Published : Dec. 3, 2012 - 20:24
Rush Lake
Pakistan is an immensely beautiful country and a great tourist destination. It is a land of splendors with the landscape stretching remarkably from the high mountain ranges in the northern areas to the plains and deserts of central Pakistan and the Arabian Sea in the South. Pakistan’s mountain ranges include the famous Himalayas, Karakoram and the Hindukush. There are several high peaks in Pakistan, with the tallest being K-2 (at 8,611 meters), which is also the second highest in the world. The 806-kilometer-long Karakorum Highway constructed along the ancient Silk Road linking Pakistan to China is the highest trade route in the world.
The Punjab province, which is the largest in Pakistan in terms of population, comprises rich agricultural lands, an extensive network of rivers and channels, shrines, ancient forts and gardens from the Mughal era. Over 2,000 years ago, the world famous Gandhara Buddhist Civilization flourished in northern Pakistan, with Taxila as the principal seat of Buddhist learning.
The Baluchistan province is the largest in the country in terms of area, constituting approximately 44 percent of Pakistan’s total land mass. The province is rich in mineral resources, being the second major supplier of natural gas in Pakistan. It is also blessed with immense natural beauty comprising mountain ranges with their own peculiar characteristics, mines and a long coastal belt.
The province of Sindh in the South also abounds in natural beauty. It is most famous for being home to the ancient civilization of Mohenjo-daro, the commercial hub city of Karachi, its seaport and a beautiful beach. In addition to the natural beauty in the four provinces of Pakistan, the people of Pakistan are very hospitable and generous toward foreign tourists.
Khyber Pakhtoonwa is also well known for its varying natural beauty ― comprising of areas in the south of the province and some fantastic awe-inspiring beauty in the shape of valleys and mountains in the North ― just one of them being the famous Swat valley. It also houses the world-famous Khyber Pass.
The northern areas of Pakistan, spread over 72,496 square kilometers, are as fascinating in beauty as the other regions. Amid towering snow-clad peaks, several over 8,000 meters, the beautiful serene valleys of Gilgit, Hunza and Skardu fit in magnificently. The cultural patterns in this region are as varied and interesting as its topography.
From the great stretches of the great mountain ranges in the North to the vast alluvial delta of the Indus River in the South, Pakistan remains a land of high adventure and nature. Trekking, mountaineering, white-water rafting, wild boar hunting, mountain and desert jeep safaris, camel and yak safaris, trout fishing and bird watching are just a few of many activities which attract tourists to Pakistan.
The country is also rich in vegetation and fauna. High Himalayas, Karakoram and the Hindukush ranges with their alpine meadows and permanent snow line, coniferous forests down the sub-mountain scrub, the vast Indus plain merging into the great desert, the coast line and wetlands, all offer a remarkably rich variety of vegetation and associated wildlife including avifauna, both endemic and migratory. Ten of 18 mammalian orders are represented in Pakistan with species ranging from the world’s smallest surviving mammal, the Mediterranean Pigmy Shrew, to the largest mammal ever known, the blue whale.
Modern Pakistanis are a blend of Harappan, Indo-Aryan, Indo-Iranian, Saka, Parthian, Kushan, White Hun, Afghan, Arab, Turkic and Mughal heritages. Waves of invaders and migrants settled down in the areas that now constitute Pakistan through the earlier centuries, influencing the locals and also slowly being absorbed among them. Thus the region encompassing the modern-day Pakistan is home to the oldest Asian civilization (and one of the oldest in the world after Mesopotamia and Egypt), the Indus Valley Civilization (B.C. 2500-1500).
Another remarkable highlight is the famous Khunjerab Pass linking Pakistan to China, on the Karakorum Highway. In addition, the nearby Mintaka Pass lies along the fabulous ancient Silk Road that linked Europe to Asia and over which history’s most famous tourists once traveled. These include the Venetian trader Marco Polo in the 13th century (the wild Marco Polo sheep was named after him), the Chinese Monk Fe Hien in the 4th century and the Arab historian Al-Beruni in the 11th century.
Pakistan is a land of splendor and will not disappoint any avid tourist seeking adventure, beauty and relaxation. As they say, you have to see it to believe it.