Lusoat Watchtower

Goharabad is one of the oldest settlements in District Diamer. It is situated 17 km away from the KKH, and 45 km from Chilas. The village is divided into two settlements, known as Lusnout and Dabout. This area has been historically famed for its fertile land and thick forests, and was frequently a major attraction for invaders from surrounding valleys. Due to the recurrence of these attacks, the residents of Goharabad built these watchtowers for surveillance and protection. These multi-floor watchtowers are built using rubble stone interspersed with wooden beams. Each floor of the tower is internally connected, and can also be accessed from the ground through a wooden ladder. The ground floor of each tower was used to store malia (taxes from the villagers), the first floor served as a communal space for wedding ceremonies and other festivals, and the second floor was used for surveilling the surrounding area. In earlier times, a full-time guard used to constantly stand vigilant in the upper-most level of the watchtower in case of a foreign incursion.