Pakistan Highlights

Feel the vibe in Lahore
Experience high peaks in Hunza
Kalash tribes ancient way of living
Trek to Fairy Meadows
Experience layers of history in Taxila

20 DAYS FROM

Physical Rating 2

Best time to visit: April - October

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You can take advantage of the morning to recover from your journey. Later we will visit the Lahore Museum passing through the Mall where you will see many Gothic buildings from the British period. We will then visit the Wagah Indian Border to witness the flag lowering ceremony. Its quite a spectacle and attracts many visitors from both sides of the border. You will learn about the history of Pakistan.

Our tour today begins with the 17th century Wazir Khan Mosque in Lahore’s historic walled city. We continue on to the Lahore Fort complex, which includes the 16th century Fort, the 17th century Badshahi Mosque and the 19th century Tomb of Ranjit Singh the Sikh ruler of Punjab. Later, we visit the tombs of Mughal Emperor Jahangir and his queen Nur Jehan.

introduction to Lahore. The walled city of Lahore is known as the cultural heart of Punjab. We have developed this tour around food, music and architecture of historic Lahore. This is a culturally immersive experience that you will remember. As we walk we will stop to eat street food at some of the famous places within the historic district. Explore Mughal Havelis after tasting delectable halwa puris; visit the Faqir Khanna Museum for a glimpse into the Sikh Empire period; visit music schools to see students playing the tabla and flute. Have some fresh Jalebi’s on the way to a dhol performance. We return to the hotel where the rest of the day is available to relax or some sightseeing on your own. We will ﬁnish the night with a cultural performance at dinner.

After breakfast we will start our journey to the 2,000 year old city of Peshawar. Temple complex. Along the way we will stop at Katas Raj temple complex, later visit the historic Qisa Khawani Bazar (story tellers bazaar), and roam the streets before we return to our hotel and settle in for a meal.

Today we explore the historic sites of Peshawar. Starting with the Peshawar Museum, known for one of the largest and most extensive collections of Gandhara art of the Buddhist period. Continue to the 17th century Mahabat Khan Mosque and visit Bala Hissar Fort, which has existed since 7th century and has been in continuous occupation ever since.

In the morning will visit the Swat Museum with its collection of Gandharan statuettes and treasure from the valley of Swat.
The area of Swat was an important region within Greek-Bactria and a major Buddhist center. Buddhist and Gandhara sites are littered all over the valley. We will visit the remains of 2nd century Butkara stupa, believed to contain the ashes of Buddha. We continue to Udegram village where you will have the option to hike to Raja Gira’s castle, site with a history stretching from 1,000 BC to 14th century.

We travel by road to Kalash Valley, stopping at the Chakdara Museum with its collection of ﬁrst to seventh century Gandhara Art. The drive will take us through villages and small towns and we will reach our destination in the evening.

Birbir, Bumborete and Rumbur valleys are locally known as Kaﬁristan (the land of the infidels). These valleys are home to the 3,000 year old civilization of Kalash people who are spread in about 20 villages. The Kalash practice their own religion and their cultural practices are unique from all other ethnicities.
If we are here in time for a Kalash festival. The celebration is a huge party, with lots of dancing, wine and feasting. We will witness the celebrations and you can wear traditional Kalash attire and participate in the festivities.

Today we head to Chitral town and explore the bazaar and the Chitral fort after which we will continue to Mastuj. This is one of the most beautiful and dramatic drives as we wind our way up the Mastuj Valley, passing the high peaks of Trich Mir and Boni Zong, before ﬁnally entering the Yarkund Valley at the top of which lies Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor and continues to Shandur Pass.
If we are here at the time of Shandur Festival we will spend the night in the festival grounds. A free style polo tournament, the festival is a celebration of local culture, music and cuisine. In the morning we will watch a polo match played in the free style polo and then continue to Gilgit. We will stop along the way to see the 7th century carving of a large standing Buddha known as Kargah Buddha and then continue to our hotel in Gilgit.

