Innovate a highly under-rated tourist destination, Pakistan is a country of unlimited variations – a diverse land of cultures and peoples, as old as 2500 BC. Pakistan was created after the division of India by consensus of two major religious segments. Pakistan was born on the principle  where Muslims could live, according to an Islamic way of life – the year 1947 saw a new nation  on the map of the world. It is a grandiose of cultures, diverse ethnicity whose timeline of history revealed its antiquity, a nation of seven colors, a destination of all seasons, Pakistan is an open book of discovery, an ideal choice as a new destination for the traveling world.

In the heart of a fertile land there lived, a high order of civil society, connected by land and sea routes with other existing civilizations. Indus Valley Civilization is rated, third among the world renowned settled cultures as old as 5000years ago. This land of five rivers has seen continuous migration of human groups from the western territories of the Pontic region that includes Persia and the Caucasus. This movement of people is known in the history as the Aryan migration. Once settled new cultures supplanted the old ones with vast connections with the western and north eastern worlds. The unique Gandharan culture is more known for its Buddhist way of life.  Gandhara is a happy marriage of Indian, Persian and Greco-Roman fusion in sculpture known to world as Gandharan Art. This sculptural activity attained its maturity by the turn of 1st century AD when numerous Buddhist monasteries were adorned with sculpture based on the life of Buddha. It beholds an onlooker finds a perfect harmony seen in the anatomy of human form created by the great sculptors who heart was dedicated to the great master - Buddha. The first image of Buddha in anthropomorphic form was created by a Gandharan sculptor. Pakistan is the birthplace of Panini (4th BC) the famous Sanskrit grammarian. Pamasambhava, the Guru Rimpoche of Tibet was born about 8th AD in Uddiyana, Swat Valley.  
 
Alexander the Great came here to assert his claims over the lost provinces of Persian Empire. He fought some of the bloodiest encounters with local rulers but the Battle of the Elephants was the most significant fought by the banks of river Hydasphes (Jhelum river) resulting in the defeat of Raja Porus(Pecorus) but the turn of events soon compelled his home sick and tired soldiers, finally abandoning the invasion of the Indian kingdom of Chandragupta. Then followed an era of peace and prosperity when Ashoka the Great took charge in 268 BC of the land reforming the kingdom of his grandfather. The succeeding rulers of varied origins continued battling this part for shorter period and followed by a period of chaos.

The advent of Islam in 7th AC began a new era of Muslim invasions from the Arabian lands and Central Asia. In the 13th century the invasion by Mongol hordes, had already swallowed a greater part of northern and western Asia, was a merciless destruction of local population. But yet the successors of Mongols, saw finally a grand period of history seen in the foundation of The Great Moghuls in India.

Pakistan is an open book of discovery, also is the land of high mountain ranges with grandest of mountains like K-2 the second highest and challenging peak of the world, it stands as the King of  the Mountain Throne among a large group of peaks above 7000 meters. Yet another beautiful but hardest mountain of Nanga Parbat 8125m is another great challenge for a mountain lover. Discover the beautiful valleys with unrelenting panorama one can never find elsewhere.

