Ancient Civilization of Pakistan

(1 Review)
12 Days
Availability : October - February
Karachi
Islamabad
Introduction

 

Pakistan is known as a cradle of civilization. The Indus civilization developed around 3,000 be and flourished for a period of about fifteen hundred years. The Aryans, who arrived from central Asia around 1,700, bc, displacing the Indus civilization and bringing Hinduism to the region. 1200 years later, the Aryans yielded in turn to the armies of Cyrus the great, and the Indus region became a part of his Achaemenid.

Departure & Return Location

Islamabad International Airport (Google Map)https://goo.gl/maps/J7yGR5AijgHGQBDc7

Departure Time

3 Hours Before Flight Time

Price Includes

  • Hotel Accommodation
  • Tour Guide
  • Entrance Fees
  • All transportation in destination location

Price Excludes

  • International / Domestic airfare and airport tax. Excess weight.
  • Main meals and extras at hotels like drinks, laundry, phone calls. Insurance liability and other under force majeure conditions, medical aid
  • Any Private Expenses
  • Room Service Fees
  • Staff Tips

Complementaries

  • Umbrella
  • Sunscreen
  • T-Shirt
  • Entrance Fees
What to Expect
  • Visit Moenjo-Daro
  • Visit city of saints, Multan.
  • Experience Mughal’s Lahore
  • Explore all major cities of Pakistan
  • Going to see Gandhara Civilization
  • more then 5000 years old Indus civilization (harappa & Mohonjodaro)
Itinerary

Day 1 Arrive Karachi

A representative of Karakorum Adventures will meet you outside customs and immigration at Karachi international airport. After the introduction, he will brief you on immediate arrangements and accompany you to the Hotel.

Day 2Exploring Karachi

In the afternoon we will set out to explore Pakistan largest metropolitan city with population of above 20 Million. Although Karachi lost its crown as Pakistan’s capital to upstart Islamabad and the country’s [cultural elite look towards Lahore, Karachi is the undisputed heart of the nation’s economy. A true world megacity, greater Karachi is spread over an ever-expanding 3500 sq. km and population of over 20 Million
Sights
Karachi is known as the ‘City of the Quaid’, for Pakistan’s founder, Mohammed Ali Jinnah (also called the Quaid-i-Azam, or ‘Great Leader’), who died here in 1948. There are several sights linked to him, plus a variety of museums and British-era buildings.
National Museum of Pakistan
Pakistan’s history, from early man to Independence, is well represented at this museum.
The main galleries are upstairs. After a quick survey of Stone Age axes from Sukkur! and Rohri, the museum gets into its stride with displays of some of the finest Indian Valley civilisation Artifacts. The 6000-year old pottery from Mehrgarh is quite lovely and surprisingly delicate, and is followed up by a room dedicated to Moenjodaro and Harappa. The iconic ‘priest-king’ bust is just one of many highlights, alongside a large array of fertility goddess cult figures, jewelery and seals covered with the mysterious Moenjodaro script.
The next room shifts the focus forward to Buddhist Pakistan, with displays of Gandharan art and an array of carved schist statues, mainly from Taxila and Takht-i-Bai The Islamic room next door has a small section on the early Arab settlements of Debal and Mansura, but is poorly labelled and only the 13th-century pottery from Persia really stands out.
The ‘Freedom Movement’ gallery has a collection of photos, paintings and newspaper articles relating to the Independence movement. Other rooms have items of ethnological interest, including regional costumes from across Pakistan, traditional jewellery, militaria and wooden burial totems from the Kalasha valleys in
North-West Frontier Province.
Quaid-i-Azam Mausoleum
This elegant mausoleum is both a monument and tomb to Jinnah. It’s a starkly modernist building! pointing both to Pakistan’s past and future. An unadorned white marble cube is pierced on each side by a high and narrow arch, and I then topped with a semicircular dome raised 31m high. Built between 1958 and 1968, the simple design works surprisingly well, and sits on a square pyramidal platform in the middle of a spacious park.
Overnight in Hotel.

