Murree

File:KITLV A690 - Holy Trinity Church te Murree bij Islamabad in Brits-India, KITLV 100822.tif

Murree or Marhee also spelt Marhi which means high place,{{cite dictionary |last=Heath |first1=John E. |author-link=John Everett-Heath |url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199580897.001.0001/acref-9780199580897-e-5014?rskey=EswHaH&result=5671&q= |title=Murree |dictionary=Oxford Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2012 |edition=2nd |access-date=16 October 2021}} as it was then called, was first identified as a potential hill station by Major James Abbott in 1847.{{efn|name="abott"}} When Abbott arrived at the site he wrote:

"I was probably the first Englishman that had ever set foot upon it... I saw here for the first time the magnificent mass of Mount Maachpoora of which I had heard and dreamed so much, presenting toward the River Jelum a stupendous surface of precipice. Its summit is densely covered with cedar forests and is the resort of Jogies and alchemysts from India, who hold watch there by night expecting, by dint of certain incantations and ceremonies, to discern the spirits which alight as flames of fire upon plants profes-sing alchemical properties."Charles Allen, Soldier Sahibs: The Men Who Made the North-West Frontier

The town's early development was in 1851 by the President of the Punjab Administrative Board, Sir Henry Lawrence.{{efn|name="abott"|The earliest British discovery of Murree, like many of the adjacent hill resorts in the Galyat range of the Hazara region, was first made by Major James Abbott in 1847. Please see Charles Allen Soldier Sahibs: The Men who made the North West Frontier London: Abacus Books, 2001 p. 141, {{ISBN|0-349-11456-0}}; and Journals of Honoria Lawrence eds. J. Lawrence and A. Widdiwis, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1980 edition. For an account of Abbott's early time in Hazara and the founding of Abbottabad, see Omer Tarin and SD Najumddin, "Five Early Military Graves in the Old Christian Cemetery, Abbottabad, Pakistan, 1853–1888", in The Kipling Journal (ISSN 0023-1738) Vol 84, No 339, p.35-52}} It was originally established as a sanatorium for British troops garrisoned on the Afghan frontier.{{sfnp|Chisholm|1911}} Officially, the municipality was created in 1850.{{sfnp|Imperial Gazetteer of India|1909}}

The permanent town of Murree was constructed at Sunnybank in 1853. The church was sanctified in May 1857, and the main road, Jinnah Road, originally known as Mall Road and still commonly referred to as "The Mall"), was built. The most significant commercial establishments, the Post Office, general merchants with European goods, tailors and a millinery, were established opposite the church. Until 1947, access to Mall Road was restricted for "natives" (non-Europeans).

In the summer of 1857, a rebellion against the British broke out. The local tribes of Murree and Hazara, including the Dhund Abbasis and others, attacked the depleted British Army garrison in Murree; however, the tribes were ultimately overcome by the British and capitulated.{{sfnp|Lee|2001}} From 1873 to 1875, Murree was the summer headquarters of the Punjab local government;{{sfnp|Imperial Gazetteer of India|1909}}{{sfn|Kennedy|1996|p=166}} after 1876 the headquarters were moved to Shimla.{{sfnp|Chisholm|1911}}

The railway connection with Lahore, the capital of the Punjab Province, via Rawalpindi, made Murree a popular resort for Punjab officials, and the villas and other houses erected for the accommodation of English families gave it a European aspect. The houses crowned the summit and sides of an irregular ridge, the neighboring hills were covered during the summer with encampments of British troops, while the station itself was filled with European visitors from the plains and travelers to Kashmir. It was connected with Rawalpindi by a service tangas.{{sfnp|Imperial Gazetteer of India|1909}}

It was described in the Gazetteer of Rawalpindi District, 1893–94 as follows:[https://web.archive.org/web/20131110171351/http://www.harappa.com/engr/murree1.html Murree, in the Punjaub, 1863]Gazetteer of Rawalpindi District, 1893–94. Page 262, Chapter. VI - TOWNS, MUNICIPALITIES AND CANTOMENTS

The sanatorium of Murree lies in north latitude 33° 54′ 30″ and east longitude 73° 26′ 30″, at an elevation of {{Convert|7517|ft|m}} above sea level, and contained a standing population of 1,768 inhabitants, which was, however, enormously increased during the [May–November] season by the influx of visitors and their attendant servants and shopkeepers. It is the most accessible hill station in the Punjab, being distant from Rawalpindi only a five hours' journey by tonga dak. Magnificent views are to be obtained in the spring and autumn of the snow crowned mountains of Kashmir; and gorgeous sunset and cloud effects seen daily during the rains [July–August]. Part of the station, especially the Kashmir end, are also well wooded and pretty.

In 1901, the permanent population of the town was 1,844; if summer visitors had been included this could have been as high as 10,000.{{sfnp|Chisholm|1911}}

In early January 2022, over 20 people died trying to reach the town during a snowstorm.

