Places to visit

From the ruins of the Indus Valley Civilisation to the high plateaus of the Himalaya, Pakistan has 6 UNESCO World Heritage Sites and many more historic and natural places to visit. Here is a selection, grouped by province and territory.

Opening times and ticket prices change, so check with the site or its managing body before you travel.

Punjab

• Mughal fort and gardens Lahore Fort and Shalamar Gardens Lahore A Mughal citadel at the edge of Lahore’s Walled City, with the royal gardens of Shalamar a few kilometres away.
• Ancient city and museum Taxila Rawalpindi District The ruins of ancient Gandharan cities and Buddhist monasteries, with one of the world’s best collections of Gandhara art.

Sindh

• Archaeological site Mohenjo-daro Larkana District The best preserved city of the Indus Valley Civilisation, built around 2500 BCE.
• Historic cemetery Makli Necropolis Thatta One of the largest burial grounds in the world, with stone and brick tombs from the 14th to the 18th centuries.
• National mausoleum Mazar-e-Quaid Karachi The white marble tomb of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

• Buddhist monastery Takht-i-Bahi Mardan District A hilltop Buddhist monastery from the 1st century CE, one of the most complete in the Gandhara region.

Balochistan

• Historic house Quaid-e-Azam Residency, Ziarat Ziarat The wooden residency where Quaid-e-Azam spent his last weeks in 1948, set in one of the world’s oldest juniper forests.

Gilgit-Baltistan

• Historic fort and museum Baltit Fort Karimabad, Hunza The former home of the Mirs of Hunza, overlooking Karimabad with views of Rakaposhi and the Ultar glacier.
• National park Deosai National Park Skardu and Astore One of the highest plateaus in the world, famous for summer wildflowers and Himalayan brown bears.

Islamabad Capital Territory

• Mosque Faisal Mosque Islamabad Pakistan’s national mosque, one of the largest in the world, at the foot of the Margalla Hills.