Best Places to Visit in Pakistan: 15 Places, From the Karakoram to the Indus
Pakistan's best places run from the Karakoram to the Indus plains: Hunza's forts and Attabad Lake, Skardu and the palaces of Shigar and Khaplu, the Deosai plateau, Fairy Meadows below Nanga Parbat, the trek to K2, and the Khunjerab Pass in the north; Islamabad and Mughal Lahore in the middle; and six UNESCO World Heritage Sites, from Taxila to Mohenjo-daro. Most international visitors pair Islamabad and Lahore with a week or more in the mountains. Here are fifteen places worth the journey, and how to fit them together.
Gilgit-Baltistan: the mountain north
The reason most travellers come. Fly from Islamabad to Skardu or Gilgit, and the valleys are a day's drive apart.
- Hunza: terraced orchards below Rakaposhi and Ultar, the Baltit Fort, more than 700 years old and restored by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, and the Altit Fort above the river.
- Attabad Lake and the Passu Cones: a turquoise lake formed by a landslide on 4 January 2010, and the saw-toothed spires of Tupopdan (6,106 m) above Passu.
- Skardu: the capital of Baltistan, at about 2,230 m, with the Kachura lakes, the Shangrila resort and the Katpana cold desert by the airport.
- Shigar: the 17th-century Shigar Fort, restored by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and now a heritage hotel, at the start of the road to K2.
- Khaplu: Khaplu Palace, built in 1840 and reopened as a heritage residence in 2011, in the green Ghanche valley east of Skardu.
- Deosai National Park: a plateau averaging 4,114 m, protected since 1993 for its Himalayan brown bears, carpeted with flowers in July and August.
- Fairy Meadows: a meadow at about 3,300 m facing Nanga Parbat (8,126 m), the ninth-highest mountain on earth, reached by jeep and a short trek.
- K2 and Concordia: the trek up the Baltoro Glacier to the foot of K2 (8,611 m), about 13 days on foot, and for many the greatest mountain walk on earth.
- Khunjerab Pass: the border with China at 4,693 m, the highest paved international border crossing, at the top of the Karakoram Highway.
- Naltar Valley: pine forest and vividly coloured lakes above Gilgit in summer, and Pakistan's oldest ski slopes in winter.
Islamabad and Lahore
Islamabad, the capital since 1967, is where most journeys begin: green, orderly and backed by the Margalla Hills, with the Faisal Mosque, designed by the Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay and completed in 1986, at their foot. Walk the hill trails or watch the city from the Daman-e-Koh viewpoint.
Lahore is Pakistan's cultural capital. Its Fort and the Shalimar Gardens, laid out for Shah Jahan in 1641–42, together form a UNESCO World Heritage Site; the Badshahi Mosque, built for Aurangzeb in 1671–73, faces the fort across a square; and the Walled City keeps six of its old gates and the tiled Wazir Khan Mosque. Come between October and March.
Pakistan's UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Pakistan has six, all cultural. Four are easy to add to a trip through Islamabad, Lahore or Karachi.
- Taxila (1980): the ruined cities and Buddhist monasteries of ancient Gandhara, about 30 km from Islamabad.
- Lahore Fort and Shalimar Gardens (1981): Mughal Lahore at its finest.
- Rohtas Fort (1997): a vast fortress begun by Sher Shah Suri in 1541, with about 4 km of walls, near Jhelum.
- Makli, Thatta (1981): tombs from the 14th to 18th centuries, one of the largest necropolises in the world, about 100 km from Karachi.
- Mohenjo-daro (1980): a planned city of the Indus civilisation, built around 2500 BC, near Larkana in Sindh. Visit in winter.
- Takht-i-Bahi (1980): a hilltop Buddhist monastery near Mardan, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (see the travel advice below).
Beautiful, but check the advice first
Some of Pakistan's loveliest places are in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: the Swat valley and Malam Jabba, Chitral and the Kalash valleys, whose spring festival of Chilam Joshi falls in mid-May and which joined Pakistan's UNESCO tentative list in 2026. As of October 2026, the US State Department advises against all travel to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and the UK against all travel to Swat and on the road to Chitral and the Kalash valleys. Read the current advice before you plan them, and check what your insurance covers.
How to fit it together
With ten days, do what our Grand Circuit does: fly to Gilgit for Hunza, Attabad and the Khunjerab Pass, cross the Deosai plateau to Skardu in summer, then see Shigar, the lakes and Khaplu before flying out of Skardu. With two weeks, add Lahore and Taxila at the start or end. With three, add the K2 Base Camp trek, or Fairy Meadows and Deosai in summer. For when to go, see our month-by-month guide.
Ten days from Hunza and the Khunjerab Pass across Deosai to Skardu, Shigar and Khaplu.
Open →The forts, the orchards and Attabad Lake.
Open →Baltistan's capital: lakes, deserts and the road to K2.
Open →When each region is at its best, month by month.
Open →Questions, answered
What are the best places to visit in Pakistan?
In the north: Hunza, Attabad Lake, Skardu, Shigar, Khaplu, Deosai, Fairy Meadows, the K2 trek and the Khunjerab Pass. In the cities: Islamabad and Lahore. And the six UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including Taxila, Rohtas Fort and Mohenjo-daro.
What is the most beautiful place in Pakistan?
Most travellers' shortlist starts in Gilgit-Baltistan: Hunza's valley under Rakaposhi, Concordia at the foot of K2, and Fairy Meadows facing Nanga Parbat. For architecture, nothing beats Lahore's Badshahi Mosque and Fort.
How many UNESCO World Heritage Sites does Pakistan have?
Six: Mohenjo-daro, Taxila and Takht-i-Bahi (all inscribed in 1980), Makli and the Lahore Fort and Shalimar Gardens (1981), and Rohtas Fort (1997).
How many days do you need in Pakistan?
Ten days covers the north by air: Skardu, Shigar, Khaplu, Hunza and the Khunjerab Pass. Two weeks lets you add Lahore and Taxila, and three weeks the K2 Base Camp trek.