Traveling through Pakistan has been stated from the start of our remembered history. People know Pakistan with its diverse cultures, people and landscapes. Beauty of its culture attracted 1 million tourists in 2012.
Pakistan was considered as the paradise for the tourists of world during the 1970s when the country received unprecedented amounts of foreign tourist. Credit goes to the Hippie trail and thanks to them. The hippie trail are the group of people who came from Europe and other parts of world in late 1950s to the 1970s. The hippie trail was a form of tourism, and it is one of the cheapest way of travelling. The main purpose was mainly to extend the length of time away from home.
Following is the map normally used by Hippie trail.
The main destinations of choice for these tourists were Istanbul, Tehran, Herat, Kabul,then Khyber Pass, Peshawar, Swat, Rawalpindi, Lahore and Karachi.
The main attraction for these tourists were ruins of the Indus Valley Civilization such as Swat's ancient places, Taxila, Mohenjo-daro, and Harappa, to the Himalayan hill stations, which attract those interested in winter sports and winter season. Pakistan is home to several mountain peaks over 7000 meters, which attracts adventurers and mountaineers from around the world, especially K2. Pakistan has 108 peaks above 7,000 meters and probably as many peaks above 6000 meters. There is no count of the peaks above 5000 and 4000 meters. Five of the 14 highest independent peaks in the world (the 8000 meters) are in Pakistan, four of which lie in the surroundings of Concordia; these are called Crossroads of Baltoro Glacier and Godwin Austen Glacier. Most of the highest peaks in Pakistan lie in the Karakoram mountain range which lies almost entirely in the Gilgit Baltistan region of Pakistan, and is considered to be a part of the greater Himalayan range but some peaks above 7,000 meters are included in the Himalayan and Hindu Kush ranges.
Pakistan is home to the second highest mountain in the world, K2.
Here we also can see the confluence of three Ranges called Hindukush, Karakoram and Himalaya.
Beautiful north portion of Pakistan has many old fortresses, ancient architectures and the beautiful Hunza and Chitral valleys, There are no words for the beauty of Kalash valley also known as home to small pre-Islamic Animist Kalasha community. The romance of the historic KPK province is timeless and legendary.
Punjab is a province of its beauty and marvelous history. Punjab province has the site of Alexander's battle on the Jhelum River. It also have the historic city Lahore, Pakistan's cultural capital, with many examples of Mughal architecture like Badshahi Masjid, Shalimar Gardens, Tomb of Jahangir and the Lahore Fort. Before the 9/11 incident Pakistan was the country which receive more than 500,000 tourists every year. However, this number has now come down to near zero figures since that time. It is only because of the War against terrorism due to which Pakistan is suffering heavy losses in shape of instability in the country. Because of these circumstances most the countries are declaring Pakistan as unsafe and dangerous country to visit.
Sindh is one of the province of Pakistan and is known as the historical home to the Sindhi people and historic back ground. It is also locally known as the Mehran. The name "Sindh" is derived from as reference to the Indus River that passes almost through the middle of the entire province. This river was known to the ancient Iranians in Avestan as "Hindu", in Sanskrit as "Sindhu", to Assyrians (as early as the seventh century BC) as "Sinda", to the Persians as "Ab-e-sind", to the Greeks as "Indos", to the Romans as "Indus", to the Pashtuns as "Abasind", to the Arabs as "Al-Sind", to the Chinese as "Sintow", and to the Javanese as "Santri".
Sindh is bounded to the west by Balochistan, to the north by Punjab, to the east by the Indian states of Gujarat and Rajasthan and to the south by the Arabian Sea. The capital and largest city of the province is Karachi, which is also Pakistan's largest city. It is also known as the country's only financial hub. Most of the population in the province is Muslim, with sizable Hindu, Ahmadiyya, Christian, Parsi and Sikh minorities.
Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan in terms of area. It consists of approximately 44% of the country's total land mass, and the smallest in terms of population. Surprisingly it has less than 5% of the country's population. Balochistan province is bordered by Afghanistan to the north and north-west, Iran to the south-west, the Arabian Sea to the south, Punjab and Sindh to the east, and KPK and Federally Administered Tribal Areas to the north-east.
Quetta is the capital and largest city of Balochistan. The main ethnic groups in the province are Baloch, Pashtuns and Brahuis, and there are relatively smaller communities of Iranian Baloch, Hazaras, Sindhis and other settlers, including Punjabis, Uzbeks, and Turkmens. In many regional languages the name Balochistan means "the land of the Baloch".
Azad Jammu and Kashmir abbreviated as AJK or Azad Kashmir "free Kashmir". It is an autonomous administrative territory of Pakistan. The territory is situated at west of the Indian-Occupied state of Jammu and Kashmir. Boarders of both sides are ceased to exist as a result of the first Kashmir war fought between India and Pakistan in 1947.
Azad Kashmir is part of the greater Kashmir region, which is the subject of a long-running conflict between India and Pakistan.
The Guardian released what it described as "The top five tourist sites in Pakistan" in order to promote the country's tourism industry. The five sites included Taxila, Lahore, The Karakoram Highway, Karimabad and Lake Saiful Muluk.
In 2009, The World Economic Forum's Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report ranked Pakistan as one of the top 25% tourist destinations for its World Heritage sites.
We are hoping the Golden time of 70's again so that people from all over the world can enjoy the beautiful culture and marvelous places of Pakistan.