The heart warming people of Pakistan – hospitality one can never forget Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the green land of Indian subcontinent came into being after the division of British Indian Empire in 1947. Often called as the land of the five rivers, Pakistan has   always been an agricultural land. It was home to a rich agrarian society, known as the Indus Valley Civilization, existed over 4500 years. Often called as Harappan Culture, it was a prosperous society whose links have been proved in archaeological findings of the other cultural societies of the region. Pakistan is home to first ‘walking whales’ existing some 48 million years ago in the period of early Eocene Island which collided with Asian continent resulting in the uplifting of land causing the formation of the great mountain range of Himalayas.    The 8500 years old Neolithic site at Mehrgarh, sheds light on the presence of hunting groups recorded as an early settled culture existing in the riverine valleys. The rich Bronze age Harappan culture, 4500 years old was spread along the fringes of Indus and other rivers with  many human settlements that covered a large area even across into India. Approximately 2000 BC began the period of migrating flocks of people known in the history as Aryans rushing through various passes and steppes as far as Indo-Gangetic plains displacing the rich Dravidian culture pushing the aboriginals in the south of Indian sub-continent. This was the beginning of Hindu culture and a society that lasts till today. Rig Veda the canonical texts of the Indo Aryans, 1500 BC, mentions of Gandharan society which is also mentioned in Avesta the book of Zoroaster, as a rich province in the north west of Pakistan, once extended upto Jalalabad in Afghanistan. Gandhara was rich culture, came to its prominence with acceptance of Buddhism growing as a predominant way of religious life. The richness of Gandharan culture is seen in the presence of huge number of Buddhist monasteries. The first anthropomorphic creation of Buddha happened in Gandhara, triggering a wave construction of monastic establishments and also created large number of rock art while the readily available micaceous rock as right medium for carving and depicting life of Buddha. The patronage of state played an important role in the development of this art. Gandharan Art was highly influenced by Hellenic and Indian influence infused and idealistic mythology of local art work. Hellenic influence was introduced from the north of Afghanistan from the province of Bactria(Balkh) ruled by Indo Greek dynasties who had greatly adopted local cultures but kept their Greek origin alive till they were overwhelmed by successive dynasties.       Pakistan occupies an area of 881,913 square kms, 33rd largest nation by area in the world. It neighbors with Afghanistan in the west with its tiny northern finger of Wakhan separates it by few kms across from Tajikistan. In the northeast it borders with China, Iran in the southwest and a long border with India in the east. Pakistan is an ethnic paradise a nation with diverse population of multilingual and multicultural racial groups and communities that developed with various invading armies. Pakistan was part of Great Achaemenian Empire 6th century BC. After the removal of Persian Empire, came the invasion of Macedonian army in 325 BC, under, Alexander the Great, who marched to assert his claim over the lost provinces of Persian Empire. Soon after the death of Alexander his successors, submitted to the ever rising power of Mauryan rulers and in 305 BC, its ruler Chandragupta forced Seleucus Nicator to relinquish his vast territories of the eastern satraps. Mauryas rule is famous for when King Ashoka, the grandson of Chandragupta adopted Buddhist way of life, prompting works of public welfare by promoting an era of peace in the region. This was the time when Buddhist sages came to Gandhara for introduction of a new and simple way of life. Bactrian Greeks were the next rulers dominating Hellenic culture and art. They were  followed by the nomadic Scythians, then Parthians and emergence of many tutelary states. The arrival of nomadic Kushanas from the northwest of China at the end of 1st BC into northern Afghanistan saw a well settled land and to establish a quick rule and acceptance by the population, Kushanas were converted to Buddhism which helped them a well established rule by 1st AD. Their adoption of Buddhism helped them rule in the large parts of today’s Pakistan. After the fall of the last of Kushanas the land was overrun by yet another but ferocious, nomadic Huns who destroyed and depopulated the existing states. There was a revival of local Hindu dynasties but this came to an ultimate end with the arrival of Arab invaders in 8th century who laid foundation of Islam in the region. In Persia, Rashidoon Caliphate, swiftly took control of large territories from the waning power of Sassanid dynasty. This resulted in the wholescale conversion to Islam in the region prompting rise of local dynasties paying tribute to the caliph in Baghdad. This was the era of power struggle between the ruling classes who now acted independent Muslim rulers. These were mostly indigenous Turkic-Afghan ruling classes. This was checked by the ransacking Mongols, who devastated and depopulated the land. But we see rise of his great grandson, Tamerlane whose invasion in 13th century, laid foundation of another powerful era. Then under his successors and with the rise to power of his great grandson, Babur in 1525 who marching out of Kabul to invade India. His successful campaign of India laid the foundation of a powerful dynasty known in the history as The Great Mughals who continued to rule India for next two hundred years. The fracturing of Mughal rule started with infighting allowing the rise of Sikh power. They finally gave in to the English establishing as masters of a rich colony in 1857 more known as the British Indian Empire ruting for almost a century till the division of Indian subcontinent in 1947. The creation of Pakistan had already started during the World War period when efforts for creating an independent India was foreseen by a large section of India but the Muslims of India had set their own goal for an independent country of their own where they could live their lives according to the principles of Islam. These efforts bore fruits when the division of India was agreed and on 14 of August 1947 an independent nation of Pakistan came into being.

Physical Features of Pakistan Nature has blessed Pakistan with wide range of options and an all season destination. Thanks to its physical picture Pakistan has continental type of climate and experiences extreme variations in temperatures since it is located North of Tropic of Cancer latitudes 25 & 37 degrees. The mean temperature in summer in the plains is 38C while in the desert and desolate regions it could climb to 47C. The north of Pakistan mostly mountainous with mean temperature in winters is around 11C to 17C but in upper regions it falls drastically to minus 14C. In the north Pakistan has an interesting system of mountains with the highest being Karakorum range. Himalayas is the second highest mountain system and then in the extreme north bordering with China we have Pamir while in the west runs into Hindukush range. The mountain systems in the north east and west has caused emergence of some of the most challenging mountains of the world. The central part of Pakistan is plain experiencing drainage of water from the northern parts of Indian subcontinent and the high mountain glaciers in the country – there is a water system of five rivers in the central part which is the lifeline of farming. The western part is more rugged with scarcity of water with harsh climatic conditions. Then the eastern borders with India has a large wasteland which is infact extension of Indian deserts into Pakistan. The southern part of Pakistan has coastal line with the Arabian Sea with major ports like Karachi and Gwadar making as strong economic zones. Pakistan has four major provinces, Punjab the densely populated, Sindh is the next with mostly desert parts, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa in the west sharing a long border line with Afghanistan. Next and less populated is Baluchistan which has border with Afghanistan and Iran. The north of Pakistan borders with China and Afghanistan while in the north eastern part lies part of Indian held Kashmir.

