Pakistan Tours-Tourism Guide

21/07/2025

Religious Heritage tourism national award winner
Pakistan is a vibrant country known for its rich religious heritage. In 2024, Mr. Mehmood Malik won the National Award for Religious Heritage Tourism, recognizing his efforts to promote religious tourism.

https://youtu.be/K4d5u91DK-M?si=Fa41oz23SUemNoT_

https://www.app.com.pk/national/celebrating-peace-through-tourism-1st-national-tourism-awards-2024-held/

03/06/2022

Murree Tours-Tourism Guide
Day Tour of Murree from Islamabad
Murree is the largest tourist resort for the Pakistanis. Beside the views the main attraction in murree is a stroll along the Mall. Lined with cafes, restaurants and souvenir shops the Mall is a popular meeting point, as well as being the place to be seen.
At the northeast point of the ridge upon which Murree stands, Kashmir Point offers fine views across the Jhelum River and Pir Panjal range into Kashmir. Along the ridge to the southwest, Pindi Point overlooks the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi below. The scene is particularly attractive on a clear night. From Pindi Point, the wonderland Chair-Lift makes the return trip to the road several kilometers below (continue to run in all weathers.
Murree does retain a certain colonial air, with its neat bungalows, summer cottages, gardens and churches, Cecil hotel building and a church on the Mall are the part of the colonial past, but the recent rapid pace of unplanned development is threatening to engulf the town.

Tourist Attractions in Murree

Mall Road
Mall road is the famous market place in Murree. It can be best visited after the sunset. Also if you want to save time visit hills at day time and Mall Road at night when you have to just shop or dine. It is a slope starting from General Post Office. Food & misc. sovenier shops are situated on the both sides of Road. It is open till midnight. You can buy everything at Mall and dine a variety of Pakistani dishes.

Kashmir Point
Kashmir Point is a spot on Mall Road, going up from GPO about 1 km. It is at the top of a hill. Hill surface is clean. Scenary looks beautiful from here. Kashmir peaks can be viewed from here thats why this point is called Kashmir Point. Two roads/paths go up the GPO towards Kashmir Point. View of Murree from both ways is different. So it is advisable that take one route for going & other for coming back. You may hike up the Kashmir point. The way passing by the Cadet College Murree goes towards the Murree Residence of the President of Pakistan.

Pindi Point
Pindi point is one of the prime points to visit in Murree. Chair lifts are installed here which go down 1.5 km. Both way distance is 3 km. Scenary from chair lift is magnificent. Zigzag road passes below. Great pine trees stand throughout the journey. When we go down the valley there is a stop point. You can enjoy a lot there. There is a coffee shop & children play land. Hills of Patriata can be seen there.A great jungle starts there. You can enjoy tracking. Chair lift is open from 9am till 6 pm.

Murree can serve as a focal hub of your stay. Day trips can be planned for Nathia gali, Kalabagh, Muzzafrabad, Ayubia, Patriata, Khanspur, Bhurban and Gharial.

Nathiagali
Nathiagali is about 32kms from Murree. The bracing air of the surrounding mountains is as pure as fresh spring water.

Ayubia
Ayubia is about 26kms from Murree, (Khairagali, Changlagali, Khanspur and Ghora Dhaka, these four mini resorts spread over an area of 26 km have been developed into a resort complex called Ayubia). In addition to riding trails, hiking places and picnic spots, Ayubia has a chair lift at Ghora Dhaka, which attracts visitors to enjoy scenic beauty of Pine Hills.

Thandiani
Thandiani is the coldest among other hill stations near Murree. It can be reached from the Murree-Nathiagali route, but it takes more time and the road is too winding. Thandiani is 31 km from main Abbottabad City and 25 km from Thandiani-Nathiagali crossing. The drive takes more or less 80 minutes from Abbottabad with lovely views on both sides of the road. The road spans more than 1219 m above Abbottabad. On the way along with tall majestic pine trees you come across groups of monkeys. The major place on the way is Kalapani at 23 km from Abbottabad. It has a beautiful local dak bungalow. Hule ka Danna is about two kilometres north of Thandiani. It is one of the most beautiful glades in the region. Thandiani offers lush green lovely views.

Patriata
Patriata also known as New Murree is a hill station in northern Punjab, Pakistan. It is situated 15 km south-east of Murree hill. Patriata is located in Murree Tehsil which is a subdivision of Rawalpindi District. It is the highest point in the area and the hills stand 9,000 feet above sea level. The hill station is a tourist location as the climate here is much cooler than further south. There is a chair lift and cable car system for transportation to the highest point. The area is heavily forested and there are many monkeys and leopards in the area.