File:View of Kashmir from Murree.jpg

Murree features a monsoon-influenced subtropical highland climate (Cwb) under the Köppen climate classification. It is situated in the outer Himalayas, retaining high altitude. This type of area has cold, snowy winters, relatively cool summers with drastically escalated rain, in relation to lower altitudes, and frequent fog. Precipitation is received year round, with two maxima, the first one during winter and the second one at summer, July–August. Total mean precipitation annually is {{Convert|1,904|mm|abbr=on}}.{{cite web|url=https://worldweather.wmo.int/en/city.html?cityId=900 |title=World Weather Information Service — Murree|agency=World Meteorological Organization|access-date=6 May 2025}} Murree receives around {{convert|1,590|mm|abbr=on}} of snow per year according to a 13-year data. Heavy snowfall starts in January and February.{{cite web |title=Murree Weather Forecast Snowfall Season Today Tomorrow and Weekly |url=https://www.skardu.pk/murree-snowfall-weather/ |website=Skardu.pk |access-date=21 December 2021}}

{{Weather Box

|width = auto

|location = Murree

|metric first = Y

|single line = Y

|collapsed = Y

|Jan record high C = 17.2

|Feb record high C = 19.8

|Mar record high C = 23.0

|Apr record high C = 26.0

|May record high C = 32.0

|Jun record high C = 32.2

|Jul record high C = 31.7

|Aug record high C = 27.2

|Sep record high C = 25.6

|Oct record high C = 25.0

|Nov record high C = 22.3

|Dec record high C = 21.1

|Jan high C = 7.2

|Feb high C = 7.5

|Mar high C = 11.6

|Apr high C = 17.2

|May high C = 21.7

|Jun high C = 25.1

|Jul high C = 22.4

|Aug high C = 21.4

|Sep high C = 20.9

|Oct high C = 18.6

|Nov high C = 14.5

|Dec high C = 10.2

|Jan mean C = 3.7

|Feb mean C = 4.0

|Mar mean C = 8.0

|Apr mean C = 13.2

|May mean C = 17.3

|Jun mean C = 20.6

|Jul mean C = 19.1

|Aug mean C = 18.4

|Sep mean C = 17.2

|Oct mean C = 14.3

|Nov mean C = 10.3

|Dec mean C = 6.3

|Jan low C = 0.1

|Feb low C = 0.5

|Mar low C = 4.3

|Apr low C = 9.1

|May low C = 12.8

|Jun low C = 16.1

|Jul low C = 15.7

|Aug low C = 15.4

|Sep low C = 13.4

|Oct low C = 10.1

|Nov low C = 6.2

|Dec low C = 2.4

|Jan record low C = −8.4

|Feb record low C = -10.6

|Mar record low C = −7.0

|Apr record low C = -3.3

|May record low C = 0.6

|Jun record low C = 3.6

|Jul record low C = 8.9

|Aug record low C = 10.0

|Sep record low C = 6.0

|Oct record low C = 1.1

|Nov record low C = -3.3

|Dec record low C = −10.5

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 126.5

|Feb precipitation mm = 145.0

|Mar precipitation mm = 176.8

|Apr precipitation mm = 133.0

|May precipitation mm = 91.9

|Jun precipitation mm = 142.0

|Jul precipitation mm = 418.3

|Aug precipitation mm = 336.3

|Sep precipitation mm = 161.5

|Oct precipitation mm = 70.2

|Nov precipitation mm = 32.5

|Dec precipitation mm = 70.3

|source 1 = NOAA{{Cite FTP |url = ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/RA-II/PK/41573.TXT

|server = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

|title = Murree Climate Normals 1961–1990

|access-date =16 October 2021}}

}}

File:Murree Urban UC.svg

The city is the headquarters of the Murree District. The district has two tehsils, Kotli Sattian and Murree. In March 2022, the Punjab Government upgraded the administrative status of Murree by posting Hassan Waqar Cheema as the first Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC). Its status was updated from tehsil to that of a district in October 2022 after the formal appointment of a Deputy Commissioner in November 2022.

However, the caretaker Punjab Government reversed the status of District in February 2023. The Lahore High Court struck down the move after which the additional charge of the Deputy Commissioner was given to the Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner.

In September 2023, the Punjab Government posted a Deputy Commissioner in Murree. Agha Zaheer Abbas Sherazi was posted as the second ever Deputy Commissioner on 26 September 2023. The elected government post February 2024 elections decided to stick with the upgraded status of Murree considering its pivotal importance for the tourism industry.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

{{clear}}

Localities and union councils of the Murree area:

{{div col|colwidth=10em}}

• Bhurban
• Dewal
• Darya Gali
• Gulehra Gali
• Ghora Gali
• Jhika Gali
• Mohra Sharif
• Potha Sharif
• Sehr Bagla
• Patriata
• Phagwari
• Numbal
• Mussiari

{{div col end}}

For administrative purposes in the Rawalpindi zone, the military areas of Murree are divided into two separate cantonments; Murree Hills Cantonment and Murree Galis (Kalabagh) Cantonment.{{cite web |title=Cantonment Boards |url=https://mlc.gov.pk/cantonment-boards |website=mlc.gov.pk |publisher=Military Lands and Cantonments Department – Ministry of Defence, Government of Pakistan |access-date=6 May 2025}} Murree houses the headquarters of the 12th Infantry Division of the Pakistan Army, several educational and training institutions, and a combined military hospital established to serve Murree and adjoining garrisons.