Pakistan at a glance: Area: 881.913 sq. kms Population: 225 million Capital: Islamabad Language: Urdu lingua franca - Also there are four major languages: Punjabi – spoken in Punjab and with dialects Pushto – spoken in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with few dialects Sindhi – spoken in Sindh – also few related dialects Baluchi – spoken in Baluchistan – also a significant number speak Brahui language related to Dravidian group. Time: +5 UTC Currency: Pakistan Rupees (PKR) Electricity: 230 V- 50 Hz

Ethnicity: Pakistan is inhabited by diverse ethnic communities, effecting from continuous period of migration and invasion from antiquity to modern historical times. The diverse nature of its people makes the country a happy hunting ground for an anthropologist. There are four big ethnic divisions,  Punjabis, Pathans, Sindhis and Baluchis mostly inhabiting four big provinces of Pakistan. Apart from the bigger ethnic groups there are many smaller ethnic communities which mostly live in the northern parts of Pakistan. The other ethnic communities are Baltis, Shinaki, Burushashki speaking tribes, Chitralis and Kalasha group. While there is one unique community of Brahuis, we may call as aboriginals is a sub-group of Dravidian people, lived some 4500 years ago. They may have compromised their culture but their language still survives. Present day Pakistani is a mixture of Indo-Aryan race a very Persian, Turkic and even  late Arab blood group. Most of the ethnic communities are Muslims converted from late 7th – 9th AD. But there is a small Hindu community in the southern parts, may have resisted conversions and are keeping their age old customs and traditions alive. Kalasha tribes living in the northwest of Pakistan take a prominent place among the minority groups.

Best time to travel: Pakistan is an all-weather country and let us see what you can do season wise:

Northern Pakistan – mountains and valleys!!! For a lover of mountains and valleys, Pakistan is the answer – you name it and every village settles with an awe inspiring sight of a great mountain with eternal snows and streams running down the main rivers. Gilgit Baltistan is a travelers dream seeking a casual visit or hiking or trek to a great height all is in the ambit. There are regular flights and road connection to district capitals out of Islamabad or other cities all is within your easy reach these days. There are regular flights from Islamabad and Lahore to Skardu – the Gateway to Mountain Throne. You ask a mountain lover and the road leads you to Skardu to the greatest mountains in the world K-2, Broad Peak or Nanga Parbat

Knowing only the valleys is half wisdom; knowing only the hills is half wisdom; for full wisdom, know both the valleys and the hills! Walk down and walk up! ― Mehmet Murat Ildan

Lost Horizon - James Hilton’s spirit is here!!! There could be many Shangri-La but the beauty of Pakistani mountains is superlative! Hunza valley and the Hunzakuts are not new but needless to say great valleys and great people You name it - Karakorams, Himalayas, Hindukush or Pamir its all here for a mountain lover The Tribes of Hindukush is no mystery at all now – take a backpack and stride into these valleys discover the unique Kalash folk – no more a forgotten tribe but proud Kalash will narrate you who they are!

Central Pakistan plains Winter: (Nov – Mar) – the temperatures are milder and comfortable 11-19C in the plains. Travel from Karachi to deserts of Central Pakistan known for archaeological sites: Indus valley civilization – 2500 BC sites of Moenjodaro in Sindh and Harappa in Punjab. Medieval period – Sufi Shrines are great cultural sites. Thar and Cholistan: the western most extensions of great Indian desert is full of cultural and colorful ethnic settlements. Indus River Saga: Explore the lake and riverine communities – the Sufi Shrines in Sindh and southern Punjab with swirling dervishes is communion with local folks from all over the country.   Mohana water subsisting community of Manchar lake. Potters of Hala and Multan, Ajrak makers of Sindh – fabric of antiquity a customary shawl process and stamping is great story of Indus River Saga. The face of Indus river land

