7 Best Places to Visit in Pakistan

Pakistan holds some of the most dramatic mountain terrain on earth — three of the world's great ranges, the Karakoram, the Himalaya and the Hindu Kush, meet inside its northern borders — alongside Mughal cities with architecture to match anything in the region.

These seven places cover both sides of that: the historic cities of the plains, and the high country north of them.

1. Hunza Valley

Hunza is a mountain valley in Gilgit-Baltistan ringed by peaks including Rakaposhi, which rises above 7,700 metres. The valley is known for its apricot orchards, which turn the terraced slopes white in spring, and for the Baltit and Altit forts that sit above the villages of Karimabad and Altit. Both forts have been restored and are open to visitors.

2. Badshahi Mosque, Lahore

Completed in 1673 under the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, the Badshahi Mosque remains one of the largest mosques in the world and held the title outright for more than three centuries. It is built from red sandstone with white marble domes, and its courtyard alone holds tens of thousands of worshippers. It faces the Lahore Fort across the Hazuri Bagh garden.

3. Lahore Fort

The Lahore Fort stands directly opposite the Badshahi Mosque and is inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site together with the Shalimar Gardens. Most of what stands today was rebuilt under the emperor Akbar in the 16th century, with later additions by Jahangir and Shah Jahan. The Sheesh Mahal, its mirrored palace, is the best-known interior.

4. Faisal Mosque, Islamabad

Completed in 1986 to a design by the Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay, the Faisal Mosque rejects the conventional dome entirely in favour of an eight-sided concrete shell shaped like a Bedouin tent. It sits at the foot of the Margalla Hills on the northern edge of Islamabad. It was the largest mosque in the world from its completion until the early 1990s.

5. The Karakoram Highway

The Karakoram Highway runs from Hasan Abdal in Punjab north to the Khunjerab Pass on the Chinese border, crossing at roughly 4,700 metres — among the highest paved international border crossings anywhere. The stretch through Gojal near Passu, where the jagged Passu Cones rise straight off the roadside, is the most photographed section. The pass itself is closed by snow through the winter.

6. Skardu

Skardu is the main town of Baltistan and the staging point for expeditions to K2, Broad Peak and the Baltoro Glacier. The surrounding valley holds Upper Kachura and Shangrila lakes, and the Katpana cold desert — a high-altitude sand desert sitting at around 2,200 metres. Most trekking traffic passes through here.

7. Deosai National Park

Deosai is a high plateau averaging around 4,100 metres, which makes it one of the highest plateaus in the world. It is protected principally as habitat for the Himalayan brown bear, and the short summer turns the plains into open wildflower meadows. Snow closes the access roads for much of the year, so the park is realistically reachable only between roughly June and September.

Staying connected while you travel

Mobile coverage is good across Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi. In Gilgit-Baltistan it follows the valleys and the Karakoram Highway itself rather than the terrain around them, and disappears entirely on the Deosai plateau and on higher trekking routes. Note that data services are occasionally restricted around major public events.

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