Pakistan - paradise for tourism and enjoyment

Left is Fairy Meadows located in Northern Areas in Pakistan

Pakistan is one of the world's most beautiful countries with varied cultural and scenic beauty. Visitors can enjoy fully archaeological tourism, adventure tourism, religious tourism and conventional tourism.

It is a land of splendors with the landscape stretching remarkably from the high mountain ranges in the northern areas to the plains and desserts 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.

Pakistan Monument in Islamabad

In terms of archaeological tourism, Pakistan is the cradle of two ancient civilizations — the Indus valley civilization and the Gandhara civilization. In particular, excavations of the Gandhara civilization represent one of the oldest remains of Buddhist culture in Asia and are of special spiritual significance for the Buddhist living in the affluent regions of East and South East Asia.

Then there are monuments built by successive dynasties and rulers, particularly the Mughal. These include the Royal Fort, Badashahi Mosque, Shalimar garden, tombs of Emperor Jahangir and Empress Noor Jahan, Rohtas Fort and the Shah Jahan Mosque.

Pakistan enjoys an important place when it comes to religious tourism, comprising of shrines of great religious figures of the world. There are several places of great attraction in Pakistan for Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh religions.

River Swat in Kalam

Gurdwaras at Nankana Shib and Hasanabdal are a great attraction for the Sikh community from all over the world. There are shrines of Sufis and Saints, which attract a large number of pilgrims from different regions.

A very popular destination for adventure tourism, Pakistan has some of the world's highest mountains in a knot of four great mountain ranges, the Hindukush, Pamir, Karakoram and Himalayas. The country has the distinction of having five peaks above 8,000 meters each including the second highest peak in the world, the lofty mountain peak of K-2.

The country has some of the largest glaciers on the globe outside the polar region. The 806-kilometer-long Karakorum Highway constructed along the ancient silk route linking Pakistan to China is the highest trade route in the world.

Sheosar Lake in Deosai Plains

The mountains and glaciers offer tremendous attractions for adventures.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 the 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 mammals, the Mediterranean Pigmy Shrew, to the largest mammal ever known, the blue whale.

Pakistan's lakes and wetlands consist of numerous natural and man-made lakes, found all over Pakistan.

These include high altitude alpine and glacial lakes, tropical freshwater and saltwater lakes, and the wetlands of the Indus River and Arabian Sea Coast, comprising a unique biodiversity of important plant, bird and animal species.

Importantly, such wonders of Pakistan are situated at the crossroads of Asia's major bird migration routes, serving as transit points for migratory birds. Some of the famous lakes in Pakistan include the Lake Saif Ul Malook and Keenjhar Lake.

Pakistan is also not behind when it comes to conventional tourism. This form of tourism includes festivals, sports, customs, traditions and arts and crafts.

Among the festivals, Basant is one of the most popular forms of international tourism attractions celebrated in the months of February — March to herald the spring, and attracts a large number of foreign tourists.

The festivals of Kalash tribe such as Chilim-Jusht or Joshi, Uchal, Pool and Chaus or Chitirmus also attracts the tourists. There are also other regional festivals.

Pakistan is blessed with four distinct seasons and a vast land. 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 depicting the Mughal era.Baluchistan province is the largest in the country in terms of area, constituting approximately 44 percent of its 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.

Khyber Pakhtoonwa is also 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.

Amidst towering snow-clad peaks, 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.

In addition to the natural beauty in the different regions of Pakistan, the people of Pakistan are extremely hospitable and generous towards foreign tourists. Modern Pakistanis are a blend of Harappan, Indo-Aryan, Indo-Iranian, Saka, Parthian, Kushan, White Hun, Afghan, Arab, Turkic, and the 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 amongst 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 (2,500 B.C.-1,500 B.C.).

Visitors to Pakistan will find it to be an immensely beautiful country, offering great culture, scenic beauty and traditional hospitality.