Pakistan Travel Guide

Pakistan Travel Guide: General Information

With mountain ranges on one side, and the Arabian Sea coastline on the other, Pakistan is a country with ample scenic beauty. Though the political situation in Pakistan has been unpredictable, and often scary, Pakistan still continues to arrive at the brink of being the ‘next big thing’ in tourism. Dotted with mountain peaks to conquer and archeological sites to uncover, Pakistan has been the ideal tourist destination for adventure seekers and for those who have a taste for history.

Pakistan Travel Guide: Key Facts

Capital city: Islamabad

Area: 803,940 sq Km

Population: 172,900,000

Monetary Unit: Pakistani Rupee

Official Language: English, Urdu

International Dialing code: 92

Pakistan Travel Guide: Popular Tourist Destinations

· Karachi: Karachi is the largest city of Pakistan and also an important commercial center of the country. With rich cultural heritage, the town also hosts a number of historical sites and ancient ruins such as the Mahata Palace, Bhambore, Thatta among the prominent ones. With some fabulous beaches and green pastures, the town is one of the most visited destinations in Pakistan. Karachi is also known to be a shopper’s paradise with markets such as the Zainab Market and the Paradise Market for tourists to grab some of the local crafts and art work.

· Islamabad: Islamabad is the capital city of Pakistan, and it is also one of the most beautiful cities in South Asia. Blessed with a temperate climate, beautiful lakes, hills, parks and gardens, Islamabad is truly a breathtaking city. The city also offers a treat for history seekers with a lot of museums, historical monuments and mosques and shrines that show the very affluent culture Islamabad is forged from. Islamabad zoo is another great attraction for kids coming to the city. The markets of the town are loaded with leather artifacts and carpets for you to make a pick.

· Lahore: Rich in culture and history, Lahore lies around 2 hours away from the very famous ruins of Harappa civilization. Lahore is considered the cultural and educational capital of Pakistan. The people of Lahore are known to be very friendly and warm hearted. The city has the largest mosque in the sub-continent, historical monuments like the Red Fort, and amazingly beautiful parks and gardens. Here, you will experience mixed influences of British, Mughal and Sikh architecture in the monuments and buildings.

Pakistan Travel Guide: Economy and Infrastructure

Pakistan’s status as a developing country, combined with the political issues has resulted in a slow growth in the economy. But slowly the economic conditions of the country are improving. Pakistan’s economy was known to be based on agriculture, but they’ve recently changed to service based economy, with the service industry contributing close to 50% of the GDP. Telecommunications and energy have been important fields of interest for foreign investors, with textiles, food processing, iron and steel manufacturing being the major contributors to the economy. Pakistan also has a healthy handicrafts industry (carpets, leather goods)

Pakistan’s health and sanitation facilities are generally poor. Over 19% of the population is suffering from malnutrition. Pakistan has been making significant progress in the power and road network sectors. It is also investing in this sector hoping to improve the infrastructure for the future.

Pakistan Travel Guide: Culture

Pakistan is a multi-cultural country. The culture in the country has an influence of Persians, Arabs, Turks and the British. Majority population of the country follows Islam. The people of Pakistan are close to their roots and follow their ancient traditions with strong belief. The traditional styles of music such as Qawwali, Ghazal Gayaki and Sufi music are very popular in South Asia. The game of Polo originated in Pakistan, but cricket is undoubtedly the most popular sport in the country.