We drive from Gilgit to Hunza Valley, stopping along the way for views of Rakaposhi before reaching Hunza. In the afternoon visit the1,000 year old Ganesh village. Our next stop is the 700 year old Baltit Fort where the Mir (title of the Hunza ruler) resided until the 1950s.
The evening is free to enjoy the local markets and relax at the hotel.

In the morning you will have an option to hike behind Baltit fort along an irrigation channel with views of Hunza Valley, the surrounding peaks and terraced ﬁelds with views of daily life. The trek ends at the high point (Eagles nest) where you can view the entire Hunza Valley.
In the afternoon visit the 1100 years old Altit fort, the original seat of the Hunza state and the oldest monument in Gilgit-Baltistan. For those interested there will an option to take a cooking class in Pakistani cuisine.

Today we head to towards Khunjerab Pass, the land route to Chinese border and at 4,934m(16,187ft) the highest border crossing in the world. The scenery is beautiful with high peaks all around. Due to the dramatic change in altitude, we will only take a brief stop at the top before heading back.
Our last stop is Attabad Lake, formed in 2010 after a landslide that blocked the ﬂow of the river. We will take a boat ride to our hotel where we spend the night.

We start early today and head to Raikot bridge from where we will travel to Fairy Meadows with views Nanga Parbat Massif (the 9th highest peak in the world). We take jeeps over a 17km steep and narrow dirt road to Tattu village, where the hiking trail to Fairy Meadows begins. This is a well established trail and we walk through the forest on a gentle climb for about 2-3 hours.

You have an option to relax or take an easy hike to the settlement of Beyal (4hrs round trip) and continue the challenge to Nanga Parbat base camp (8 hours round trip). This is the easiest access to the base camp of an 8,000m peak.

After a leisurely morning retrace our steps, back to Jhel where we continue the drive to Raikot bridge. We will switch transports at the bridge and drive to Shigar valley. We drive with beautiful views of high peaks to our resort at lower Kachura Lake. Kachura Lakes are two beautiful alpine lakes You will have time for an optional hike to upper Kachura lake, for those interested it is possible to go boating and ﬁsh for Trout in these lakes.

In the morning visit the historic Kharpocho fort and continue on a beautiful drive to Khaplu. Later visit the 18th century Khaplu Khanqah and the 14th century Chaqchan Mosque and stop for lunch at beautiful restored palace where we will spend the night.

Drive to Shigar Valley where we will stay at the historic Shigar Fort. The day is for relaxing, in the evening we can go to a private hot spring to relax.

We take an afternoon ﬂight to Islamabad. Our ﬁrst stop is the UNESCO world heritage site of Taxila. The origins of Taxila as a city go back to 600 BC, it was an important city and it was an important Buddhist Centre from 5th century BC to 6th Century AD. Taxila Museum is famous for its magnificent collection of Gandhara Art.
After Taxila we will head over to our hotel in Islamabad.

After a relaxed morning, visit some of the sights in Islamabad, including Faisal Mosque and the National Institute of Folk Heritage. You will have time to buy local handicrafts and we will arrange a tour for carpet shopping. In the evening we get together for a celebration dinner to end an amazing experience.

Our private transport will take you to the airport.

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Is this Trip for you?

All our tours feature a physical rating to help select the right vacation. Every one of tours require the ability to walk around sights unaided, while more active tours include longer walks or multi-day treks.

Level 1: A reasonable level of fitness is required but its more about spending time on your feet than covering large distances. You will be getting on and off vehicles, walking around sites and climbing steps.

Level 2: The typical day is busier and involves more steps or multiple sites visits every day. The trip might involve day hikes of 2-3 hours.

Level 3: You should enjoy hiking and feel comfortable hiking 3–6 miles with elevation with elevation gains/losses of up to 300m(1000 ft) per day. We suggest beginning a regular exercise regimen at least 2–3 months prior to departure.

Level 4: You should be comfortable with hiking 5-8 hours each day, up to 18km (11 miles) with as much as 3,000’elevation gain and loss or high altitude.

Level 5: Challenging for fit hikers with experience in multi-day treks in high altitude. These tours are not appropriate for novice hikers or even for experienced but unfit hikers.

If you have any questions, please reach us at info@thewander.travel