07 Days Cultural trip Lahore, Swat, Peshawar Valley Pakistan

Lahore – the cultural heart of Pakistan, the capital of Punjab, and the premier Moghul city. Above all, in Pakistan, the city is known for its lively atmosphere. Dinner in a typical restaurant. Overnight at the hotel.

To see Lahore is to be born again, that’s what the village folk tell each other in Punjab. We visit the Moghul monuments: The 17th-century Badshahi Mosque, with marble domes and red sandstone arches. The fort of Lahore is rightly called a mosaic of Moghul architecture as it displays the taste of all the Moghul Emperors. Walk through the old walled city and visit the masterpiece of art: a mosaic of glazed tiles – the Wazir Khan Mosque. In the evening we visit the Shalimar Garden, then drive to the hotel overnight.

Morning flight to Peshawar, after some rest in hotel drive to Khyber Pass. Khyber Pass is the most important historic and strategic land route leading to the Indian subcontinent. All the historic invaders, including Alexander The Macedonian, had used this route to explore the wonders of fertile land that lies south of this pass. We may be allowed to go up to Michni Post from where you can have a panoramic view of the Pak-Afghan border and the Jalalabad province of Afghanistan. Lunch at Peshawar. (45 km one way) Evening excursion to the bazaar. Overnight at the hotel.

Peshawar has always been important in the history of the sub-continent because of its location in by Khyber Pass & Gandhara civilization. The city is now known more for its special feeling of being a frontier town than for its monuments. In the morning we will visit the street of story-tellers: Kissa Khawani bazaar, the street of Gold (Kasera bazaar), Karavan Serai, and Mahabat Khan Mosque & Museum of Peshawar, known for its collection of Gandhara artifacts. After lunch, we will drive to Swat. Swat, a land that shines with fruit-laden orchards, flower-filled slopes, meandering rivers, rumbling streams, and is surrounded by the mighty ranges of the Hindu Kush and Himalayas. The valley is 2,250 feet above sea level, Saidu Sharif and Mingora are the towns that form the twin capital of this area. Arrive and transfer to the hotel for overnight in Mingora.

After breakfast proceed for Kalam, en route visit Bahrain. The town of Bahrain borders the Swat River and trout fishing is a favorite pastime. Kalam is 30km from Bahrain and about 3000m above sea level. Drive back to Mingora overnight.

It’s about a 6 hours drive from Swat to Islamabad, traveling on the Grand Trunk Road laid down by the Pathan Emperor of the United Indian Empire: Sher Shah Suri., crossing the Indus River at Attock. You may stop for a photo at the meeting point of the Indus & Kabul rivers just beyond Attock bridge. Bypass the important archaeological site of Taxila by evening we shall reach Islamabad.

Morning transfer to airport for flight to home sweet home.