Ajay Bhagat Kishtwar is first referred to in the Rajatarangini by the ancient name Kashthavata during the reign of Raja Kalsa of Kashmir (1063-1089), when “Uttamaraja”, the ruler of Kashthavata visited the court of the Kashmir King in company with several other hill chiefs to pay their respects to the Raja. This place, as said by people, is also mentioned in the epic Mahabharata. Kishtwar was part of the Jammu state during the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Dev.
Kishtwar became part of the Jammu Dogra state of Raja Gulab Singh, when he annexed it in 1821. The local ruler of this place, Mohammed Tegh Singh, was sent to prison in Lahore jail, where he killed himself. With the passage of time, Kishtwar became a Tehsil of the Udhampur district and remained so until 1948, when it became part of the newly created District Doda in the wake of first re-organization of the state during the post-independence period.
District Kishtwar was carved out from the erstwhile District Doda during the year 2007-08 when the Chief Minister of state G.N.Azad had taken a historic decision in July 2006 for creation of the new district.
Kishtwar is almost mountainous like that of Himachal or Ladakh region. District Kishtwar has its boundaries touching the valleys of Himachal in the south east and Doda on South-West. The entire district is full of mountains, forest and hills.
Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs all reside here with amity and brotherhood. An almost entire district receives snowfall during a good win.