Cuisine and Culinary delights! Pakistan is a wonderful place to experience food variety – it is mildly spiced and has great taste. The basics of Pakistani cuisine has some taste of Caucasian food with admixture of spices making it a delicate delicacy one would look for the best taste in cuisine. Historically, being a great immigrant society from western and Central Asia, Pakistanis are great lovers of meat. From charcoal skewed kebabs of mutton, beef and chicken and different tastes to savory curries, a Pakistani table is mouth watering dasterkhawan a variety of cuisine. It’s a great treat to visit the so called food streets in many cities with wonderful traditional restaurants and enjoy Pakistani food to your heart’s content. Food wise Pakistan varies in taste – more spicy and hot in the south, while mildly spiced in the central parts of Pakistan to minutely spiced in the north. Skewed kebabs and curries is common sight of any food street or restaurant but fried kebabs in huge pans, meat boiled and cooked in earthen utensils very popular. Pulao or pilaf the rice cooked in big cauldrons in different tastes varieties is always on the table along with large variety of vegetables and pulses is presented as rich garnish. Naan or oven fresh bread is part of every food and comes in different kinds baked in earthen ovens called tandoor. Fresh water and Arabian Sea fish is always there in good restaurants – while some places only offer fresh water fish mainly carp while can enjoy trout or snow trout found in the icy waters of the northern parts. Pakistani food never ends without a dessert – a huge variety of local candies is favorite choice in the southern and central Pakistan while in the north mostly stewed food in fresh syrup ends up the meal. Pakistanis love tea and green caradamon tea with fresh lemon and a pinch of ginger is always served after a hearty meal. Any one visiting Pakistan should drink great gulps of green tea to ensure flushing the greasy food. Milk tea or more commonly called the English tea is essential in the mornings and anytime during the day. Sometimes black tea is cooked in pots with fresh milk and cardamom makes it a delicious refreshing hot drink.

Cuisine at a glance: Sashlik – mutton, beef, chicken with different marinade Curries – mutton, beef, chicken, fish, dal(lentils) and vegetables Rice – pulao with meat or chicken, simple plain rice with vegetables all in great variety Desserts – different varieties fruit ice creams, puddings with fresh fruits but above all never forget to order ‘kulfa’ ice made caramel milk with nuts and starch noodles Oven baked meat chicken or whole lamb is always a great treat in a food street Vegetarian food – a great variety of vegetarian cuisine you name it is on your platter!

Fruits: Kinoo citrus – from Jan – Feb: Central Pakistan is home to citrus – orchards laden with Kinoo, a mandarin looking fruit – oranges and grape fruit Mango Mania – from mid Jun – Aug: Gardens of central Pakistan boom with produce of mangoes – there is a large variety of mango fruit may be 200 kinds of mangoes and it goes like a mania with fresh juices, cut pieces, ice creams or a delight of a bakery mango fruit is all there with its great taste!    Date fruit harvesting – July – Sept: a great sight to watch, harvesting and open processing of some of the finest dates in southern Pakistan – there is a date bazaar in Sukkur! This is not all ! – Pakistan is a haven of apricots, apples, grapes, peaches and plums from the north and northwest and south west. Hunza is known for its ‘Apricot Blossom’ Mar-Apr, the whole valley is full of apricot trees – this also marks the beginning of ploughing season. In the olden days Mir(ruler) of Hunza used to spray the fields with ‘gold dust’ – an old custom performed by the ancient Persian kings announcing marking of Nowroz Festival on the first equinox March 21st

What to wear: Modest dress code is observed throughout Pakistan – the national costume is called ‘shalwar kameez’ has its origins in the nomadic tribes from northeast and the near east settled in these lands in different migration and invasions. A large section of working class follows European dressing, mostly designated with office workers and people on official duties. National dress is widely worn and accepted as a comfortable wear and comes mostly in cotton and different colors. The colorful variety of dressing by women is very popular and greatly admired by a foreigners on visit. Head scarf or dupatta (shawl like) is common among the girls while young boys either wear simple shalwar kameez or western causals.  More orthodox folks like the women cover their faces but a great majority prefers to flip a scarf without a face cover. So generally it is a modest dressing which is welcomed in all societies while roaming around the bazaars or visiting mosques or tombs. At sacred places it is mandatory to cover head and avoid foot wear. Summer dressing – these are long and sunny days so a good cotton dress with a hat or cap and a pair of sunglasses – light cotton shirts and pants or slacks will keep you comfortable. Winter dressing – make sure to have light woollies on your cotton dress in southern and central parts of Pakistan while for the north good jacket with warm dressing and a cap. Men often wear a coarse woolen cap what is known in the west as Afghan cap is generally worn in the north and is popularly called Chitrali or Hunza hat. Ladies wear embroidered caps varying in designs from place are colorful and greatly admired by all tourists. Southern Pakistani men wear embroidered cap in dark colors called Sindhi or Baluchi caps while women only cover head with flip over or dupatta. In all cities of Pakistan from north to south in the eastern or western parts there is a great variety of costumes – colorful for the women while simple white, creamy or dark color for the men.