PAKISTAN - INDUS VALLEY, GANDHARA & WORLD HERITAGE SITES
A cultural tour of Pakistan

Pakistan houses the richest civilization centres of the Indian Sub Continent  - The Indus Valley, Gandhara and the Moghul. This incredible 10 days journey has been artistically tailored to cover all these along with all the six World Heritage Sites in Pakistan. Beautiful and panoramic landscape, interesting rural life, rich architecture and a very cordial hospitality awaits.

Day 01:  Arrive Karachi
Khush Amdeed! Arrival Karachi airport and we are warmly received and transferred to our hotel. Evening we visit the elegant white marble mausoleum of Muhammad Ali Jinnah founder of Pakistan, followed by the impressive modern and world’s largest concrete shell dome mosque before our welcome dinner at a local restaurant.  
Overnight: Pearl Continental Hotel, Karachi (2 nights) (D)

Day 02: Karachi
Start with a visit to the National Museum - well stocked with relics from Indus Valley Civilization and Gandharan art eras.  Drive to Thatta an ancient town with an interesting history dating back to the times of Alexander of Macedonia, who used the port to rest his weary troops. View this outstanding Moghul architecture. Next is the World Heritage Site of Makli Hills a large necropolis made up of stone tombs with geometric and floral carvings. We visit the spectacular 17th Century Shah Jehan Mosque with its 99 domes. (B, D)

Day 03:  Karachi / Sukkur  (Flight) Mohenjodaro
After a short flight to Sukkur we proceed to the archaeological site of Mohenjodaro i.e. the Indus Valley Civilization, which flourished some 5000 years ago. The 3rd oldest civilization in the world, Moenjodaro excelled in every conceivable facet of town planning. From the articles discovered here it is believed that the Iron Age had not yet dawned on the Indus Valley civilization. The vessels discovered are made of lead, silver, copper or bronze, whereas the weapons are made only of bronze. We also visit the Mohenjodaro museum. Drive to Sukkur for the night. 
Overnight: Inter Pak Inn, Sukkur (1 nights) (B, D)

Day 04: Sukkur / Bhong / Bahawalpur (Drive)
We start with a tour of Sukkur the largest settlement in interior Sind. Continue on a scenic rural Sind and Lower Punjab drive to Bhong. Bhong is well known for its most extraordinary, albeit modern, mosque. It is a recipient of the Aga Khan Award for Islamic Architecture. Built in traditional style with extravagant use of gold leaf, mirror work and onyx it displays extraordinary Arabic calligraphy. Continue to the one time princely city of Bahawalpur.
Overnight: PTDC Motel, Bahawalpur (1 night) (B, D)

Day 05: Bahawalpur / Multan (Drive)
Tour this city of Nawabs and Rajas before proceeding to Multan – a very interesting and important historical city. Well known as a sufi centre, Multan was the place where Alexander was hit with an arrow which led to his eventual death. Our afternoon tour commences with a visit to the Old Fort, which houses elaborately decorated shrines of Sheikh Bahad-ud-din Zakriya, Shah Shams Tabriz and Shah Rukhn-e-Alam. We also visit the colourful Hussain Agahi Bazaar. Evening free.
Overnight: Ramada Inn Hotel, Multan (1 night) (B, D)

Day 06: Multan / Harappa / Lahore (Drive)
Green and rural Punjab drive gets us to the 2nd Indus Valley settlement of ancient India, Harappa - an ancient and important city from the 3rd millennium B.C. It stands witness to the over 5000 years old continuity of civilization and is the cradle of one of the earliest civilizations known to man. We visit Harappa site followed by the museum before continuing to the majestic city of Lahore.
Overnight: Pearl Continental Lahore (2 nights) (B, D)

Day 07: Lahore
The first capital of the Moghuls in the sub continent, Lahore is where it all began in Pakistan’s ancient and medieval history. In just one corner, a heterogeneous example of Mogul, Sikh, colonial and contemporary architectures can be viewed. We visit the 11thC AD Lahore Fort, Shish Mahal (Palace of Mirrors), Badshahi or Royal Mosque, Samadh of Maharaja Ranajit Singh and Guru Arjun Dev, both in solid gold tombs and the World Heritage Site of the Shalimar Gardens. Our afternoon tour starts with the Lahore Museum and its many galleries displaying artifacts from the Gandhara, Buddhist, Jain, Mogul and Colonial periods. The famous statue of the fasting Siddhartha (Buddha) is also on display here as also Rudyard Kiplings gun, the Zamzamma. Next we visit the 1630AD Emperor Jehangir's mausoleum and the tomb of his Empress, Nur Jehan. We also visit Old Lahore and the walled city including the famous Wazir Khan's Mosque, reflecting the nobility of Persian designs. (B, D)

