Ancient Wonders of Pakistan

Upon arrival in Karachi there will be a little time to relax before we enjoy an overview of the country’s ancient history at the National Museum of Pakistan, housing rare manuscripts of the Qu’ran, beautiful Islamic miniatures, 4,000-year-old Gandhara statues and Indus Valley seals. More modern Pakistani history is represented at the serene Raj-era Mohatta Palace and the Quaid e Azam Mausoleum, resting place of the founder of Pakistan. And the engaging bustle of Pakistan is evident as we appreciate the scents and sounds of a local bazaar.   

Accommodation: Pearl Continental Hotel, Karachi

A full day excursion takes us to Chaukundi, a vast 15^th century burial ground of ornate, pillared tombs, and Bhambore, an ancient city of Sindh abandoned in the Middle Ages, but which lives on in Pakistani folklore and poetry. In the afternoon, we visit the world’s largest necropolis, the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Makli. This gigantic graveyard served the nearby city of Thatta, once a great centre of Islamic culture. Here are gathered as many as one million tombs, dating back as far as the 14^th century. We view some of the most breathtaking mausolea, built in Gujrat or Mughal architectural styles, some lavishly decorated with glazed tiles.   

Accommodation: Pearl Continental Hotel, Karachi

A short flight takes us to Sukkur, our base for visiting Mohenjo-Daro. Translating rather morbidly as the ‘mound of the dead men’, this fascinating UNESCO-listed archaeological site reveals the majesty of one of the great cities of the Indus Valley civilisation, which reached the height of its influence around 2,000 BCE. Marvel at the sophistication of the city as you explore its gridded streets, multi-room houses with heated bathing, pillared halls and fortifications. In the afternoon, we visit the Bhutto family mausoleum, where members of this governing dynasty, including Benazir Bhutto, the first female Prime Minister of a Muslim country, are laid to rest.  

Accommodation: Hotel One Sukkur

En route to Bahawalpur we visit the historic city of Uch, reputedly founded by Alexander the Great during his conquest of the Indus Valley in 325 BCE and settled by Thracians. Uch is most celebrated for its grand medieval mosques and mausolea, shimmering with the blue tiles typical of the region. We visit the confluence of the five rivers of the Punjab, the early-17^th century Minaret of Masoom Shah and the partially ruined 15^th century Tomb of Bibi Jawindi, which still dazzles with its blue and white façade.  

Accommodation: Hotel One Bahawalpur

Please note that the drive to Uch on this day is approximately 4-5 hours.

The mighty bastions of Derawar Fort rise sheer from the parched ground of the Cholistan Desert. A fortress has occupied this site for at least 1,100 years, and the present walls, 30m high and 1,500m in perimeter, date to the 1730s. In the afternoon, we tour Multan, one of the oldest cities of the sub-continent, where the Sufi shrines of Shah Rukn-e-Alam and Bahauddin Zakariya, the mausolea of Shah Shams Tabrez and Shah Yusuf Gardezi, and Multan’s oldest street market, the Hussain Agahi bazaar, all reward exploration.

Accommodation: Ramada by Wyndham Multan

Please note that the drive to Multan on this day is approximately 4 hours.

The archaeological site of Harappa comprises the ruins of a Bronze Age fortified city, home to an estimated 23,500 inhabitants. As per archaeological convention, the Indus Valley civilisation is also known as the Harappan civilisation, because this was the earliest of its site to be discovered and excavated. Second only to Mohenjo-Daro in size, it merits its renown, with evidence of a raised citadel and sophisticated houses and public buildings. We continue to the Punjabi capital, Lahore, this afternoon.

Accommodation: Four Points by Sheraton Lahore

Please note that the drive to Harappa on this day is approximately 3 hours and the drive onto Lahore is approximately 3-4 hours.

Lahore has plenty to interest the visitor. We take in the outstanding Lahore Museum, home to the Zamzama Gun, made famous in Kipling’s Kim, and extraordinary collections of Gandhara sculpture (such as the Fasting Buddha) and Islamic miniatures, as well as the 19^th century Tollinton Market and the iconic Mughal-era Badshahi Mosque, which seems drawn from the pages of the Arabian Nights. We also view the ceremonial flag-lowering ceremony at the Pakistan-India border.

Accommodation: Four Points by Sheraton Lahore

A couple of interesting stops on our way to the Rawalpindi  – firstly at the Khewra Salt Mine, said to have been discovered by Alexander the Great’s horse, which began to lick the salty stones of the area. Salt has been mined and traded here for thousands of years and the mine is now the second largest in the world. Some impressive illuminated chambers may be visited. Our second visit is to the banks of the Jhelum (or Hydaspes) River and the site of the Battle of the Hydaspes between Alexander and King Porus in 326 BCE, involving infantry, cavalry, six-man chariots and an army of war elephants.

Accommodation: Pearl Continental Hotel, Rawalpindi

Please note that the drive to the Khewra Salt Mines on this day is approximately 4-5 hours and the drive onto Rawalpindi is approximately 3.5 hours.

Near the city of Jhelum, some three hours from Rawalpindi, is the remarkably well-preserved 16^th century Rohtas Fort, another of Pakistan’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites, recognised as an ‘exceptional example of the Muslim military architecture of Central and South Asia’. Its formidable walls and monumental gateways were never breached by force. We return to Rawalpindi by way of the Grand Trunk Road, first built in the 16^th century, which invites a stop at the overgrown and unrestored 2^nd century Mankiala Stupa, marking the spot where, according to Buddhist scripture, an incarnation of the Buddha sacrificed himself to feed seven hungry tiger cubs.

Accommodation: Pearl Continental Hotel, Rawalpindi

Please note that the drive to Rohtas Fort Mines on this day is approximately 3 hours and the drive back to Rawalpindi is approximately 4 hours.

The extraordinary archaeological site of Taxila merits a full day visit. Here are represented the remnants of several settlements spanning thousands of years, from the Neolithic Saraikala mound, the Achaemenian Bhir mound (associated with Alexander the Great’s triumphal entry to Taxila in 326 BCE) and the fortified Indo-Bactrian city of Sirkap, through to Buddhist stupas and monasteries and Muslim mosques, tombs and madrassas. Deemed a site of Outstanding Universal Value by UNESCO, Taxila makes a fitting subject for the last full day of our tour.  

Accommodation: Pearl Continental Hotel, Rawalpindi

We transfer to Islamabad airport for our return flight back to London.