Marghazar White Palace

The Sufed Mahal or White Palace was built in 1940 as the summer residence of Miangul Abdul Wadud, the founder of modern Swat state, using white marble said to have come from the same quarries as the Taj Mahal's. The building is a long, low pavilion of verandas and columned porches set against a wooded hillside in the Marghazar valley, where springs and shade made it the natural retreat from the heat of Saidu Sharif below. Queen Elizabeth II stayed here during her 1961 visit, and the room she used is kept as a small point of pride. Since the end of princely rule the palace has operated as a hotel, with the gardens and terraces open to day visitors for a small fee. The drive up passes through villages and orchards, and paths continue from the palace into the hills behind.

What you actually see

• The marble pavilion - verandas, columns and terraces in white stone.
• The gardens - lawns, springs and mature trees around the palace.
• The royal room - the chamber kept from the 1961 state visit.
• Marghazar valley - orchards and hill paths behind the building.

When to go

April to October, when the gardens are green and the valley is at its best; summer weekends bring streams of day visitors from Mingora. Mornings are quieter. Winter is cold but the palace stays open.

Honest expectations

It is a working hotel first, and day visitors see the exterior, gardens and a few rooms rather than a full museum interior. Furnishings are modest and interpretation is minimal. Weekend crowds and wedding parties can fill the terraces. The marble gleams best in photographs taken early or late.

Nearby

Mingora and the Swat Museum are below; Malam Jabba lies across the valley.