Day 1 Karachi
Arrival in Karachi early morning.
For those who arrive early there is a chance to visit some places of interest including the Mausoleum of Quaid e Azam and the Mohatta palace.
Overnight in Karachi
Day 2 Karachi- Thatta – Hyderabad
A day trip to visit Thatta and the Necropolis of Makli Hills, a UNESCO world heritage site. There is also time to visit the Chaukundi tombs and the remains of Bhanbore – the old port where Islam first came to the region.
Then continue on to Hyderabad.
Overnight in Hyderabad
2:30h
164 kms
Day 3 Hyderabad – Ranikot – Manchar Lake – Sehwan Sharif
Drive from Hyderabad to Sehwan Sharif via Ranikot and Manchar Lake.
Sehwan Sharif is an extremely holy shrine which sees visitors from all over Pakistan come to pay their respects to the sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar.
Overnight in Sehwan Sharif
2:11h
145 kms
Day 4 Sehwan Sharif – Moenjadaro – Kot Diji – Sukkur
Moenjadaro is the best preserved city of the Indus Valley people who lived here between 2500 and 1500 BC. The site is divided into three main areas. One contains the main stupa, granary, ritual baths and other communal religious areas, another contains homes of wealthier residents whilst a third contains homes of less wealthy residents. There is also a museum with further artefacts on display.
We will also visit the Kot Diji fort and couple of palaces in Kot Diji.
Overnight in Sukkur
4:24h
265 kms
Day 5 Sukkur – Uch Sharif – Derawar Fort – Multan
Visit the shrines of Uch Sharif before heading out into the Cholistan desert. You will be able to explore the 8th century Derawar Fort before heading to Pakistan’s city of shrines – Multan.
Overnight in Multan
4:59h
432 kms
Day 6 Multan – Harappa – Lahore
From Multan you will drive onwards to Lahore stopping at the Indus Valley site of Harrapa. The site itself offers much less to see compared to Moenjadaro. Much of the brick from Harappa was used by local villagers and by the British for the nearby railway line. We will have time to visit the museum and see what does remain.
Once in Lahore there may be a chance to visit shrines where Sufi mystics spin to the beat of the Dohl drum at night.
Overnight in Lahore
3:57h
338 kms
Days 7 & 8 Lahore
You have two full days in and around Lahore. You will be able to spend time in the narrow alleyways of the old city including the largest medieval mosque in the world. The awesome Badshahi mosque. You will also have the option to visit the Lahore museum, Wazir Khan mosque and Lahore Fort.
We will also head out of Lahore in the afternoon to the Indian border at Wagah to witness the daily flag ceremony. Huge crowds gather to watch the Indian and Pakistani border guards lower their flags.
Overnight in Lahore
Day 9 – Lahore – Peshawar
Drive to Peshawar via UNESCO listed Rohtas Fort.
Rohtas Fort, built in the 16th century at a strategic site in the North of Pakistan, is an exceptional example of early Muslim military architecture in central and south Asia. The main fortifications of this 70-hectare garrison consist of massive masonry walls more than four kilometers in circumference, lined with 68 bastions and pierced at strategic points by 12 monumental gateways.
Overnight in Peshawar
6:08h
521 kms
Day 10 Peshawar
A full day Peshawar. The city was the gateway between the subcontinent and Central Asia and when visiting the old city you can see in the faces and the smells that you have reached the edge of India. Pashtuns, Hazara, Tajik, Chitrali and Uzbek faces all mingle and business is conducted over endless cups of Qawa (cardamon flavoured green tea). As well as an extensive tour of the old city you will be able to visit a workshop that makes Pakistan’s famous decorated trucks.
Overnight in Peshawar.
Day 11 – Islamabad – Takht e Bhai – Taxila – Islamabad
A visit to two more of Pakistan’s UNESCO world heritage sites, Takht e Bhai and Taxila. Both sites are from the Ghandaran period when this region was a Greco-Buddhist kingdom ruled from Taxila. In the centuries that followed Alexander the Great’s conquests, the Ghandaran kingdom mixed Stupas and Buddhist imagery with Greek art and geometry creating the original east-west fusion of cultures and art.
Overnight in Islamabad
2:30h
187 kms
Day 12 – End
Transfer to airport.
End of trip
