Introduction
Pakistan is an ancient land and has been the cradle of many civilizations. The Rani Gat is another largest site of Gandhara region located further deep in the mountainous area. It is located on the border hills of Swabi and Buner, about 20 km from Swabi city and 120 km from Islamabad.
The word Rani Gat is the combination of two different languages ‘Rani’ and ‘Gat’. ‘Rani’ is a Hindi word that means ‘Queen’ while ‘Gat’ is a Pashto word which means a ‘huge rock’, so meaning “Queen’s Rock”.
The archaeological site Rani Gat are scattered over an area of 700×1100 square meters. It is reflecting some architecture, art and stone masonry work here are unique from other Buddhist sites in Gandhara. One of the interesting structures are stone cut cottages, shelters and watch towers, which are made by cutting granite rocks.
Buddhist stupas and monasteries are numerous and scattered all over a vast area of Gandhara region. Unfortunately the Pakistan’s cultural heritage is threatened by human vandalism. The Rani Gat was decided for excavation in 1983 and later added to the UNESCO World Heritage site in 2004.
This ruins attracted many tourists including Japanese, Korean and who came here for studies in the ancient times to learn about Buddhism. The local people also visits this place and enjoys. Amazing view and more than that is amazing work done by those ancient people.
The Japanese Trust Fund was constructed more than one third of the way for 4×4 vehicles and heavy bikes. The remaining climb has been made comfortable by construction of 500 stairs. You should walk through stairs to reach at top. Don’t forget to bring water and other eating stuffs, there are no tuck shops and other kind of services.
History
Rani Gat is a remains of Buddhist archaeological site belonging to the Gandhara civilization in 2nd Century CE – 6th Century CE. There are different theories about Rani Gat according to the history:
The meaning of the Rani Gat is the large stone on which the queen used to sit and eat in the evening. Historical books state that the fresh water of the Indus River was the queen’s favorite drink. Although the river is a long way from this site but fresh water still reached within minutes. How this had possible?
The queen formed a chain of human hands. The first servant would pick up the water from the river Indus in a special vessel and run and hand it over to the second servant standing at a certain distance, then the second would hand it over to the third and according to this process the fresh water would be presented to the queen. The stone still stands with the same splendor at a distance of few hundred meters from the ruins.
There have been various attacks on this area in different periods. According to the historical expert, this place was known as the Fort of Ornus. In 327 BC, when Alexander the Great entered Uddiyana, he needed to capture the fortresses controlled by the local tribes. This fort was a great adventure for Alexander because that was the last fort of Uddiyana. He conquered Fort of Ornus and reached Taxila via Hund.
Learn more about Uddiyana Gandhara Region, Click Swat Valley.
A joint Pakistan-Japanese team is carried out an excavation project sponsored by the Department of Archaeology & Museums, UNESCO and Japanese Trust Fund. All the excavated area is protected with barbed wire fencing. A number of facilities, site protection and development works which needed.
Attractions
The main attractions include Stupas, monasteries, drainage systems and a big rock erected by the ancient people at some distance that they probably used to worship. The remnants was well designed and stones from the local mountains have been extensively used. Its needs an easy access to this historic ruins in form of Cable Car etc.