Detailed Information About Pakistan
Pakistan at a glance
Full country name: Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Area: 887,700 sq. km (550,374 sq. mi)
Population: 124.8 million
Capital city: Islamabad
People: 56% Punjabi (also Pathans, Baluch, Mohajir, Sindhis)
Language: Urdu (also Punjabi, English and regional dialects)
Religion: 97% Muslim, 3% Christian and Hindu
Government: Democracy
Prime Minister: Nawaz Sharif

Economic profile
GDP: US$282 billion
GDP per head: US$434
Annual growth: 4.7%
Inflation: 12.2%
Major industries: agriculture, textiles, cement, fertilizers and steel
Major trading partners: Japan, USA, Germany and UK

Traveling information
Visas: Visas are required by nationals from most European and English-speaking countries. A Pakistan visa allows you to enter the country up to six months from the date you get it, and stay up to three months from the date you enter. However, if you stay longer than 30 days you are required to register at a foreigners' registration office; these are in the larger towns and cities.
Health risks: dengue fever, hepatitis A, malaria and, in rural areas, Japanese encephalitis.
Currency: Pakistani rupee
Exchange rate: US$ 1 = Rs 44.5
Relative costs: Time: GMT/UTC plus five hours
Electricity: 220V, 50 Hz
Tourism: 424,000 visitors

Environment
Pakistan's neighbours are an eclectic and ornery bunch: Iran to the south-west; Afghanistan to the west and north; China to the north-east; and India stretching down its eastern side. The southern coast abuts the Arabian Sea. The country is composed of towering peaks in the north (including the second-highest mountain in the world, 8611m/28,245ft K2), dry and scrubby mountains in the west, an inhospitable plateau in the south-west, barren deserts in the south-east and alluvial plains everywhere else. These plains, constituting about a third of the country, are Pakistan's `heart', where most of its people live and most of its food is grown. Coursing through all this tumult is the Indus River, which falls from Tibet then travels 2500km (1550mi) south before emptying through an immense delta into the Arabian Sea.

 Natural fauna in Pakistan's lowlands is patchy - mostly scattered clumps of grass and stunted woodlands. However, as the landscape rises, there are quite large coniferous forests and carpeted slopes of multicoloured flowers in the northern mountains. Fauna includes bear, snow leopard, deer and jackal. Pakistan's 800km (500mi) of coastline teems with shark, shellfish and sea turtle, while the Indus delta is home to the marsh crocodile.

 Pakistan has three seasons: cool (October through February); hot (March through June); and wet (July through September). There are, however, big regional variations. In the south, the cool season brings dry days and cool nights, while the northern mountains get drizzle and plummeting night-time temperatures. The hot season means suffocatingly hot and humid conditions in the south but pleasant temperatures northwards. During the wet season, the tail end of the monsoon dumps steady rain mostly in the narrow belt of the Punjab from Lahore to Islamabad. But further north, the high mountains block all but the most determined clouds, which means relatively little rain falls there (budding trekkers please take note).


Attractive Places in Pakistan

Karachi

Pakistan's commercial centre and largest city is a sprawling place of bazaars, hi-tech electronic shops, scurf-infested older buildings and modish new hotels. Its sights are spread far and wide so a taxi or rickshaw is necessary to travel between them.

 A good place to start is the Quaid-i-Azam Mausoleum, a monument to Pakistan's founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah which can be charitably described as distinctive. More impressive is the remarkable white-marbled Defence Housing Society Mosque. The single dome, claimed to be the largest of its kind in the world, will make your gum cleave to the roof of your mouth. Above the mosque is Honeymoon Lodge, birthplace of the Aga Khan. Other sights include the Holy Trinity Cathedral and St Andrew's Church (both good examples of Anglo-Indian architecture), the city's zoo, and the Zoroastrian Towers of Silence, hills where the dead are traditionally exposed to vultures. South of the city is Clifton, a former British hangout and now an exclusive coastal corner for the local wealthy, the popular but rather drab Clifton Beach, and Manora Island, a less-crowded beach resort.

 Saddar, the city centre, is the main shopping area with thriving markets selling carpets, fur coats, leather jackets, snake-skin purses, silk scarves and the country's biggest range of handicrafts. It also has a number of food stalls and cheap restaurants and the majority of budget hotels. Nightlife in Karachi is an oxymoron.

 If travel outside of Karachi is possible, then the archaeological site of Moenjodaro - once a city of an Indus Valley civilisation - and the Chaukundi tombs are well worth a visit.

Lahore

The capital of Punjab is Pakistan's cultural, educational and artistic centre and easily the most visited city in the country. With its refuge of shady parks and gardens, its clash of Moghul and colonial architecture, and the exotic thrill of its congested streets and bazaars, it's not hard to see why. A collection of some of the city's attractions include: The Mall, an area of parks and buildings with a decidedly British bent; Lahore Museum, the best and biggest museum in the country; Kim's Gun, the cannon immortalised in Kipling's classic Kim; Aitchison College, an achingly beautiful public school that boasts Imran Khan as a former pupil; Lahore Fort, filled with stately palaces, halls and gardens; and the Old City, where a procession of rickshaws, pony carts, hawkers and veiled women fill the narrow lanes. The city has too many tombs, mosques and mausoleums too mention.

