Pakistan – Into the Mighty North

The highlights

• Shah Faisal Mosque and Islamabad Sightseeing

  The Shah Faisal Mosque, once the largest in the world and modelled on a vast Bedouin tent, anchors a full day of exploration in Islamabad. The itinerary also takes in the Pakistan Monument, Shakar Parian Park, and the Lok Virsa heritage museum. Crossing into Punjab, the Raja Bazaar area in Rawalpindi delivers a sensory explosion of colour and commerce before a final stop at the hillside viewpoint of Daman-e-Koh.

• Asoka Rock Edicts at Manshera

  A stop near Manshera reveals intricately etched rock edicts dating to the 3rd century BC, written in the ancient Indic script of Gandhara culture. The site has been submitted for UNESCO World Heritage status and offers a tangible connection to the Maurya Empire. The day also passes through Hasan Abdal, renowned for its tradition of colourfully decorated truck-art painting.

• Buddhist Petroglyphs Along the Indus Gorge

  As the Karakoram Highway hugs the steep walls of the Indus gorge, travellers stop to examine Buddhist petroglyphs left by invaders, traders, and pilgrims along the ancient trade route. The earliest carvings date back to between 5,000 and 1,000 BC, depicting animals, triangular human figures, and hunting scenes, engraved with primitive stone tools and covered in thick patina. Great egrets and potentially ultra-rare Siberian cranes can be spotted overhead along the same stretch.

• Deosai National Park and Plateau

  A day trip climbs to the Deosai National Park, one of the highest plateaus in the world at 4,114m, protecting 3,000 square kilometres of Karakoram–West Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe. En route, a stop at Satpara Lake provides opportunities to spot Himalayan marmots, and Sheosar Lake offers clear reflections of the dramatic surrounding peaks. In spring the plateau is blanketed in wildflowers and visited by a wide variety of butterflies.

• Shigar Valley, Skardu Fort, and Katpana Desert

  A side excursion explores the Shigar Valley's small villages, all overlooked by the 16th-century Skardu Fort, which commands panoramic views of the valley and Karakoram Range. The nearby Katpana Desert — one of the world's highest cold deserts — presents silky grey dunes that appear incongruous within the surrounding mountain terrain. Shigar Fort, a 17th-century boulder-and-wood structure recently restored, offers lunch in its gardens alongside a rushing stream.

• Khaplu Palace and Chaqchan Mosque

  A three-hour drive along the braided Shyok River delivers travellers to the fortified settlement of Khaplu, sheltered in the crook of the Karakoram Mountains. Lunch is taken at the wonderfully restored Khaplu Palace, followed by a tour of the palace complex and the 700-year-old Chaqchan Mosque, described as a cream-washed and wooden-framed gem of architecture. A walk to a nearby viewpoint opens up rank after rank of high-altitude ranges, with the possibility of sighting Masherbrum (7,821m).