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Day
01: Arrive Karachi
Khush Amdeed! Arrival Karachi airport and we are warmly received
and transferred to our hotel. Evening we visit the elegant
white marble mausoleum of Muhammad Ali Jinnah founder of Pakistan,
followed by the impressive modern and world's largest concrete
shell dome mosque before our welcome dinner at a local restaurant.
Overnight: Pearl Continental Hotel, Karachi (2 nights)
(D)
Day
02: Karachi
Start with a visit to the National Museum - well stocked with
relics from Indus Valley Civilization and Gandharan art eras.
Drive to Thatta an ancient town with an interesting history
dating back to the times of Alexander of Macedonia, who used
the port to rest his weary troops. View this outstanding Moghul
architecture. Next is the World Heritage Site of Makli Hills
a large necropolis made up of stone tombs with geometric and
floral carvings. We visit the spectacular 17th Century Shah
Jehan Mosque with its 99 domes. (B, D)
Day
03: Karachi / Sukkur (Flight) Mohenjodaro
After a short flight to Sukkur we proceed to the archaeological
site of Mohenjodaro i.e. the Indus Valley Civilization, which
flourished some 5000 years ago. The 3rd oldest civilization
in the world, Moenjodaro excelled in every conceivable facet
of town planning. From the articles discovered here it is
believed that the Iron Age had not yet dawned on the Indus
Valley civilization. The vessels discovered are made of lead,
silver, copper or bronze, whereas the weapons are made only
of bronze. We also visit the Mohenjodaro museum. Drive to
Sukkur for the night.
Overnight: Inter Pak Inn, Sukkur
(1 nights) (B, D)
Day
04: Sukkur / Bhong / Bahawalpur (Drive)
We start with a tour of Sukkur the largest settlement in interior
Sind. Continue on a scenic rural Sind and Lower Punjab drive
to Bhong. Bhong is well known for its most extraordinary,
albeit modern, mosque. It is a recipient of the Aga Khan Award
for Islamic Architecture. Built in traditional style with
extravagant use of gold leaf, mirror work and onyx it displays
extraordinary Arabic calligraphy. Continue to the one time
princely city of Bahawalpur.
Overnight: PTDC Motel, Bahawalpur
(1 night) (B, D)
Day
05: Bahawalpur / Multan (Drive)
Tour this city of Nawabs and Rajas before proceeding to Multan
- a very interesting and important historical city. Well known
as a sufi centre, Multan was the place where Alexander was
hit with an arrow which led to his eventual death. Our afternoon
tour commences with a visit to the Old Fort, which houses
elaborately decorated shrines of Sheikh Bahad-ud-din Zakriya,
Shah Shams Tabriz and Shah Rukhn-e-Alam. We also visit the
colourful Hussain Agahi Bazaar. Evening free.
Overnight: Ramada Inn Hotel, Multan
(1 night) (B, D)
Day
06: Multan / Harappa / Lahore (Drive)
Green and rural Punjab drive gets us to the 2nd Indus Valley
settlement of ancient India, Harappa - an ancient and important
city from the 3rd millennium B.C. It stands witness to the
over 5000 years old continuity of civilization and is the
cradle of one of the earliest civilizations known to man.
We visit Harappa site followed by the museum before continuing
to the majestic city of Lahore.
Overnight: Pearl Continental Lahore
(2 nights) (B, D)
Day
07: Lahore
The first capital of the Moghuls in the sub continent, Lahore
is where it all began in Pakistan's ancient and medieval history.
In just one corner, a heterogeneous example of Mogul, Sikh,
colonial and contemporary architectures can be viewed. We
visit the 11thC AD Lahore Fort, Shish Mahal (Palace of Mirrors),
Badshahi or Royal Mosque, Samadh of Maharaja Ranajit Singh
and Guru Arjun Dev, both in solid gold tombs and the World
Heritage Site of the Shalimar Gardens. Our afternoon tour
starts with the Lahore Museum and its many galleries displaying
artifacts from the Gandhara, Buddhist, Jain, Mogul and Colonial
periods. The famous statue of the fasting Siddhartha (Buddha)
is also on display here as also Rudyard Kiplings gun, the
Zamzamma. Next we visit the 1630AD Emperor Jehangir's mausoleum
and the tomb of his Empress, Nur Jehan. We also visit Old
Lahore and the walled city including the famous Wazir Khan's
Mosque, reflecting the nobility of Persian designs.
(B, D)
Day
08: Lahore / Rawalpindi (Drive)
We take on the historical Grand Trunk Road to visit yet another
World Heritage site – the Rohtas Fort - a garrison built
by the great Afghan king Sher Shah Suri. This fort is about
4Kms in circumference and is the first example of successful
amalgamations of Pakhtun and Hindu architecture. Rohtas was
constructed to block Humayun's return to India after his defeat
at the Battle of Kanauj. After visiting Rohtas Fort we drive
to Rawalpindi and are transferred to our hotel. Rawalpindi
is the twin city to Islamabad.
Overnight: Pearl Continental Hotel,
Peshawar (2 nights) (B, D)
Day
09: Taxila, Rawalpindi & Islamabad
Our full day tour starts with the World Heritage Site located
just outside Rawalpindi. The History of Taxila expands over
a thousand years - from 500 BC to 500 AD. The Taxila Museum
reflects the original culture and tradition of the old Gandhara
Civilization. From here we continue to Shakarparian (sweet
hills) Gardens from where we get a panoramic view of Islamabad.
We visit the Lok Virsa Museum housing a fascinating array
of traditional handicrafts including embroidered costumes,
old jewellery and intricate woodcarvings. It is a popular
place for those wishing to buy traditional Pakistani crafts.
We then drive past various modern streets and buildings gracefully
designed in Islamic architecture. The Islamabad portion
of the tour culminates at one of the world's largest mosque
- Shah Faisal Mosque. The architecture has a blend of the
Ottoman minarets. The mosque is considered to be amongst the
largest in the world. From here we drive to Rawalpindi and
visit this much older town including the historical Raja Bazaar.
Evening we have a farewell dinner in Rawalpindi. (B,
D)
Day
10: Departure home or continue to Peshawar via Takht-e-Bhai
For those ending the tour at Islamabad you will be transferred
to the airport for your departure flight. For those continuing
on to Peshawar we drive to the World Heritage ancient city
of Tahkt-e-Bhai (Throne of Origins). It has a Buddhist monastic
complex dating back to the 1st Century B.C depicting the intrinsic
Buddhist monastery architecture. As it was located on a high
hill it escaped successive invasions as such is very well
preserved. After visiting this historical site we visit the
ruins of Sahr-i-Bahlol, a small fortified city dating from
the same period before continuing to the historical city of
Peshawar.
Overnight: Pearl Continental, Peshawar (2 nights)
(B, D)
Day
11: Peshawar
Morning tour of this historical city including the historical
Quissa Khawani (story tellers) bazaar. In olden days, this
was the place where caravans and military adventures would
halt and professional story-tellers recited ballads and tales
of travel war and love to the locals and the traders. Today
the story-tellers are gone but the atmosphere lingers on.
We then visit the incredible Mahabat Khan mosque followed
by a tour of the city. Afternoon we have an in-depth visit
of the Peshawar Museum - known for its rich Gandhara collection.
(B, D)
Day
12: Depart Peshawar
After an unparalleled insight into ancient cultures
we are transferred the airport for our departure flight. (B)
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