Hiking is the best sport to do while touring Murree; following are some of the hiking trails:
Ayubia - Changla Gali
Ayubia - Khanaspur
Ayubia - Dungagali, 4km, a must to do
Dungagali - Mushkpuri Top
Mushkpuri Top - Nathiagali
Nathiagal - Miranjani Top

Sightseeing & Excursions

1. Half/ full day excursion to Patriata and enjoy Chairlift ride.
2. Full day excursion to Ayubia & Nathiagali (an opportunity for 4 km hiking from Ayubia to Dunga Gali), one of the most beautifull hiking trail in Asia.
3. Half day hiking tour in Bhurbon (4 km long hiking trail, start 4 km before Bhurbon and ends at PC Bhurbon.
4. Half day wandering and shopping tour on the Mall.

How to get there
The main gateway to get Murree is Islamabad, Today, there are two routes for Murree, one is Motorway via New Murree which is about one and half hour drive from Islamabad and the other route is the old one single road which takes more than two hours. There is frequent van service from Faizabad (central point Islamabad – Rawalpindi). There is also luxury bus service (Daewoo) running from the main Daewoo bus station from the Mall road. Normal route buses are also operating round the clock from Pir Wadai bus station. It is recommended going Murree from Islamabad and coming from Abbottabad via Nathiagali.

Instructions:
Avoid travelling with families during weekend that may cause long traffic jams and other related issues. Always check weather reports from media and from hotel people before setting off to surrounding areas of Murree.

23/10/2021

Blue Area Islamabad
Blue Area or Jinnah Avenue is the central business district of Islamabad, located on the both sides of Khayaban-e-Quaid-e-Azam that is also known as Jinnah Avenue. The avenue is about 5km long from Centaurus Mall to the last building of Parliament House and other governmental establishment buildings. This is a long corridor alongside Jinnah Avenue having one side maximum 5 story tall buildings and high rising buildings on the other side. It is characterized by neat and clean roads offering a panoramic view of lush green pine trees planted on either sides of the avenue. All major business centers are located in Blue Area of Islamabad. The color blue was marked on the map of Islamabad when it was presented and thereafter it became more popular with the name of Blue Area. There is new addition of Metro service that starts from Rawalpindi and runs through Blue Area.
There are multiple important building including Islamabad Stock Exchange, Centaurus Mall, NADRA office, Saudi Pak Tower, Habib Bank, UBL and many more located on both sides of this avenue. As the city is designed earthquake proof and that is why the buildings are not as higher as in other big cities of the world.

14/10/2021

Parliament House Building Islamabad
The Parliament House is a long square building, which is the home of the federal and supreme legislative body of Pakistan. The architecture of the building is apparently modest, consisting of simple elements, emphasizing the plain lines but it is a well thought piece of architect. The north of Pakistan is subject to severe earthquakes and this building is 100% earthquake proof. The base of the building is wider and top floors are less wide than upper ones and the first floor is little below the earth level as well. There is an Arabic engraving (There is no God except Allah and Mohammad is his prophet) has been installed on the front façade of the building. Its white color with the green color of nature of Margalla Hills at its backend reflects the color of Pakistan’s national flag. Just like the Supreme Court, a tight security circle surrounds the Parliament House, so the building can be observed only from outside.
The Parliament House building was designed by Edward Durel Stone, an architect from USA and was inaugurated on 28th May, 1986. It took almost 11 years to complete construction work. The five storied building has a total floor space of about 598,000 sq. feet. The ground floor has a covered area of 176,889 sq. feet and houses the main foyer, restaurant, bank, dispensary, post and telegraph offices, PIA reservation office and a mosque on the ground floor to accommodate 450 Namazis (prayers). Directional sign-boards have been provided throughout the building to facilitate the movement of visitors.
Parliament House Building Layout:
The first floor (total covered area 176,294 sq. feet) has offices of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman Senate and Chambers for Leader of the House and Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. This floor caters for offices of 14 Federal Ministers, Secretary Senate and senior officers of the Senate Secretariat. It also has three Committee Rooms, equipped with modem public address system. The Senators’ Services Centre, the Senate Library and the Cafeteria are also housed on this floor.
The second floor has a covered area of 128,134 sq. feet. The National Assembly and the Senate Halls are situated on this floor. It also houses the chambers of the Prime Minister, Speaker and Deputy Speaker National Assembly and offices for 16 Ministers. The Library of the National Assembly and a Committee Room are also located on this floor.
The third floor has a covered area of 58,012 sq. feet. Some offices of the Senate and the National Assembly Secretariat are set up on this level. The Press Lounge is also located on this floor.
On the fourth floor are located the President’s Chamber, a Committee Room as well as the offices of the National Assembly Secretariat. It also houses camp offices of Press Information Department (PID), Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), Pakistan Press International (PPI), Pakistan Television (PTV) and Pakistan Broad Casting Corporation (PBC).
Location:

09/10/2021

Pakistan Museum of Natural History

This museum was brainchild of internationally renowned archaeologist Professor Dani who initially started this idea in a house but now his dream has been filled to a much bigger place. Pakistan Museum of Natural History (PMNH) Islamabad was established in 1976, under the patronage of Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF), Ministry of Science and Technology, Pakistan. PMNH has four divisions namely Botanical Sciences, Earth Sciences, Zoological Sciences and Public Services. The first three divisions are engaged in the collection, preservation, identification and research activities related to plants, animals, fossils, rocks and minerals resources of Pakistan, while the latter is responsible for public education through dioramas, exhibits, lectures, workshop, seminar, posters and film shows etc. PMNH also provides consultancy and advisory services to public and private sector organizations.

PMNH DIVISIONS
Botanical Sciences Division (BSD)
Earth Sciences Divsion (ESD)
Zoological Sciences Division (ZSD)
Public Services Division (PSD)

PUBLIC EDUCATION
Public education is one of the major statutory functions of PMNH for creating awareness about the conservation of natural wealth of Pakistan through various easy-to-understand and attractive displays.
Display Galleries: The PMNH has established following Display Galleries for the visitors in order to provide them information about natural history of Pakistan. There are the following galleries displayed here for public education.

VIRTUAL ORIENTATION GALLERY
Introduction

The Virtual Orientation Gallery (VOG) is a creative achievement of PMNH in the field of information technology and consists of informative software on the Natural History of Pakistan. VOG runs on a network of computer systems located in the PMNH Display Centre using touch screen systems for an interactive learning experience. It is an important project of Pakistan Museum of Natural History, based on informal education regarding the natural history of Pakistan. VOG aims at providing interactive electronic based information kiosk for students and general public on the natural resources i.e. flora, fauna, minerals and fossils. VOG complements the existing information and awareness related activities and features of PMNH including dioramas in various galleries, film shows, posters, brochures, workshops, seminars and lectures.

WHAT VOG OFFERS TO VISITORS?
There are four main components of VOG application. All the components are available in bilengual format (both English and Urdu), for the convenience of users:
About PMNH (Urdu/English): This section provides a summary of the various functions and activities of PMNH scientists/staff. The visitors can get complete information about PMNH by touching “About PMNH” icon on the screen. Information regarding the establishment of PMNH , it's location, Zoological Sciences Division, Botanical Sciences Division, Earth Sciences Division, Public Services Division, scientists/staff of various divisions, their research and other activities are provided to the user.
Virtual Tour (Urdu/English): Visitors can take a virtual tour of the different galleries of PMNH for a virtual orientation of the museum. The visitors get an idea about location of the exhibits in various galleries of the Museum by touching “Virtual Tour” icon. These galleries include Paleo Gallery, Eco Gallery, Gemstone Gallery, Biodiversity Gallery and Tethy’s Gallery. This animated virtual tour also helps in locating the various sections of the museum.
World of Natural History (English): The visitors can access the information about the natural wealth of Pakistan including plants, animals, birds, minerals, gemstones, fossils and rocks by touching the icon “World of Natural History”. This information is in the form of text, photographs, movies and sounds. Data of approximately 3,000 natural history specimens is available. The database has been designed in such a manner that additional information can be added in the future as a continuous research project. This section has information of interest for the general visitor and technical information for children, students and scientists.
Kids’ Corner (Urdu/English): Children can explore the world of the natural history through different games. Special interactive games have been developed for this purpose, which provide a wealth of information on natural history to the children.

BIO GALLERY

Introduction
The Bio Gallery provides information to the visitors about the flora and fauna of Pakistan. This 3-D Gallery has been divided into two sections. One section provides information about different animals, birds and plants along with their habitat, found in different eco-regions, ranging from the Alpine heights to the Seashores of Pakistan. The second section elucidates the problems related to the biodiversity of Pakistan.Three-dimensional dioramas in this section also highlights the issues related to air, noise, soil and water pollution; deforestation, forest fire and soil erosion; over-fishing, over-hunting and over-grazing; water logging, salinity and desertification.

