Surankote Valley

  Surankote is a tehsil and municipal committee in the Poonch district of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It occupies the Surankote valley, located between the Pir Panjal and Rattan Panjal ranges within the Himalayas.
surankote township is located some 27 kilometers to the south-east of Poonch city and 221 kilometers from winter capital Jammu. The valley comprises 43 villages. The total projected population of the valley is 127,000 which includes Paharis, Gujjars, Bakerwals and a visible Kashmiri speaking minority who locally form a part of the Pahari community. Twenty-four villages are located on the western slopes of main Pir Panchal range while 19 villages are found on the slopes of Rattan Panchal range. The climatic conditions resemble with that of Kashmir. Surankote main town was inhibited by Hindu Khajuria Brahmins who were among the affluent people living in the town. There is a temple and a mosque near the bus stand. The famous Dundhak temple is only 4 km from the town
Surankote Valley is situated between the mountain ranges, the Pir Panjal and Rattan Panjal, surrounded with peaks.  The place is mentioned by the name of Sawernik in Rajatarangini. There was a big fort at the Surankote village, on the banks of River Suran in 1036 A.D, which was famous by the name of Kote. Combining the names of the river and the fort, the place is called Surankote.