Day 3Drive to Larkana Visit Thatta enroute

We will be covering 500 KM today so we will depart early in the morning toward Larkana enroute we will visit Chakundi, Thatta and shrine of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai then continue onwards to Larkana.
Thatta
Once a large and prosperous city, Thatta declined after the Indus changed course in the early 18th century. According to some jtccounts, Alexander the Great’s army rested here before marching on into the Makran. In the 14th century, Thatta Remained as capital of Sindh under four Muslim dynasties and as a center for Islamic arts. However, ln 1739 the capital was moved to Khudabad, then to Hyderabad.
Makli Hill
A vast necropolis, a couple of kilometres before Thatta on the road from Karachi, covers some 15 sq km of this hill and is said to contain over one million graves. The graves consist of mainly sandstone, exquisitely carved with geometric and floral designs like those at Chaukundi. Among the more significant tombs is that of Turkhan ruler Mirza Jani Beg. It was built in 1599 and is made of glazed bricks. North of this is the imposing Mausoleum of Nawab Isa Khan, former Mughal governor of Sindh. The Mausoleum of Diwan Shurfa Khan, built in 1638, is slightly to the northwest, a square structure with squat round towers at each corner. A couple of kilometres north, the Tomb of Jam Nizamuddin is a 16th-century square stone building.
Ziarat of Shah Abdul Latif
This important mausoleum and pilgrimage site, located in the village of Bhit Shah, about 40km north of Hyderabad, honours popular Sindhi poet and Sufi saint Abdul Latif (1689- 1752). The mausoleum is covered with beautiful blue-and-white tile work, the specialty of the neighbouring town of Hala. It’s also the focus for huge gatherings of pilgrims during the saint’s urs (death anniversary festival), generally held around April.
Overnight in Hotel.

Day 4Visit Mohenjo-Daro and Kot Diji

Visit Mohenjo-Daro and Kot Diji
Today we will have excursions to Mohenjo Daro, best preserved Indus civilization and Kot Diji biggest fort in Asia.
Mohenjo Daro
Over 165 sites related to the Indus Valley civilisation have been described by archaeologists, but World Heritage-listed Moenjodaro is the undisputed jewel in the crown.
About 4000 BC, when the Mesopotamian civilisation flourished on the Euphrates, Moenjodaro began to develop as one of the great cities of the Indus Valley civilisation. The quality of the architecture and town planning was exceptional. Mohenjo Daro (meaning ‘Mound of the Dead’) thrived roughly from 2500-1500 BC with a population believed to have reached at least 50,000.
Fort Kot Diji
This is the site of a pre-Indus Valley civilisation town dating from around 3500-2500 BC. Little is known of its history or inhabitants. Some archaeologists claim it ended its days in a great conflagration, possibly at the hands of the Moenjodarans, who appear to have adopted many features of its layout and architecture. Little of visual interest remains of the original settlement, and Kot Diji main tourist attraction is its fort.
Overnight in Hotel.

Day 5Drive to Multan visit Uch sharif enroute

Leave Larkana early in the morning towards Multan, the city of saintAfter a short Diversion through to Uch sharif, we will drive to Multan, which is a historical city and is known as city of saints.
Uch Sharif
Uch, 75 km from Bahawalpur, is a very old town, it is believed that it existed even in 500 B.C. Some historians believe that Uch was there even before the advent of Bikramajit when Jains and Bhudhists ruled over sub continent. At the time of the invasion by Alexander the Great, Uch was under Hindu rule. Some historians say that Alexander came to Uch after conquering northern parts of India and spent over a fortnight in the city and renamed it Alexandariya. Some have mentioned Uch by the name of Sikandara or Iskalanda. They have decided it as the most flourishing and beautiful town perched upon the Plateau near the confluence of the Chanab and Rave rivers. Famous shrines existing at Uch include those of Hazrat Bahawal Haleem, Hazrat Jalal-ud-din Surkh Bokhari, Makhdoom Jahanian Jahangasht, Bibi Jawindi and Sheikh Saif-ud-din Ghazrooni etc.
Overnight in Hotel. Full Board.

