KUNAR, a river and valley of Afghanistan, on the north-west frontier of British India. The Kunar valley (Khoaspes in the classics) is the southern section of that great river system which reaches from the Hindu Kush to the Kabul river near Jalalabad, and which, under the names of Yarkhun, Chitral, Kashkar, etc., is more extensive than the Kabul basin itself. The lower reaches of the Kunar are wide and comparatively shallow, the river mean dering in a multitude of channels through a broad and fairly open valley, well cultivated and fertile, with large flourishing villages and a mixed population of Mohmand and other tribes of Afghan origin. Here the hills to the eastward are compara tively low, though they shut in the valley closely. Beyond them are the Bajour uplands. To the west are the great mountains of Kafiristan, called Kashmund, snow-capped, and running to 14,000 ft. of altitude. Amongst them are many wild but beautiful valleys occupied by Kafirs. From 20 to 3o m. up the river on its left bank, under the Bajour hills, are thick clusters of villages, amongst which are the ancient towns of Kunar and Pashat. The chief tributary from the Kafiristan hills is the Pechdara, which joins the river close to Chagan Sarai. It is a fine, broad, swif t
flowing stream, with an excellent bridge over it (part of Abdur Rahman's military road developments), and has been largely utilized for irrigation. Above Chagan Sarai, as far as Arnawai, where the Afghan boundary crosses the river, and above which the valley belongs to Chitral, the river narrows to a swift moun tain stream obstructed by boulders and hedged in with steep cliffs and difficult "parris" or slopes of rocky hill-side. Wild almond here sheds its blossoms into the stream, and in the early summer much of the floral beauty of Kashmir is to be found. At Asmar there is a slight widening of the valley, and the oppor tunity for a large Afghan military encampment, spreading to both sides of the river and connected by a very creditable bridge built on the cantilever system. There are no apparent relics of Buddhism in the Kunar, such as are common about Jalalabad or Chitral, or throughout Swat and Dir. The Kunar valley route to Chitral and to Kafiristan is being developed by Afghan en gineering.