Rawalpindi District (Urdu: ضِلع راولپِنڈى‎), is a district of Pakistan in the north of the Punjab province which contains the city of Rawalpindi. The district has an area of 5,286 km² (2,041 sq mi). It was part of Rawalpindi Division, until the year 2000 when the division was abolished. It is situated on the southern slopes of the north-western extremities of the Himalayas, including large mountain tracts with rich valleys traversed by mountain rivers. It contains the Murree hills and the sanatorium of the same name, the chief hill station in the Punjab.