Peridot stones: Searchers start returning from Spat valley after snowfall

MANSEHRA: The people of upper Kohistan, who had gone to excavate precious peridot stones from the difficult mountainous Spat valley, have started returning to their homes after the start of the snowfall.

“Our people usually go there in mid-June every year to spend summer and excavate precious peridot stones and start moving back in late December but this time an early snowfall has compelled them to leave their temporary abode before time,” Mir Ghazan Sikandar, a local, said on Saturday.

The Spat valley, known to be heaven on the earth, is also famous for the peridot treasures and Kohistanis mostly spend summer at temporary houses built on the hilltops.

The valley, which also shares its boundaries with the Kaghan valley of Mansehra district, remains blanketed with snow in the entire winter season.

“Almost half of the people who had gone there to spend summer with their herds and excavate the peridot stones have come back and rest are following them to avoid the inclement weather’s wrath,” Sikandar said.

“Those who excavate the stones in groups after hardest labour sell it in the markets in Peshawar and other parts of the country,” Sikandar said.

He added that the Peridot treasures were found largely in Spat valley which was the community land (shamilat) of the people of Kohistan.