa |
District | Shangla |
Elevation | 613 m (2,011 ft) |
Time zone | PST (UTC+5) |
Besham (Pashto: بشام; also known as Besham Qala) is the largest town and commercial centre of the Shangla District in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Most of the population consists of Pashto-speaking Pashtuns.
Besham's shops remained open 24 hours a day due to its geographic position, as it is on the famous Silk route which connects Pakistan with China. Besham shops are famous for their china and international goods. In summer this small town is the centre of international and national holiday makers who use this route to visit the Northern areas of Pakistan.
There is a civil hospital which was upgraded to the Tehsil level. As the Besham city located at very important place in the area, many governmental and non governmental organization offices exist here. Indus Social and Development Organization (ISWDO) is one of the development organization having its head office in Besham. ISWDO is working for the development of the people of the Shangla and Kohistan since 2001. ISWDO has implemented many projects being Implementing Partner (IP) of many national and International organizations.
Besham is a good education centre and lots of students from surrounding areas study there, as the schools' standard is very high and competitive.
With a mild and generally warm and temperate climate, Besham features a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) under the Köppen climate classification. The average temperature in Besham is 20.7 °C, while the annual precipitation averages 842 mm. Even in the driest months, there is a lot of precipitation. November is the driest month with 18 mm of precipitation, while August, the wettest month, has an average precipitation of 138 mm.
June is the hottest month of the year with an average temperature of 30.6 °C. The coldest month January has an average temperature of 8.9 °C.
Coordinates: 34°56′15″N 72°52′45″E / 34.93750°N 72.87917°E