TETHYS GALLERY

Introduction
The "Tethys Gallery" provides information and visuals about
Salt Range
Ocean
Minerals and Rocks

Salt Range
The Salt Range is one of the best geological sites in the world for collection of rocks, fossils and minerals for research. The rock formations in the Salt Range are from 550 million to 10,000 years old. In this 3-D diorama the Khewra Salt mine has been shown, which are the world’s second largest salt mines. It also shows the extraction of coal from mine. The Salt Range is internationally declared as Field Museum of Geology.
Ocean
This diorama provides information about the ocean geological distribution from coast, continental shelf, continental slope and to the deep sea geysers. A variety of marine life including fishes, corals and other marine fossils found at different depth of the ocean are displayed in this diorama.
Minerals and Rocks
This diorama has been created to highlight the significance of Minerals and Rocks of Pakistan, which is comprised of three main sections; igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks and metamorphic rocks. In these three sections the minerals and rocks collected from different region of Pakistan are showcased according to their relevant geological environment. Information about the chemical properties, composition, occurrence of major deposits, and their industrial uses has been provided through bilingual write-ups. Pakistan has a variety of rock formations, minerals deposits especially world’s third largest deposits of copper-gold and gemstones.

GEMSTONES GALLERY

Introduction
In this gallery various precious and semi-precious stones have been displayed along with the information about their natural deposits in different areas of Pakistan. The gems are displayed in raw form/mother rocks as well as cut and polished forms.

ECO GALLERY

Introduction
Pakistan Museum of Natural History as an informal educational institution is using modern technologies to make the learning process enjoyable. PMNH is doing so by making displays relevant to the public intrest. This gallery is serving the purpose in an effective manner to enhance the knowledge of visitors about the natural wealth of Pakistan.

PALAEO GALLERY

Introduction
Palaeo Gallery is based on pre-historic life. In this gallery the fossils collection from all over Pakistan has been displayed and some of them are as old as 650 million years. The Story of Human Intelligence and Evolution has also been narrated through fossils, paintings and write-ups. Skeletons of livings/recent Elephant and Giraffe are displayed in the centre to enhance the grandeur of hall.

Visitors’ Timings
09 AM TO 08 PM
Tuesday to Sunday
Monday Off
PRAYER BREAKS
Friday Prayer Break 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM

LOCATION
Pakistan Museum of Natural History (PMNH) is located at Garden Avenue, Shakarparian, Islamabad and welcomes the visitors to its dynamic exhibits, displays and dioramas. This is very close to Lok Virsa Museum.

