- Tarbela is not a city, but a town located in the Haripur District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is famous for Tarbela Dam, one of the largest earth-filled dams in the world, which is built on the Indus River. The dam supplies water for irrigation, hydroelectric power generation, and serves as a reservoir. Tarbela town mainly caters to the needs of the workers and staff of the dam project, and has developed into a small commercial center over the years.