Day 08: Lahore / Rawalpindi (Drive)
We take on the historical Grand Trunk Road to visit yet another World Heritage site – the Rohtas Fort - a garrison built by the great Afghan king Sher Shah Suri. This fort is about 4Kms in circumference and is the first example of successful amalgamations of Pakhtun and Hindu architecture. Rohtas was constructed to block Humayun's return to India after his defeat at the Battle of Kanauj. After visiting Rohtas Fort we drive to Rawalpindi and are transferred to our hotel.  Rawalpindi is the twin city to Islamabad.
Overnight: Pearl Continental Hotel, Peshawar (2 nights) (B, D)

Day 09: Taxila, Rawalpindi & Islamabad
Our full day tour starts with the World Heritage Site located just outside Rawalpindi. The History of Taxila expands over a thousand years - from 500 BC to 500 AD. The Taxila Museum reflects the original culture and tradition of the old Gandhara Civilization. From here we continue to Shakarparian (sweet hills) Gardens from where we get a panoramic view of Islamabad. We visit the Lok Virsa Museum housing a fascinating array of traditional handicrafts including embroidered costumes, old jewellery and intricate woodcarvings. It is a popular place for those wishing to buy traditional Pakistani crafts. We then drive past various modern streets and buildings – gracefully designed in Islamic architecture.  The Islamabad portion of the tour culminates at one of the world’s largest mosque - Shah Faisal Mosque. The architecture has a blend of the Ottoman minarets. The mosque is considered to be amongst the largest in the world. From here we drive to Rawalpindi and visit this much older town including the historical Raja Bazaar. Evening we have a farewell dinner in Rawalpindi.  (B, D)

Day 10: Departure home or continue to Peshawar via Takht-e-Bhai
For those ending the tour at Islamabad you will be transferred to the airport for your departure flight. For those continuing on to Peshawar we drive to the World Heritage ancient city of Tahkt-e-Bhai – (Throne of Origins). It has a Buddhist monastic complex dating back to the 1st Century B.C depicting the intrinsic Buddhist monastery architecture. As it was located on a high hill it escaped successive invasions as such is very well preserved. After visiting this historical site we visit the ruins of Sahr-i-Bahlol, a small fortified city dating from the same period before continuing to the historical city of Peshawar.
Overnight: Pearl Continental, Peshawar (2 nights) (B, D)

Day 11: Peshawar
Morning tour of this historical city including the historical Quissa Khawani (story tellers) bazaar. In olden days, this was the place where caravans and military adventures would halt and professional story-tellers recited ballads and tales of travel war and love to the locals and the traders. Today the story-tellers are gone but the atmosphere lingers on. We then visit the incredible Mahabat Khan mosque followed by a tour of the city. Afternoon we have an in-depth visit of the Peshawar Museum – known for its rich Gandhara collection. (B, D)

Day 12: Depart Peshawar
After an unparalleled insight into ancient cultures we are transferred the airport for our departure flight. (B)

Departure Dates
2012 English Speaking Departures Apr 08, May 06, Jun 24, Sep 16, Oct 07, Nov 11
Inclusions
Tour Price Includes Tour Price Does Not Include Accommodation as mentioned or similar, including hotel taxes International Airfare & Departure/airport taxes Meals as mentioned HB (B=Breakfast, D=Dinner) Domestic airfare Karachi/Sukkur (from USD 160.00) All sightseeing and transfers Visa fees / Insurance Services of local English speaking guide Tips / Gratuities Entrance fees to museums and sites included in the itinerary
Tour Price
We accept payment in US $ (US Dollars), CA $ (Canadian Dollars) or equivalent EURO (for clients outside North America). Bestway Tours & Safaris offers conversion rate protection. Once full payment has been received, and no modification has been made to the tour itinerary, we will honour that rate. For complete payment procedures, please download Bestway_Payment_Info.pdf Note: to read this file you must have Adobe Acrobat.
Departure Double Occupancy Single Room Supplement 2012 US $ 2460 US $ 580
Estimated International Airfare - International airfare is NOT included in this tour
Canada - West Coast US $ 1600 USA - West Coast US $ 1400 Canada - East Coast US $ 1200 USA - East Coast US $ 1000
Participants
This tour operates on a minimum of 02 and a maximum of 08 participants.
Notes
Customised Itinerary If you would like to have a tour on dates other than the above ones or with a customised itinerary, please contact us and we will be happy to work out an exclusive program for you. Foreign Language Departures Please contact us for information on French, German, Italian and Spanish speaking departures. You may e-mail us at bestway@bestway.com or call us at 604.264.7378. Residents of U.S.A./Canada may call us toll free at 1.800.663.0844.