Balakot is a town in Mansehra District in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Balakot is located on the banks of the Kunhar River before it enters the Kashmir Valley. The town was completely destroyed in a destructive earthquake on 8 October 2005. It was later rebuilt with the assistance of the Government of Pakistan and Saudi Public Assistance.

The fault follows the hilly area to the north up to Allai and leads to the Bagh in Azad Jammu & Kashmir from the villages of Balakot like Kanshian and Jabri Kaleesh.

The central mosque of Balakot is named after Syed Ahmed Barelvi. The areas includes diverse groups, especially Pashtuns and Hindko speakers.

The town or village of Balakot is occupied mainly by Khankhel Swati family, Gujjar, Awan, Swati, Syed, Turk, Mughal and Hanki tribes.

Balakot has a humid subtropical climate with hot summers and cool winters.

Rainfall in Balakot is much higher than in most other parts of Pakistan.

The heaviest rainfall occurs either in late winter (February–March) associated with frontal systems, or in the monsoon season (June–August); however, all months see significant rainfall on average.