Tourism serves three main purposes:
i. Research and fact finding.
ii. Attainment of knowledge and information.
iii. Recreation.
Pakistan offers an enormous treasure of tourist attractions to satisfy all these needs. Tourist attractions in Pakistan can be divided into three main categories;
i. Archaeological treasure.
ii. Historical buildings.
iii. Health and recreation resorts.
Archaeological sites, so far unearthed in Pakistan, are the source of great attraction for the students and researchers from all over the world; we shall discuss these in chapter 6 of this book. In this chapter we shall try to have bird's eye view of the health and recreation resorts.
Mountains located in the northern part of Pakistan remain snow-capped throughout the year. Due to extreme cold in the months from November to February the bustle of life gives way to a frigid inactivity. In extremely cold areas people leave their homes and migrate to lowlands along with their cattle and essential household belongings. As the spring sets in bustle of life starts showing up again, people return to their homes and tourists from all over the country, as well as from abroad make way to these areas in great numbers. Most of the hill resorts in the provinces of the Punjab and the KPK are six to eight thousand feet high; they have scenic beauty and extremely pleasant weather conditions.
Murree and Patriata are the most attractive hill stations in the province of Punjab, moving higher within a radius of sixty to seventy km Ayubia, Khanaspur and Nathiagali are the panoramic hill stations located in the KPK.
Beautiful valleys of Kaghan and Swat also lie in the KPK. Located near Naran is the Lake Saif-ul-Malook, one of the most ravishing high altitude lakes in the world, Shugran and Siri Paya are the other tourist attractions located in the same vicinity. In the valley of Swat, Saidu Sharif, Marghzar, Behrein and Kalam are the well-known tourist attractions. Malam Jabba and Mian Dam are emerging as comparatively new hill retreats in the same area.
The traveler with some knowledge of history, while pulling through those historical routs of Pakistan would experience that he has become a part of the remote ages, now warped in the haze of history and myth. The serpentine road that enters Pakistan at Torkham, passing through the dry hillocks around the Khyber Pass has been the most ancient route of the conquerors and trade caravans. The Aryans the Scythians, the Parthians, the Greeks, the Bactrians, the Kushans, the Huns, the Turks, the Mongols and the Mughals entered south Asia through these routes.
Peshawar, the headquarters of the KPK is an ancient city famous for the Balahisar Fort, engraved copper utensils, waistcoats, sandals decorated with embroidery and glasswork and its bazaars filled with the mouthwatering redolence of Chapali Kababs, the most remarkable of these bazars, the Kissa Khani, is now a living legend.
The Greek conqueror, Alexander the Great, crossed the Indus at place slightly downstream the point where the Attock Bridge now stands. Pulling through from Peshawar, Taxila is locate sixteen km short of Islamabad. The city of Taxila and its suburbs preserve the remains of the magnificent Buddhist ruler Ashoka and the later period.
Ancient city of Peshawar, the KPK headquarters, has always remained an object of special interest for historians and researchers. In the Punjab, cities like Lahore, Multan, Bahawalpur, Kasur and many small townships like Bhera (district Sargodha) enjoy the same historic position.
Valley of Sakesar is a beautiful health resort in the district of Khushab. Kallar Kahar, "the valley of Peacocks" is attracting more and more people after the opening of the Lahore- Islamabad Motorway, but there is a long way to go before it acquires the position of a developed tourist resort. Karachi, the capital of Sind province has a moderate coastal climate; it is neither very cold in winters nor very hot in summers. Tourists from within the country like to visit Karachi during winters, because summers in the plains of Pakistan are extremely hot. Clifton and Hawkes Bay are the ravishing coastal tourist attractions, so is Manora an offshore beautiful island near Karachi. Manchar and Haliji lakes are the important tourist attractions in the interior Sind.
Ziarat is the most important health resort in the province of Baluchistan. The Quaid-e- Azam spent the last days of his life at this place. There are many other tourist resorts near Quetta; Hanna Lake is one of them.
K-2, world's second highest mountains peak is a part of the Karakorum Range in the north of Pakistan. K-2 offers a challenge to mountain climbers because it is technically the world's most difficult climbing, even more difficult than the highest Mount Everest. In Chitral, there are three valleys Bamboret, Rambur and Birir inhabited by the Kafirs of Kalash. The fascinating valley of Hunza is as full of life as the people who inhabit it. The Hunzakuts are noted for their longevity. The old trade route between Pakistan and China known as the Silk Route' has now been revived as the Karakoram Highway. This is one of the highest metalled roads in the world.
Lahore, the heart of the East is an illustrious cultural and spiritual centre. The great mystic Hazrat Mujadid Alf-e-Sani gave it the name of 'the Qutab of cities'. (Qutab is a very high rank among the mystic orders). Most remarkable among the monuments of Lahore are the Badshahi Masjid, Shahi Qala, and tombs of Jahangir and Noor Jehan. The beautiful Mall, now known as the 'Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Azam' reminds of the days of British imperialism. Put up on the side of the mall are impressive structures of churches, Government College (now Government College University) and the University of the Punjab. Facing the old University building is the Lahore Museum. Canon Zamzama or the "Kims Gun" immortalized by Kipling is set in the centre of the Mall between the University and the Museum buildings.
Travelling through the lush green Punjab to the ancient Harappa, then passing through the desert areas of the province we reach the Madina-tul-Aulia (the city of the saints) Multan, pulling through the date palms oasis clustering round the historic city of Bahawalpur, moving down on the Pakistan Highway and touching, the, somewhat, off-road Moenjo- Daro we advance towards Karachi, the cosmopolitan capital of Sind and Pakistan's largest city. Tourists enjoy camel ride on Karachi beaches and take pleasure in the sight of endless ocean. Other cultural sites of Sind like Thatta and Bhambor are not far away from Karachi. On the other side there is Islamabad the headquarters of Pakistan's federal government, located in the midst of lush green Margalla Hills. Islamabad, one of the most modern capital cities in the world, is known for its elegant government offices, the Faisal Masjid, educational institution and the breath taking beauty of its parks and excursion sites. Nature has endowed Pakistan with endless treasure of natural beauty, but due to paucity of resources we have not yet been able to develop our tourist sites up to international standards.
Developed up to world class standards, our sites, definitely have a potential to attract great number of tourists from all over the world, by doing this we shall enhance our foreign exchange earnings and introduce ourselves as a peace loving country with rich traditions of civilized life.
