Pakistan : activités et visites

Pakistan is a country of extremes, from a hot coast to some of the highest mountains on Earth. Lahore, in the east, is the old Mughal city of the Badshahi Mosque, the Lahore Fort and the Shalimar Gardens, with a walled city of tight lanes and food streets. Islamabad, the capital, is a modern, leafy city below the Margalla Hills, with the white Faisal Mosque. Karachi, on the Arabian Sea, is the largest city and main port.

In the north, Gilgit lies on the Karakoram Highway, which climbs through Hunza and the Passu cones, and Skardu is the gateway to the Deosai plateau and the Baltoro glacier route towards K2, the second-highest mountain in the world. Taxila holds Buddhist ruins near Islamabad, and Mohenjo-daro in the south shows a city of the Indus Valley some 4,500 years old.

Biryani, nihari, seekh kebabs and karahi, with naan fresh from the tandoor, are the staples, and halwa puri is a Lahori breakfast. Lassi and sweet tea round off a meal. The north is best from May to September, the plains are pleasantest from November to February, and the monsoon rains arrive in July and August.