Day 06 - Multan city tour

The largest town of lower Punjab and the centre of Pakistan’s main cotton-growing area, Multan is noted for its remarkable shrines and mosques.
Little is known of Multan’s pre-Islamic history, although it’s thought to date back some 4000 years. Alexander the Great is believed to have captured it around 324 BC. In AD 641 Chinese traveller Xuan Zang recorded a magnificent Hindu temple to Shiva, of which there is now no trace. This and other Hindu shrines made Multan an important pilgrimage centre even before the Islamic era. The Sanskrit Rig- Veda is believed to have been written here.
Multan was the first town of Punjab to be captured by Muhammad bin Qasim (in 711). Ruled at the time by a Brahmin dynasty, it eventually became a major Islamic centre. Since then it has attracted more mystics and holy men than perhaps anywhere else on the subcontinent and today is dominated by their shrines and tombs.
Mausoleum Of Sheikh Rukn-I-Alam
Lying just inside the main entrance to the fort, this masterpiece of Mughal architecture is the most significant and attractive of Multan’s shrines. A pious and widely loved scholar, Rukn-ud-Din Abul Fatah (1251-1334), commonly known as Sheikh Rukn-i-Alam (Pillar of the World), became head of the Suhrawardiya Sufi branch introduced to the region by his father Baha-ud-Din Zakaria, and is regarded as the patron saint of Multan.
Mausoleum Of Baha-Ud-Din Zakaria
Just near the Mausoleum of Sheikh Rukn-j. Alam, the Mausoleum of Baha-ud-Din Zakaria (1182-1262), father of Rukn-i-Alam, was built in 1263. A disciple of the Sufi mystic Hazrat Shahabuddin Umar Suhrawardy of Jerusalem, he introduced the Suhrawardiya branch to the subcontinent and founded a university in Multan. His tomb was badly damaged in 1848 but was later restored. The brick building has a square base and an octagonal second storey supporting a dome, and is decorated with blue tiles and Arabic inscriptions.
Mausoleum Of Shams-Ud-Din Sabzwari
On the dry bed of the Ravi River, less than 1 km northeast of the fort, the shrine of Shams-ud- Din Sabzwari (Shams Tabrez), who is believed to have lived from 1165 to 1276, was founded by his grandson in 1330 and rebuilt by more distant descendants in about 1780.
One of the most enduring legends about the many miracles of Shams Tabrez is that he moved the sun closer to himself, hence making Multan the hot and dusty city it is today (shams means sun in Arabic). Whether or not the saint has been forgiven for this action, his tomb attracts vast numbers of devotees on his urs, held on 14-16 Rabusani.
Overnight in Hotel. Full Board.

Day 07 Drive to Lahore Visit Harappa enroute

We will drive to Lahore today enroute visiting Harappa, second Indus civilization on our route.
Harappa
Harappa dates back to the 3rd millennium BC and is the second most important Indus’ Valley civilisation site, but it’s not nearly as well preserved as Mohenjo Daro. This, combined with the difficulty in reaching it, means that those without a special interest may be disappointed. On the flip side, some travellers come here purely to soak up the site’s tranquil setting.
Overnight in Hotel. Full Board.

