Pakistan Travel Guide

Pakistan sits at the crossroads of Central and South Asia, offering landscapes most backpackers skip. The Karakoram Highway is genuinely one of the world's great drives—switchbacks past 5,000m peaks, glaciers, and mountain villages where outsiders are still a novelty.

Beyond the north, the Indus Valley holds Mughal architecture, ancient Buddhist sites, and bazaars that feel entirely separate from the tourist trail. The Makran Coast in the south is raw and largely unexplored; you'll see fishing villages and mangrove swamps with minimal Western footfall.

Travel here requires patience—domestic infrastructure is basic, bureaucracy exists, and security varies by region. But if you're after authentic Central Asia without the polish of Kyrgyzstan or Tajikistan, Pakistan delivers. Most travellers here are working it out as they go.

Highlights

1. Karakoram Highway — Hairpin mountain road linking China to the Indus Valley. High passes, glacier views, village homestays.
2. Hunza Valley — Terraced orchards and fortress ruins set against 7,000m peaks. Hub for trekking and local agriculture tourism.
3. Gilgit-Baltistan region — Trekking basecamp for K2 and central Karakoram. Alpine meadows, ice lakes, and mountaineering culture.
4. Indus Valley temples and cities — Mohenjo-daro ruins, Peshawar museums, Lahore's Mughal architecture. Pre-Islamic and Islamic heritage concentrated here.
5. Makran Coast — Arabian Sea coastline with mangrove ecosystems, fishing settlements, and minimal tourism infrastructure or crowds.
6. Balochistan plateau — Semi-arid highlands, nomadic herding culture, remote valleys. Least visited region; requires local guides and patience.