They left in fear, and many are going back the same way.
The Pakistan government says it is safe for families to return to the Swat valley, and it's paying them 25,000 rupees to do so (£180; $300).
But plenty of those making the journey to the picturesque and formerly peaceful region are not so sure.
...
When asked who was to blame for the chaos and carnage which engulfed Swat, his response was swift.
"We blame ourselves because the people of Swat gave the Taliban permission to come in," he said.
"After we welcomed them, and showed them love, they committed atrocities."
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Trainee Taliban
We met five teenage boys who provided harrowing accounts of their time in Taliban training camps.
The boys are now co-operating with the army. It says children as young as nine were taken for training as informers, fighters or suicide bombers.
The boys told us they were among hundreds of children at two separate training camps, established in schools.
"When we tried to escape they surrounded us," said a boy of 16.
"They told us that if they caught us, they would shoot us, or cut our throats.
"They told us that if your parents don't allow you to go for jihad, then you should kill them. But how could we kill our own parents?"
He said that he and some of the others were taken to the camp by force.
"We were working in the fields," he said.
"These people came and said: 'Let's go'. I said I didn't want to go. Then they took us. They blindfolded us and loaded us on to a vehicle."
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