The Pakistan Air Force also maintains a base at Lower Topa, near Patriata, with its own military boarding school for boys, PAF Public School Lower Topa.

During the British Raj, in the hot season Murree was the headquarters of the Lieutenant General of the Northern Command. The Commissioner of the Rawalpindi Division and the Deputy Commissioner of Rawalpindi also resided here during part of the season, for which period an Assistant Commissioner was placed in charge of the subdivision consisting of Murree Tehsil. The site was selected in 1850 almost immediately after the annexation of the province, and building operations commenced at once. In 1851 temporary accommodation was provided for a detachment of troops; and in 1853 permanent barracks were erected. The regular garrison generally consisted of two mountain batteries and one battalion of infantry.

==Notable people==

• Ansar Abbasi, columnist and journalist
• Francis Younghusband, explorer
• Jonathan Addleton,{{sfn|Crossette|1998|p=9}} American diplomat and author
• Kashif Abbasi, journalist and anchor person
• Muhammad Nawaz Abbasi, former justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and a former justice of Lahore High Court
• Muhammad Waseem (cricketer)
• Parikshit Sahni, Indian actor
• Pushpinder Singh Chopra, aviation expert
• Sadia Abbasi, politician
• Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, former Prime Minister of Pakistan
• Zafar Mahmood Abbasi, Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) of the Pakistan

• Reginald Dyer (1864–1927), British Army officer
• Gerald Lathbury (1906–1978), British Army officer
• Muhammad Riaz Khan Abbasi (d. 1979), Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)
• Khaqan Abbasi (d. 1988), politician
• Harold Hall (1913–2004), cricketer and British civil servant
• Muztar Abbasi (1960-2004)
• Raja Ashfaq Sarwar (1954–2020), politician

• Dujiangyan City, China{{cite news |title=China's Dujiangyan to be Murree's sister city |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1072118-china-s-dujiangyan-to-be-murree-s-sister-city |access-date=25 April 2025 |work=The News International |date=20 May 2023 |language=en}}

{{notelist|1}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Imperial Gazetteer of India|volume=18|page=42|title=Murree Town|publisher=Clarendon Press|location=Oxford|year=1909|url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V18_048.gif|access-date=2021-10-16|ref={{SfnRef|Imperial Gazetteer of India|1909}}}}
• {{cite book |last1=Crossette |first1=Barbara |author-link=Barbara Crossette |title=The Great Hill Stations of Asia |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Great_Hill_Stations_Of_Asia.html?id=TY_iAAAAMAAJ&source=kp_book_description&redir_esc=y |date=1998 |publisher=Westview Press |location=Boulder |isbn=978-08-13-33326-7 |pages=22–42}}
• {{cite book |last1=Gibson |first1=Alexandra L. |title=Working-Class Raj: Colonialism and the Making of Class in British India |date=2023 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-10-09-35658-9 |chapter=Military Domesticity: Creating Working-Class Worlds in British India |pages=76, 82–85 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9tfbEAAAQBAJ |doi=10.1017/9781009356565.004}}
• {{cite book |last1=Kennedy |first1=Dane |title=The Magic Mountains: Hill Stations and the British Raj |year=1996 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |isbn=978-05-20-20188-0 |url=http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft396nb1sf/}}
• {{cite book|first=Harold|last=Lee|title=Brothers in the Raj: The Lives of John and Henry Lawrence|location=Karachi|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2001|isbn=0-19-579415-X}}

Attribution:

• {{EB1911 |wstitle=Murree |volume=19 |pages=42–43}}

{{Commons category}}

{{Wikivoyage|Murree}}

• {{cite web |title=Murree |publisher=Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab |url=https://tdcp.gop.pk/?page_id=1063 |website=tdcp.gop.pk}}
• {{cite web |title=Murree and Galliat |url=https://tourism.punjab.gov.pk/murree-and-gallies |publisher=Tourism, Archaeology and Museums Department – Government of Punjab}}

{{PakistanCities}}

{{Army Cantonments of Pakistan}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Cantonments of Pakistan

Category:Galyat of Pakistan

Category:Populated places in Murree District

Category:Populated places in Murree Tehsil

Category:Hill stations in Pakistan

Category:Resorts in Pakistan

Category:Tourism in Punjab, Pakistan

Category:Tourist attractions in Punjab, Pakistan

Category:Populated places established in 1851

Category:1851 establishments in British India

Category:Murree District