Kishtwar
Town and district headquarters in Jammu and Kashmir
title: "Kishtwar" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["kishtwar-district", "cities-and-towns-in-kishtwar-district", "tehsils-of-jammu-and-kashmir-(union-territory)"] description: "Town and district headquarters in Jammu and Kashmir" topic_path: "geography" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kishtwar" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Town and district headquarters in Jammu and Kashmir ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Kishtwar |
| settlement_type | Town |
| image_skyline | Chowgan.jpg |
| image_caption | View of Chowgan Ground in Kishtwar town, Jammu and Kashmir, India |
| pushpin_map | India Jammu and Kashmir#India |
| pushpin_label_position | right |
| pushpin_map_caption | Location in Jammu and Kashmir, India |
| coordinates | |
| subdivision_type | Country |
| subdivision_name | India |
| subdivision_type1 | Union Territory |
| subdivision_name1 | Jammu & Kashmir |
| subdivision_type2 | Division |
| subdivision_name2 | Jammu |
| subdivision_type3 | District |
| subdivision_name3 | Kishtwar |
| subdivision_name4 | |
| government_type | Municipal Council |
| governing_body | Kishtwar Municipal Council |
| unit_pref | Metric |
| area_total_km2 | 22.5 |
| elevation_m | 1638 |
| population_total | 14865 |
| population_as_of | 2011 |
| population_density_km2 | auto |
| demographics_type1 | Languages |
| demographics1_title1 | Official |
| demographics1_info1 | Kashmiri,Urdu, English |
| demographics1_title2 | Spoken |
| demographics1_info2 | Kashmiri, Urdu, Kishtwari |
| timezone1 | IST |
| utc_offset1 | +5:30 |
| postal_code_type | PIN |
| postal_code | 182204 |
| registration_plate | JK17 |
| website | |
| :: |
::callout[type=note] the municipality in India ::
| name = Kishtwar | other_name = | nickname = | settlement_type = Town | image_skyline = Chowgan.jpg | image_caption = View of Chowgan Ground in Kishtwar town, Jammu and Kashmir, India | pushpin_map = India Jammu and Kashmir#India | pushpin_label_position = right | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Jammu and Kashmir, India | coordinates = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = India | subdivision_type1 = Union Territory | subdivision_name1 = Jammu & Kashmir | subdivision_type2 = Division | subdivision_name2 = Jammu | subdivision_type3 = District | subdivision_name3 = Kishtwar | subdivision_type4 = | subdivision_name4 = | established_date = | founder = | named_for = | government_type = Municipal Council | governing_body = Kishtwar Municipal Council | unit_pref = Metric | area_footnotes = | area_rank = | area_total_km2 = 22.5 | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = 1638 | population_total = 14865 | population_as_of = 2011 | population_rank = | population_density_km2 = auto | population_demonym = | population_footnotes = | demographics_type1 = Languages | demographics1_title1 = Official | demographics1_info1 = Kashmiri,Urdu, English | demographics1_title2 = Spoken | demographics1_info2 = Kashmiri, Urdu, Kishtwari | timezone1 = IST | utc_offset1 = +5:30 | postal_code_type = PIN | postal_code = 182204 | registration_plate = JK17 | website = | footnotes = | official_name =
Kishtwar is a town, municipality and administrative headquarter of the Kishtwar district in the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. The district was carved out of the Doda district in 2007. and is located in the Jammu division. The town of Kishtwar is situated at a distance of 209.5 km from the summer capital of Srinagar, and 211.5 km from the winter capital of Jammu. A large ground locally called as Chowgan ground is located in the heart of the town. The old name of Kishtwar was "Kashtvatha" as mentioned in Rajtarangni of Kalhana Pandita written in 1148 CE.
In 2013, the municipality was the location of the Kishtwar Riots, which claimed three lives and injured 80 more, and was a conflict between Muslim and Hindu communities that occurred in the aftermath of the Eid festival on 9 August 2013 at Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir.
Demographics
|thumb = right |caption = Religion in Kishtwar City (2011) |label1 = Islam |value1 = 70 |color1 = Green |label2 = Hinduism |value2 = 29.16 |color2 = DarkOrange |label3 = Sikhism |value3 = 0.45 |color3 = Yellow |label4 = Christianity |value4 = 0.13 |color4 = Blue |label5 = Buddhism |value5 = 0.10 |color5 = Gold |label6 = Not Stated |value6 = 0.16 |color6 = Black
As of the 2011 Indian census, Kishtwar had a population of 14,865. Males constitute 63% of the population and females 37%. Kishtwar has an average literacy rate of 78%, higher than the Indian national average: male literacy is 82%, and female literacy is 42%. In Kishtwar, 11% of the population is under six years of age. The main language spoken here by Muslims is Kashmiri, while the Hindus of Kishtwar speak a dialect of Kashmiri language called Kishtwari. The dominant religion in Kishtwar is Islam, at 70.3% of the population, while there are 28.6% followers of Hinduism.
Transport
Air
Kishtwar does not have its own airport as 2023, although there is a helipad located 3 km north of the city. The government has a project for a 1200–1300 airstrip in Kishtwar in upcoming years. The nearest airports to Kishtwar is Srinagar International Airport located 208.8km away.
Rail
There is no rail connectivity to Kishtwar. The nearest railway station is Udhampur railway station, located at a distance of 150 kilometres.
Road
Kishtwar is well-connected by roads to other places in Jammu and Kashmir and rest of India, as several highways and roads pass through Kishtwar including NH 244.
References
References
- (27 September 2020). "The Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Act, 2020". The Gazette of India.
- (23 September 2020). "Parliament passes JK Official Languages Bill, 2020". Rising Kashmir.
- "District Kishtwar".
- "History - Kishtwar".
- "Chowgan | District Kishtwar, Government of Jammu & Kashmir | India".
- Ahmed Ali Fayyaz. (2013-06-11). "Curfew imposed in Rajouri; Jaitley may be sent back from airport". The Hindu.
- Ahmed Ali Fayyaz. (2013-08-09). "Kishtwar clashes: Top cops removed". The Hindu.
- "Kishtwar City Population". Census India.
- [https://www.ethnologue.com/language/kas Kashmiri], Ethnologue, retrieved 14 July 2018.
- (30 May 2020). "Construction works of airstrip at Kishtwar to begin soon". [[The Dispatch (Jammu and Kashmir).
- "Kishtwar in J&K to get full-fledged Airport". Press Information Bureau (Govt. of India).
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::