VACATION DETAILS

An old Buddhist center in the disputed Northwest Frontier Province, Gilgit is surrounded by mountains. It offers beautiful scenery, traditional music, trout fishing, polo matches (usually with a traditional music group providing a soundtrack), and excellent mountain and trekking trips (possibly to nearby Nanga Parbat). You can also drive across a 600-ft-/185-m-long suspension bridge (one of the longest in Asia). Be sure to visit Chinar Bagh to see 300-year-old trees along the banks of the Gilgit River. We also recommend taking a half-day trip to nearby Kargha, 6 mi/10 km away—you'll have to endure a bumpy road through a beautiful rocky landscape. In Kargha, a small village, see the fish hatchery and the Buddhist rock carving in the side of a mountain. You can visit Gilgit with a guide, but travel permits are difficult to obtain. Two nights in Gilgit will be ample for most visitors. 175 mi/280 km northeast of Islamabad.

Islamabad and Rawalpindi are so close together (and share the same airport) that we've chosen to combine the two. The cities are in north-central Pakistan, at the edge of the Potohar Plateau. Islamabad (pop. 201,000), 10 mi/16 km north of Rawalpindi, was built from scratch in 1961 to be the capital of Pakistan, and there's little local color. Islamabad displays all the annoyances of the developing world (beggars, poor telephones, inept bureaucracy) without any of the typical redemptions (welcoming people, exotic markets). It does have the Museum of Folk and Traditional Heritage, parks and an impressive honor guard on horseback that performs for visiting dignitaries. The new King Faisal Mosque is one of the largest in the world. Travelers can replenish their libraries at some excellent bookshops in Sadr Market.

Rawalpindi (pop. 800,000), which is much older, was originally called Fatchpur Boari: It is frenetic, cramped and fun—much more typical of the subcontinent than Islamabad. It has colonial-style buildings, a mall and two colorful bazaars (the older is Raja Bazaar, the newer one is Saddar Bazaar). Go up Shakar Parian Hill or to Murree or Nathiagali for excellent views and an escape from the summer heat. Also in the area are a few archaeological sites (some date back nearly 7,000 years), such as the ones at Gir and Jaulian. Taxila, 35 mi/56 km from Islamabad, was the center of the Buddhist Gandhara for 1,000 years. There you'll find the sites of three ancient cities and an interesting museum. Plan three nights for Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

This busy, polluted metropolis (pop. 6,040,000) was once the capital of the Mughal Empire. It has some of Pakistan's best sights, including the Tomb of Emperor Jahangir (with its beautiful surrounding gardens), the narrow streets of the Old Town, the Bara Dari Pavilion, the Shish Mahal (Palace of Mirrors) and the Lahore Fort (where a sound-and-light show is held several times a week). The city also has two beautiful gardens: the Shalimar (designed by the architect of the Taj Mahal) and Jinnah (a lively city park).

Some other places we've enjoyed include the 350-year-old, white-marble and pink-sandstone Badshahi Mosque (the country's second largest, after the King Faisal Mosque in Islamabad) and the Lahore Museum (16 galleries containing carpets, Korans and 1,500 miniature paintings). Kim's gun (Zamzama), made famous by Rudyard Kipling, is in front of Punjab University.

Lahore is a fun city to walk through. Be sure to visit some of the small markets and shops (the Anarkali, Kashmiri and Qissa Khawani bazaars will keep you busy) and spend time at the British-built mall. If you're in Lahore in late February or early March, try to see the National Horse and Cattle Show, Pakistan's version of a rodeo, featuring equestrian competitions, camel and tent-pegging displays, dancers from the provinces and music concerts. But the city's most popular festival, also held in late February, is basant. The principal activity during this weekend-long festival is kite-flying—there are literally thousands in the sky, even at night. Plan at least two nights in Lahore.

Half- and full-day trips outside Lahore include excursions to Hiran Minar, a tower built by Emperor Jahangir (25 mi/40 km away), and Changa Manga (42 mi/68 km south), which has tiny mosques (the drive there, past fields of mustard, is very colorful). 150 mi/240 km southeast of Islamabad.