04/10/2021

Day Yatra to Gurdwara Sri Panja Sahib Ji
Gurdwara Sri Panja Sahib Ji is one of the most famous Gurdwaras of Sikh Religion. The Gurdwara is located in Hassan Abdal, Pakistan that is just 40 kms from Islamabad. The shrine is considered to be highly sacred as the miracle of handprint of the founder of Sikhism (Guru Nanak Dev Ji) on a rock happened here. This is why the Gurdwara is named Panja Sahib Ji as Panja in Panjabi language means hand. Guru Nanak Badshah along with Bhai Mardana reached Hasan Abdal in Baisakh Samwat 1578 B.K., corresponding to the summer of 1521 CE, when all that happened. Gurdwara was named Panja Sahib by Hari Singh Nalwa, the most famous general of the Sikh Empire. He is the one who initially built Gurdwara at this site and later on it was improved by Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839). Very recently before 550 Gurpurab it is again renovated from inside with beautiful glass work (in Kashmiri Style).
Guru Nanak Dev Ji along with Bhai Mardana, under a shady cool tree started reciting Kirtan (sacred hymns) and many Muslim and Hindu devotees gathered around. This annoyed Wali Qandhari because there were more devotees with Guru than he used to have that compelled him to stop them by hooks or by crooks. He used to oversight the village from the top of the hill and also shared water from the spring he had with his shrine. He could not stop people flocking to Guru but he could stop the water flow to the hamlet. He eventually stopped water and tried to punish them. Soon after the people of hamlet went up to request him to let them to quench their thirst but he refused their request and was rather started taunting and got angry with them. The Wali ironically remarked: "Why don't you ask your Master whom you serve?" The people of hamlet came back to Guru and narrated the whole story.
Finally Guru Nanak Dev Ji asked Bhai Mardana to go up the hill and request him again that you are a saint and the saints never stop water. Baba Wali Qandhari simply refused the request and got angry with similar remarks that why your Guru manages his own spring he is the man of God. The legend says that Bhai Mardana went three times and finally Bhai Mardana went back to the Guru in a miserable state and said "Oh my Guru! I prefer death to thirst but will not approach Wali the egoist again." The Guru replied "Oh Bhai Mardana ! Repeat the Name of God, the Almighty; and drink the water to your heart's content." The Guru put aside a big stone lying nearby and a pure fountain of water sprang up and began to flow endlessly. Bhai Mardana quenched his thirst and felt grateful to the Guru. On the other hand, at about the same time, the fountain of Wali Qandhari dried up. On witnessing this, Wali in his rage threw part of a mountain, a huge rock towards the Guru from the top of the hill. The Guru stopped the hurled rock with his hand leaving his hand print in the rock. Observing that miracle, Wali became the Guru's devotee. This holy and revered place is now known as Panja Sahib.
Architecture
All Gurdwaras are sacred and important to the followers of Sikh religion but this Gurdwara is unique in its design and architect. As Taxila (nearby city full of Budhist shrines) is famous in stone work, thus it used to produce stone-grinders and supplied in whole sub-continent. There is a kind of black shist-stone (hard stone) that is found in this region and the same stone-bricks are used to build this Gurdwara that is nearly impossible or extremely expensive to build with such material these days. Inside of Gurdwara is nicely decorated with glass work (Kashmiri touch). There are petals of Lotus flower used on all big and smaller domes that is a symbol of divine purity and truth in all local religions of Indus civilization. The motive of Lotus flower reflects the both sides as you see on top of water and reverse side in the water. There are beautiful balconies carved on Lotus petals that reflect again the architect of Indus civilization.

How to get there
It is still not a place open to visit for every tourist – if one is keen to see the Gurdwara then contact Auqaaf department (Evacuee Trust Property Board). There is hardly five minutes’ walk from bust station of Hassanabdal at GT road. There is public transport running 24/7 on Grand Trunk road and takes one hour from Rawalpindi and Islamabad. However for foreign tourists it is advised to use private transport.
Entry Fee:
There is no entry fee

Visiting Hours:
As this is not ordinary tourist place therefore there are no fixed timings to visit this place – however day time is suitable for such visits

For any kind of travel, tours and tourism Pakistan related query please do write us

26/09/2021

Pakistan celebrates world tourism day - it was a great opportunity for me to exchange some thoughts on the basic issues and their solution. Let us hope we celebrate next tourism day with real time positive changes in the tourism segment of Pakistan.

13/08/2021

01/08/2021

Pakistan is proud to initiate Medical Tourism - Ministry of Health would lead this segment with the partnership of private sector. This would help the patients seeking affordable treatment and at the same time enjoy the culture and heritage of Pakistan.

Medical Tourism in Pakistan
Medical Tourism in Pakistan has always been a focus for the government; however it is now turned into one of the top priorities. Adapting to the new normal, Pakistan is making provision to push ahead with promotion of medical tourism and has already opened up its doors to medical tourists since the last year of 2020. The government of Pakistan now issues 3 months medical visa (extendable) that is a great support for medical tourists to Pakistan. Six Sigma is proud to claim as pioneer and instrumental in promotion of medical tours to Pakistan.
Pakistan has got four seasons with variety of climate options that is an edge for the international patients to choose Pakistan as destination to suit their physical conditions. As per WHO study there are growing numbers of patients seeking treatment within the region and also inter continents. Pakistan is an ideal place for those patients who are travelling to access cheaper and better care, especially from high-income countries to low and middle-income countries. Pakistani doctors are worldwide known to their professional excellence in the field of medicine and public-private sector hospitals are fully equipped to handle all overseas patients. So, all in all, Pakistan is one of the most popular choices for medical treatment.
The private healthcare sector is quite big and now emerging as one of the top medical tourism destinations of the world. Pakistan, with many new hospitals and medical facilities with advantage of the economic conditions and the weak currency is one of the top attractions for more medical tourists across the globe. Pakistan as one of the top tourism destinations with variety of tourist attractions for everyone is a right choice for your medical needs.

15/06/2021

Explore Roof of the World- Pakistan Tourism

Pakistan Tourism - Cradle of Indus, Buddhist and Sikh Civilizations - Pakistan is also "Roof of the World". we specialize in culture and religious tourism.

30/05/2021