Mirpur

District Mirpur is located at the extreme South of the State and linked with Pakistan and the districts of Azad Jammu & Kashmir through several routes. District Mirpur comprises partly plain and partly hilly areas. Its hot climate and other geographical conditions closely resemble to those of Jhelum and Gujrat, the adjoining districts of Pakistan. The people of this area are basically agriculturists. During the last four decades a large number of people from this district have gone abroad, especially to United Kingdom. Today they are the major foreign exchange earning source of Pakistan. As it adjoins the industrial cities of Pakistan. The Govt. of AJK has successfully endeavored to develop it as an industrial place and promote private investment for establishing textile, vegetable, ghee, garments, scooters, cosmetics and many other industries.

Mirpur:

Mirpur the districts headquarter is situated at an elevation of 459 meters ASL. It is linked with the main Peshawar-Karachi Grand Trunk road at Deena, a small town about 15 kilometers short of Jhelum city.The construction of Mangla dam converted the old Mirpur town into a big artificial lake and effected the population of about 50,000. But it paved the way for existing new Mirpur town situated on the banks of Mangla Lake. The city is well planned and buildings are mostly of modem design. Mirpur has developed into an industrial city very rapidly. All the basic amenities of life are available here. Colleges, hospitals, banks, shopping centers, hostels, telephone & telegraph units, Forest, PWD, Industries and Tourist rest houses exist in the city. Bus and wagon transport services are also available.

Mangla:

Mangla is a small beautiful modem town. It is situated at a distance of 110 kilometers from Islamabad and 15 kilometers short of Mirpur city. The construction of Mangla reservoir having perimeter of 100 kilometers and presence of Mangla and Ramkot Forts of Mughal period have turned this place into an attractive tourist spot. Mangla has special attraction for the tourists coming on short visits because of its proximity to Jhelum, Lahore and Rawalpindi/Islamabad.

Ramkot Fort:

Picturesquely located on the summit of a hill, Ramkot Fort is built over the site of an old Hindu Shiva temple. Three sides of this hill top are surrounded by River Jhelum (ancient “Vitasta”).during excavations relics of the 5th & 9th century AD has been discovered near one of the temples. In the 16th 17th century AD, the Muslim rulers of Kashmir while safe guarding their boundaries built numerous Forts. Ramkot, sitting atop at the confluence of the river Jhelum & Poonch is one of them. The Sikh Maharaja of Kashmir further fortified Ramkot.

Ramkot Fort is located on the opposite side of the Mirpur town and one has to cross Mangla Lake on boat to reach there. A 10 minutes travel by road from Mirpur leads to Sukhian and nearby army water sports club from where boats are available for access to Ramkot Fort. It takes 45 minutes to reach there.Ramkot fort can also be visited from Mirpur via Dudiyal-Baily Kathaar route (77 km) but from Baily Kathaar onward there is no regular road so it is better to travel from Sukhian by boat.

Khari Shareef:

08 kilometer from Mirpur black top road runs to Khari Shareef, a placer of religious importance. This place is well known due to shrines of Baba Peer-e-Shah Ghazi and Mian Mohammad Baksh (The Author of Famous “Saif-Ul-Malook”) based on mystic poetry. Thousands of devotees visit this sacred place to rejuvenate their adust hearts daily.

Source / For more details: http://www.ajktourism.gov.pk/en/index.php/ajk/mirpur