The Mountain Inn, Chitral

Tucked away off a quite side street at the southern end of the bazaar, the Mountain Inn is something of a local institution. Founded in the mid-sixties, when Chitral was a sleepy backwater on the old hippy trail, this atmospheric hotel has 25 rooms, set on two floors around a beautiful garden, rich with roses, cosmos flowers and a sprawling mulberry tree. That said for all its charm, its lovely staff and its convenient location, its nickname of Fawlty Towers of the Hindu Kush is well-deserved, as the service is rather haphazard and rooms far from luxurious. But if you like a place that is close to the action, from where you can walk most places, and don’t mind a simple en suite room, your stay here is bound to be entertaining.