Day 08 Lahore city tour

Lahore may not be Pakistan’s capital city; it wins hands down as its cultural, intellectual and artistic hub. Is history and architecture are your passion there’s an evocative mix, from formidable Mughal monuments to faded legacies of the British Raj. Indeed, even a ramble around the old city can unfold into a mini adventure. For these in search of spiritual sustenance, Lahore has Qawwali and Sufism that will blow your mind.
Sights
Lahore Fort (Shahi Qila)
Built, damaged, demolished, rebuilt and restored several times before being given its current form by Emperor Akbar in 1566 (when he made Lahore his capital), the Lahore Fort is the star attraction o f the Old City.
The fort was modified by Jehangir in 1618 and later damaged by the Sikhs and the British, although it has now been partially restored. Within it is a succession of stately palaces, halls and gardens built by Mughal emperors Akbar, Jehangir, Shahjahan and Aurangzeb, comparable to and contemporary with the other great Mughal forts at Delhi and Agra in India. It’s believed that the site conceals some of Lahore’s most ancient remains. The fort has an appealing ‘abandoned’ atmosphere (unless it’s packed with visitors) and although not as elaborate as most of India’s premier forts, it’s still a fabulous place to simply wander around.
Badshahi Mosque
Completed in 1674 under Aurangzeb as the Mughals final architectural fling, the sublime Badshahi Mosque, opposite the main gateway to the Lahore Fort, is one of the world’s largest mosques. Replete with huge gateways, four tapering minarets of red sandstone, three vast marble domes and an open courtyard said to hold up to 100,000 people, it was damaged by the British and later restored. The rooms above the entrance gate are said to house hairs of the Prophet Mohammed and other relics. The mosque looks lovely when it’s illuminated in the evening.
In the courtyard stands the Tomb of Allama Mohammed Iqbal, a modest memorial in red sandstone to the philosopher-poet who in the 1930s first postulated the idea of an independent Pakistan.
Shalimar Gardens
To the northeast of town, about 4km from the main train station, this was one of three gardens named Shalimar Gardens created by Shah Jahan in the 17th century. It’s also the only surviving Mughal garden of several built in Lahore. The gardens are now rather run-down and a far cry from their former glory, but they’re still popular with locals. The walled gardens were laid out in a central tier with two smaller and lower ones to either side, with a pool of corresponding size, in keeping with the mathematical principles o f Mughal design. Visitors originally entered at the lowest level and walked up through successive gardens illuminated by hundreds of candles housed in chini khanas (niches).
Overnight in Hotel. Full Board.

Day 09 Drive to Islamabad

We will drive to Islamabad on the way we will visit many cities of Upper Punjab.
On arrival transfer to Hotel.
Overnight in Hotel. Full Board.

Day 10 Islamabad Sightseeing

Discover the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Rawalpindi is an old British-era settlement and Islamabad is the capital city and administrative centre built sometime after the partition of India in elevation in 1947. The cities are Located at about 1,500 feet in elevation in the hot and steamy plains of Pakistan’s upper Punjab. You may wish to explore Rawalpindi by wandering among its many and varied bazaars, or visit the imposing Shah Faisal Mosque superbly situated at the foot of the Margalla Hills. This mosque is one of the largest in the world, with room for 15,000 worshippers inside and 85,000 in the courtyard.
Overnight in Hotel. Full Board.

Day 11 Excursion to Taxila

Exciting day ahead of us as we are going to visit Taxila which is one of the holiest places in Buddhism history.
One of South Asia’s richest archaeological sites, Taxila is a must-see trip from Islamabad, particularly if you have an interest in Buddhism and the art of Gandhara. The city excavations, most of which are found around the museum, are open to the public, along with dozens of smaller sites over a 25-sq- km area.
Gandhara is the historical name for the Peshawar Plain, and Taxila has always been one of Gandhara more important cities. In the 6th century BC, the Achaemenids made Takshasila (Taxila) the Gandhara capital, at a site now called Bhir Mound. In 326 BC Alexander the Great paused here en route to India. The Mauryan emperor Ashoka, a patron of Buddhism, built a university here, to which pilgrims and scholars came from all over Asia. In about 180 BC, Bactrian Greeks developed a ‘new’ Taxila, at the site called Sirkap.
In the 1st century AD came the Kushans, building their own city at the Sirsukh site. Until the 3rd century Taxila was the cultured capital of an empire stretching across the subcontinent and into Central Asia. It was the birthplace of a striking fusion of Greek and Indian art, and also the place from which Buddhism spread into China. The city fell into obscurity after it was destroyed by White Huns in the 5th century. The modern-era excavation of the site was led by Sir John Marshall between the years of 1913 and 1934. After the Taxila tour group will return to Hotel in Islamabad.
Overnight in Hotel. Full Board.

Day 12 Departure

After an unparalleled insight into an ancient culture, transfer to airport for your departure flight.

Map
Photos
1 Review
Sort By:RatingDate

Marina Moschetm

Group Traveller

We travelled from Karachi to Lahore, Peshawar and Islamabad by car in 13 days. the car was very comfortable , always clean and reliable.
The drive was very professional, polite and friendly.
The guide Mr. Ameer Khan has always been very professional and friendly, illustrating exhaustively every historical topic and showing us actual Pakistani way of life.
guide and driver have always been polite , available and friendly.
our tour program has been widely respected.
Karakorum adventure agency and its staff have been very reliable.

25 Mar 2019

Proceed Booking