Kohat (Urdu and ; ) is a city in Pakistan that serves as the capital of the Kohat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. With a population of over 220,000 people, According to local lore, Kohat was founded by an ancient Buddhist king by the name of Raja Kohat.
According to local tradition they arrived here in the time of Daulat Khán son of Bai Khán. This would make their settlement contemporaneous with that of the Baizai Bangashes which seems to have taken place previous to the time of Babar's invasion (A.D. 1505) . I believe, however, that they must have arrived before the settlement of Baizai.
The region had been primarily populated by Orakzai Pashtuns, who were then displaced from the west by the Bangash in the 14th-15th centuries, and Khattaks from the south.
In 1924, Kohat was the scene of widespread communal rioting that resulted in a 21-day fast by Mohandas Gandhi, known popularly as Mahatma Gandhi, as a plea for unity. During the 1947 Kashmir War, Pashtun tribesmen from around the region convened in Kohat before departing for Kashmir in hopes of capturing the territory for Pakistan.
Modern period
Kohat suffered several attacks during the War in North-West Pakistan and war on terror between 2008 and 2014. 35 people were killed in a suicide bombing in 2009, while twin bombings in April 2010 killed 41. 20 more were killed in a suicide bombing in September 2010, while the Kohat Tunnel was attacked by the Pakistani Taliban in January 2011, resulting in the deaths of 5 people. 2 more were killed in a bomb attack in July 2013. In February 2014, 12 were killed in a roadside blast near the city, while 6 more were killed in an attack on a van in October 2014. After a few years' lull in violence, 5 policemen were killed outside of Kohat following an anti-terror operation in May 2017.
Geography
Topography
thumb|Kohat Valley
Kohat city is located at an altitude of .<!---Location of Kohat - Falling Rain Genomics---> Kohat Pass lies to the north. It is situated on the left bank of the Toi river at a point where after running nearly due east for , it turns to the south. The total area of the district is
Climate
Kohat has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSh).
thumb|Tanda lake in monsoon
Dam
Kohat has a dam called Tanda Dam located on Tanda Lake, which is a protected site under the Ramsar Convention. Completed in 1967, it was included as a Ramsar site on July 23, 1976.
Parks
Tanda Wildlife Park
Tanda Wildlife Park is located near Kohat city. The total area of the park is 2800 acres (11 km<sup>2</sup>), consisting of Tanda reservoir and its catchments in Kohat. This is the largest wildlife park of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Its wonderfully rich and varied landscape supports a range of mammals and birds, both migratory and indigenous, as well as a few reptiles. Kohat is famous for guava.
The park is bounded by three different villages, Bar, Kaghazi, and Tanda Banda. The park is approachable by Hangu-kaghazi gravel road, shahpur-Bar road which is 18 km from Kohat.
The local people do not have any right of grazing, lopping or firewood collection as the ownership lies with the provincial government. The park area falls in the natural habitat of urial and chinkara, and also provides suitable habitat to hog deer. The urial is associated with scrub forest of Olea species and Accassia species. Urial were once abundant in the area but due to continuous habitat destruction these were disappeared from the area in the near past. The natural habitat of urial and chinkara lies in close proximity of human habitation.
Kotal Pheasantry
Kotal Pheasantry is established in Kotal wildlife park in district Kohat over an area of 1 kanal, with an objective to propagate and provide breeding environment to exotic/indigenous wildlife species like silver pheasant, golden pheasant, reeves pheasant, pea-cock etc. About 20-30 visitors including students and general public visit the pheasantry for education and recreation purposes per day. There are four species of pheasants in the pheasantry including ring necked pheasant, silver pheasant, peacock pheasant and white pheasant.
Demographics
Population
Kohat is regarded as a centre of the Bangash tribe of Pashtuns, who have lived in the region since the late 15th century.
Languages
According to the 2023 Census of Pakistan, Pashto is overwhelmingly dominant in Kohat City, spoken by 73.30% of the population. Hindko is the second most common first language at 19.70%, Urdu accounts for 3.75% of speakers, followed by Punjabi at 2.41%, this is followed by an additional 0.85% which consists of a multitude of other languages spoken in Pakistan (mostly Saraiki and Sindhi).
Religion
{| class="wikitable collapsible sortable"
|+ Religious groups in Kohat City (1881−2017)