Bagh Azad Kashmir
Bagh, the district headquarter of district Bagh is 100 Kilometre from Muzaffarabad via Kohallah & 80 Kilometer via Suddhen Gali, 205 Kilometre from Islamabad and 48 kilometre from Rawalakot. This town is situated on the confluence of two mini nullahs- Malwani & Mall, which flow all the year round. The district is bounded by Muzaffarabad District to the north, Poonch district to the south, and Poonch District of the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir to the east; it is bounded by the Punjab, Rawalpindi District and Abbottabad District of Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province to the west. The total area of the district is 1,368 square kilometers. Bagh District is linked to Muzaffarabad by two roads, one via Sudhan Gali (80 km) and the other through Kohala (97 km). Bagh District was created with three sub-divisions, namely Dhirkot, Bagh and Haveli, with its headquarters at Bagh. It is said that a bagh (garden) was set up by the landowner where the premises of the Forest Department are now located. As a result, the area that is now the district headquarters was named “Bagh”. Being a district headquarter, all the basic necessities of life are available in the Bagh bazars. Geography and climate
Topographically, the entire Bagh district is mountainous area, generally sloping from northeast to south-west. The area falls in lesser Himalayas zone. The main range in district is Pir- Panjal. The Haji-Pir Pass is situated at the height of 3421 meters above sea level. The general elevation is between 1500 and 2500 meters above sea level. Mountains are generally covered with coniferous forests. Mahl Nala in Bagh sub-division and Betar Nala in Haveli sub-division are the two main streams. However, other numerous rivulets flow in the district. This district almost resembles to district Poonch in its history, culture, customs and traditions. District Bagh, as a whole is rich in variegated natural beauty. Topographically, this district falls into mountainous zone. Bagh, Dheerkot, Sudhan gali, Hanse Chowki, Neela Butt, Las Danna, Mahmood Gali, Kahuta, Havaily and Ganga Choti are the main places in this district. Climate of the district varies with altitude. The temperature generally remains between 2 °C to 40 °C. The main eastern part of district is very cold in winter and moderate in summer. However, lower valleys, the localities bordering Bagh at Kohala and its adjoining areas (Mongbajri and Ajra-Bagh) remain cold in winter and hot in summer. May, June and July are the hottest months. Maximum and minimum temperatures during the month of June are about 40 °C and 22 °C respectively. December, January and February are the coldest months. The maximum temperature in January is about 16 °C and minimum temperature is 3 °C respectively. The annual precipitation is about 1500 millimeters. Pine, kail, fir and other trees like poplar, shisham, kikar, willow, walnut, ban-akhore, chinar and mannu are found in abundance in the district. Among flowers zianna, dahlia, merrygold, cosmos, daffodil, aster and rose of different kinds are found in the district. Mostly the population of the rural areas is eagerly devoted to plantation of fruit plants to meet the needs of people. For this purpose agricultural and fruit nurseries have been established by the Agriculture Department. Wild life of the district is mostly confined in Haveli range where Markhore, Himalayan thar, leopard cat and bear are found. Among birds murgh zareen, chakore and moned pheasant are available. Murgh zareen and shahin are confined to forests at high hills and chakore is commonly found in the lower plants.
2005 earthquake in relation to Bagh district
The city of Bagh, like other areas of the district, was heavily damaged in the 2005 Kashmir earthquake. Sixty percent of the buildings collapsed. Thousands of people died and many more found themselves homeless. In the aftermath of the earthquake, NATO came to the district to help with reconstruction and clearing. There was a report that an entire village was wiped out in the district.
