South Pakistan Indus Civilization Tour - Karachi - Mohenjo-Daro - Multan - Harappa - Lahore - Islamabad

Evening arrive Karachi, your Adventure Pakistan guide will be at the airport to warmly welcome you and bring you to your hotel for a good night’s rest.

We will go for a sightseeing tour of: the Mohatta palace, Defence (Tooba) mosque, Quaid-e-Azam mausoleum, Frere Hall (Bagh-e-Jinnah), Empress Market and Clifton Beach.

Optional: add one or more extra sightseeing days in Karachi - for example to visit: National Museum of Pakistan, Hindu Gymkhana, Port Grand, Mughal Zoo Garden, Quaid-e-Azam House, Kemari Port - Manora Island boating day trip, 

An early morning departure to visit the Chaukandi Tombs, from there we continue to archeological sites at Bhambore, in the afternoon we return to Karachi for dinner & overnight stay.

We drive from Karachi to Hyderabad stopping along the way at Haleji Lake, a haven for migratory Siberian birds and crocodiles; and Makli/Thatta, an ancient town that was a river-port and the capital of Sindh, until the Indus changed its course. Here we will visit Jamia Masjid, built by Shah Jehan, who went on to build the Taj Mahal, the delicately stone-carved Dabgir Masjid, and the Makli Necropolis, claimed to be the largest graveyard in the world.

We drive out from Hyderabad to Ranikot Fort, also known as the Great Wall of Sindh, which is believed to be the biggest fortress in the world, and was the last stronghold of the Talpur Mirs before the British takeover. We then cross the Indus to visit Bhit Shah, the shrine of Shah Abdul Latif, Sufi saint and poet and the uncrowned king of Sindh. Especially beloved of the poor, there is a daily musical gathering at the shrine. We return to Hyderabad to explore its famous bazaar, the longest in Pakistan, and its many handicraft workshops.

Leaving Hyderabad we drive to Sehwan, site of one of Alexander the Great’s fortresses, and the shrine of Shaikh Usman Marvandvi, popularly known as Lal Shabaz Qalandar, a 12thC Persian Sufi mystic, whose riotous annual festival is attended by thousands. Later we visit Manchar Lake, where fishermen descended from the original Indus Valley people use the same ancient fishing techniques.

Leaving the beautiful garden city of Larkana we drive to Mohenjo-daro, the most impressive and best-preserved ancient site on the Indian sub-Continent. An entire city belonging to the Indus Valley Civilization, contemporary with that of Ancient Egypt and Sumeria, it displays advanced town-planning techniques. Later we continue to Sukkur via Bukkur, an island in the Indus surmounted by a fort and surrounded by shrines dedicated to river-gods. Sukkur itself contains much of interest; Sateen Jo Astaan (the tombs of the seven sisters) and Masoom Shah Jo Minaro both places give great views of the area and have an interesting history.

We leave Sukkur via the Lansdowne bridge and the stupendous irrigation works completed by the British. We drive north and enter the Punjab, visiting the Bhong Mosque along the way and also stopping at Uch Sharif, which contains some of the most poignant ruins in Islamic antiquity, notably the Tomb of Bibi Jewindi. We continue on to the charming city of Bahawalpur.

We drive to Derawar fort, a huge citadel towering over the surrounding Cholistan desert, where we will meet some of the desert people and learn something of their way of life. In the evening we drive to Multan.

All day sightseeing around the monuments and bazaars of Multan, the ancient capital of Lower Punjab, and renowned as the City of Sufis. The Tomb of Shah Rukn-i-Alam is a must-see, as is the shrine of Shams-ud-din Tabriz. Multan is a centre for the production of fine embroidered cottons, tilework, ceramics and traditional camel-skin lamps, and also famed for its halwa and mango chutney.

Leaving in the morning we drive to the ancient site of Harappa, contemporary with Mohenjo-Daro, but also containing the remains of a later Bronze and Iron-Age city. We then continue to Lahore.

We are in the “Cultural Capital” of Pakistan; on our sightseeing tour in Lahore we will be visiting the famous Badshahi Mosque and the Fort of Shahi Qilla from there we continue to Shalimar Gardens, we will end with the flag ceremony at the Wagah border. Dinner will be at the Village restaurant (traditional Pakistani food with live cooking and live music in front of guests). Overnight stay at a hotel in Lahore.

We continue our tour of Lahore today by going to the Lahore museum, the Wazir Khan complex and the Tombs of Jahangir, Nur Jahan and Asif Khan. For our dinner we can visit the famous Food Street or we can go to any of the many restaurants in the centre of Lahore, overnight at hotel in Lahore.

Optional Extra Day – Lahore: If you want we can add an extra day for some additional sightseeing or local shopping for example by visiting the Shahi Hammam and or the Anarkali Bazaar.

From the cultural “capital” Lahore we will drive west to the capital of Pakistan, the city of Islamabad, half way we make a stop to visit the Katasraj Temple and explore the Khewra Salt Mines. Dinner & overnight at hotel in Islamabad.

Optional: Visit the Rohtas Fort (instead of Khewra Salt Mines and Katasraj temple drive via the Grand Trunk Road to visit the Rohtas Fort).

Full sightseeing day trip to Taxila to visit the archeological excavation sites from the Buddhist Gandhara Kingdom period and the Taxila museum which displays a large collection of the ancient artefacts that have been found there. Dinner & overnight stay at a hotel in Islamabad.

Your last day in Pakistan! We will have a sightseeing tour in Islamabad which will consist of a selection of the following sites: the Faisal Mosque, the Government buildings on Constitution Avenue, the Shakar Parian Park with its rose and jasmine garden, the Pakistan Monument, the Lok Virsa heritage museum, Saidpur village, Rawal Lake, Daman-e-Koh viewpoint. Our goodbye dinner will be at Monal restaurant on the top of the Margalla Hills where you will have an amazing view over Islamabad and Rawalpindi, afterwards we will take you to the airport for your home bound or onward flight. (optional: add extra night in Islamabad if your flight departs late midnight or the next morning)

Optional: extend your trip with a tour of the North of Pakistan