Around Punjab

Punjab is Pakistan's most fertile province, rich in both agriculture and ancient history. It's also one of the more stable of the country's regions, and travellers should have few of the problems that are faced further south and in the north.

 The prosperous and hospitable town of Bahawalpur is a gentle introduction to the area. From here you can journey into Cholistan - a sandy wasteland dotted with nomadic communities and wind-swept forts - or the Lal Suhanra National Park, an important wildlife reserve. Further north is Harappa which is, after Moenjodaro, the second most important site of the Indus Valley civilisation.
 

 Rawalpindi and the country's capital, Islamabad, are twin cities. The former is a patchwork of bustling bazaars while the latter is subdued, suburban and still being built (construction of the new capital didn't begin until 1961). From here you can visit Taxila, an archaeological repository, and Hasan Abdul, a place of holy pilgrimmage.
 

Quetta

The capital and only place of any size in the parched, barren province of Baluchistan may be light on ancient monuments but it's fit to bursting with a vigorous blend of peoples, wide tree-lined boulevards and sterling British architecture. Even more compelling, Quetta has a dramatic setting, with a mountainous backdrop on all sides. And unlike Karachi, most sights can be easily walked in a day. Don't miss the impressive Archaeological Museum of Baluchistan, the fort or the city's many colourful bazaars - great places to pick up marble, onyx and some of the finest carpets in Pakistan.

 Just outside Quetta are the postcard-perfect Hanna Lake, plenty of picnic spots in Urak Valley, and the protected Hazarganji Chiltan National Park. Also near Quetta is the refreshingly cool hill station of Ziarat, which is both a restful destination and a good base for walking or mountaineering.
 

Azad Jammu & Kashmir

The main asset of the disputed territories of Jammu and Kashmir is their natural beauty - unfortunately, Pakistan's 16km (10mi) security zone means most of the truly scenic parts are now off limits. What's left is Neelum Valley, famous for fishing and trekking, Jhelum Valley, site of hill stations and more good walks, and forested highlands to the south. However, even these areas may be out of bounds, depending on the political climate at the time; make sure to check restrictions before you travel.

North-West Frontier Province

Impenetrable mountains, intractable people, and impossibly romantic cities are just some of the reasons why the North-Western Frontier Province is perhaps the most memorable of Pakistan's destinations.

 Most visits begin in Peshawar, the rough and ready provincial capital. The highlight here is the Old City - a brawl of vendors selling everything from tribal jewellery to leather pistol holsters. Clopping horse-drawn tongas choke the streets which are thick with fearsome-looking Pashtuns - members of a vast tribal society - Afghans and Chitrali. A short distance outside Peshawar (but a million miles away) is the Smugglers Bazaar. It's definitely not what you'd expect: turbanned merchants in tents have been replaced by Westernised malls stocking the latest TVs, VCRs and refrigerators. There's even a shop flogging Marks & Spencer's merchandise. The fabled Khyber Pass, sprinkled with tiny army forts, is nearby.

North of Peshawar is the district of Swat, reckoned to have the loveliest scenery in Pakistan's northern valleys, and Chitral, a relatively unspoilt area of lush valleys, hot springs and great walks. Vertigo sufferers should steer clear of Indus Koshitan to the west, a land of colossal peaks and bottomless canyons with more good walks.

The Northern Areas

The Northern Areas see few travellers but those that brave the unruly terrain normally end up in Gilgit, the capital. There's not much in the city, save a bazaar that's full of Central Asian traders, but it's an excellent base for alpine walks, trout fishing and pottering about for historical ruins in the countryside. Baltistan, once an unexplored dead end, is now privvy to world-class mountaineering, fine treks and lovely scenery. More accessible and just as striking - check out the irrigated terraces rippling down the slopes - is the region of Hunza, Nagar & Gojal towards the Chinese border.
 

Off the Beaten Track

Little-visited Multan, in the lower Punjab, is claimed to be the oldest surviving city on the subcontinent, dating back some 4000 years. Once an important centre of Islam, it has since attracted more mystics, holy men and saints than you can shake a shalwar qamiz at. Today Multan is dominated by their tombs and shrines, a fort that affords superlative views over the city, and one of the best bazaars in Pakistan - those not converted by Anita Roddick might like to snap up the skin potion, made from lizards, which is said to be an excellent revitaliser.

 Missionaries, anthropolgists and Duddley Do-rights come to the Kalash Valleys, south of Chitral, for one thing - to gawp at a non-Muslim tribe (yes, you read correctly) that lives there. The people refer to themselves as Kalasha, live in solid houses made of wood, stone and mud, and quietly go about their pastoral lives raising grains and herding the odd goat. Amazingly, they seem unfussed by all the attention and seem to welcome interested Western observers.

 The Nanga Parbat massif (the name means `Naked Mountain' in Kashmiri), in the southernmost part of the Northern Areas, has a 4500m (14,760ft) wall that is so steep even snow refuses to stick. The same can be said of a large number of climbers - they've been dropping from the scene for years. Beside it is a stomach-churning track that climbs up a valley and then over a pass. It regularly claimed jeeps over the side until the route was improved in 1987. Undaunted? Last one to the top is a rotten egg.

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