Northern Pakistan in the context of "Rawalpindi Division"

The term Himalayan states is used to group countries that straddle the Himalayas. It primarily denotes Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan; some definitions also include Afghanistan and Myanmar. Two countries—Bhutan and Nepal—are located almost entirely within the mountain range, which also covers southern Tibet, the Indian Himalayan Region, and northern Pakistan.

The inhabitants of this region are mostly speakers of the Indo-Aryan languages and the Tibeto-Burman languages.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, commonly abbreviated KP or KPK and formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a province of Pakistan. Located in the northwestern region of the country, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the fourth largest province of Pakistan by land area and the third-largest province by population. It is bordered by Balochistan to the south; Punjab, Islamabad Capital Territory, and Azad Kashmir to the east; and Gilgit-Baltistan to the north and northeast. It shares an international border with Afghanistan to the west. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has a varied geography of rugged mountain ranges, valleys, rolling foothills, and dense agricultural farms.

The history of the present province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is characterized by frequent invasions by various empires, largely due to its geographical proximity to the historically important Khyber Pass. It was the site of the ancient Gandhara, and was historically a stronghold of Buddhism. Islam became dominant in the region after the 11th-century conquest of the Hindu Shahi kingdom by the Ghaznavids. The predecessor of the present province was constituted in 1901, under the British Raj, when the North-West Frontier Province was created by bifurcating the northwestern districts of the erstwhile Punjab Province.

Gilgit (/ˈɡɪlɡɪt/; Shina: گِلیٗت IPA: [ɡi˧.leː˨˦t̪]; Urdu: گِلْگِت IPA: [ˈɡɪlɡɪt̪]) is the capital and most-populous city in Pakistani-administered Gilgit–Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region. It is located in a broad valley near the confluence of the Gilgit and the Hunza rivers. It is a major tourist destination in Pakistan, serving as a hub for trekking and mountaineering expeditions in the Karakoram mountain range of Northern Pakistan.

Gilgit was once a major centre for Buddhism; it was an important stop on the ancient Silk Road, and today serves as a major junction along the Karakoram Highway with road connections to China as well as the Pakistani cities of Skardu, Chitral, Peshawar, and Islamabad. The city's economic activity is mainly focused on agriculture, with wheat, maize, and barley as the main crops.

The Dardic languages (also Dardu or Pisaca), or Hindu-Kush Indo-Aryan languages, are a group of several Indo-Aryan languages spoken in northern Pakistan, northwestern India and parts of northeastern Afghanistan. This region has sometimes been referred to as Dardistan.

Rather than close linguistic or ethnic relationships, the original term Dardic was a geographical concept, denoting the northwesternmost group of Indo-Aryan languages. There is no ethnic unity among the speakers of these languages, nor can the languages be traced to a single ancestor. After further research, the term "Eastern Dardic" is now a legitimate grouping of languages that excludes some languages in the Dardistan region, that are now considered to be part of different language families.

Hazara (Hindko: هزاره; Urdu: ہزارہ), historically known as Pakhli, is a region in northern Pakistan, falling administratively within the Hazara Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It forms the northernmost portion of Sindh Sagar Doab, and is mainly populated by the indigenous Hindko-speaking Hindkowans and Kohistani people, with a significant Pashto-speaking population. The inhabitants of Hazara are collectively called the Hazarewal.

Shandur Lake (Urdu: شندور جھیل; Khowar: شندور چھت) is a high-altitude lake located in Gupis-Yasin District, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. It is located in between the Shandur Pass and Shandur Polo Ground, and is a primary source for Gilgit River. It is the 5th largest lake in northern Pakistan by surface area.

Shandur Ice Sports Challenge is held at the Lake from December 24 to 28, and features ice hockey and speed skating, between the teams of Chitral and Gilgit Baltistan.

Hazarewal or Hazarawals (ہزارہ وال; Hazarewal pronunciation: [(h)əzaːɾeːʋaːl]; Standard pronunciation: [həzaːɾeːʋaːl]) refer to the multi-ethnic inhabitants of the Hazara region in northern Pakistan. This region is known for its multi-ethnic population, comprising various ethnic groups with diverse origins.

Shina (ݜݨیاٗ, Ṣiṇyaá, [ʂiɳjá]), also known by its exonym Gilgiti, is an Indo-Aryan language of the Dardic branch in the Indo-European language family, primarily spoken by the Shina people, native to northern Pakistan, specifically Gilgit-Baltistan and Kohistan. A small community of Shina speakers is also found in India, in the Gurez valley of Jammu and Kashmir and in Dras valley of Ladakh. Outliers of Shina language such as Brokskat are found in Ladakh, Kundal Shahi in Azad Kashmir, Palula and Sawi in Chitral, Ushojo in the Swat Valley and Kalkoti in Dir.

It is one of the major regional languages of Pakistan, being the most-widely spoken one in Gilgit-Baltistan. It is also spoken outside of Gilgit-Baltistan and Kohistan by Shina communities in major metropolitan areas around the country, particularly Islamabad–Rawalpindi, Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar.