Besham (known as Besham Qala) is the largest town and commercial centre of the Shangla District in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.

Most of the population consists of Pashto-speaking Pashtuns.

Besham's shops remained open 24 hours a day due to its geographic position, as it is on the famous Silk route which connects Pakistan with China.

Besham shops are famous for their china and international goods.

In summer, this small town is the centre of international and national holiday makers who use this route to visit the Northern areas of Pakistan.

Besham is a good education centre and lots of students from surrounding areas study there, as the schools' standard is very high and competitive.

With a mild and generally warm and temperate climate, Besham features a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) under the Köppen climate classification.

The average temperature in Besham is 20.7 °C, while the annual precipitation averages 842 mm. Even in the driest months, there is a lot of precipitation.

November is the driest month with 18 mm of precipitation, while August, the wettest month, has an average precipitation of 138 mm.

June is the hottest month of the year with an average temperature of 30.6 °C. The coldest month January has an average temperature of 8.9 °C.