The Lowari Pass at 3,118 metres is the southern gateway to Chitral, on the road from Dir. For most of the year the pass itself is closed by snow, but since 2017 the eight-kilometre Lowari Tunnel beneath it has kept the road open year-round. Before the tunnel, Chitral was cut off by road for several months every winter and the only way in was the daily PIA flight from Peshawar.
The drive up to the pass is dramatic — switchbacks, pine forests, and views back into the Dir valley — and on the Chitral side the road plunges into the green Lutkho valley. If you have time, take the road over the pass rather than the tunnel.