By Sohail Azhar

In October 2007, Newsweek magazine ran with the front cover headline that ‘The Most Dangerous Nation in The World Isn’t Iraq – It’s Pakistan’. In July this year, David Cameron publicly accused Pakistan of exporting terror.

It is hardly surprising then that initial reactions to the idea of tourism in Pakistan are generally negative. They range from the incredulous to the type of suspicious smile that is more often seen on the face of someone expecting the punchline to a bad joke.

Pakistan is regularly reported by the western media but for all the wrong reasons. The result is that the topic of tourism appears at the bottom of a long list in any conversation about Pakistan. It’s as if it does not exist.

Rather than exploring the possibility of tourism, most discussions are hijacked with concerns such as safety, lack of infrastructure and poor accommodation.

What is interesting is that these concerns are commonly presented with a conviction that has little to do with any detailed knowledge of the country.

In order to understand a country, one has to get to know it, as well as its people. One way to do this is by travel. I have been lucky to meet so many bright young people, many from the Pakistani diaspora, whose lives have been forever changed as a result of visiting and travelling across Pakistan. Their experiences have resulted in changes to their careers in areas of journalism, human development and even policymaking at the highest governmental level.

Of course Pakistan is not without its problems, and indeed, there are many places that are out of bounds, but this does not apply to the entire country.

So what’s all the fuss about?

The following is a summary of just a few facts and figures that every Pakistani should know and be proud of. These should roll off the tongue at every opportunity when discussing Pakistan, especially when it is getting an ear-bashing. Ideally, every Pakistani should try and make time to visit these places in order to educate them further.

This summary covers a wide range of interests that include adventure and nature, as well as sites of religious, historical and archaeological importance.

The cradle of four world religions

These days it is hard to associate Pakistan with any other religion than Islam, and indeed this is one of the reasons it finds itself in the spotlight. But history reveals that many of the world’s greatest religions have also left their mark:

1. Hinduism: 2,000–500 BCE

The temple of Katas Raj is mentioned in the Mahabharata and said to be one of the sites of Lord Shiva’s tears after the death of his wife. Katas Raj is located on the Salt Range in the Potohar Plain, near Chakwal, Punjab.

2. Buddhism: 500 BCE–500 CE

The city of Taxila was the cultural capital of Mauryan Empire and centre of learning. It facilitated the spread of Buddhism throughout Central and SE Asia. Taxila is 27km from Islamabad and is the largest archaeological site in Southern Asia. Takht-i-Bahi, in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, is one of the finest examples of a Gandaharan monastery.

3. Islam: 711 CE

This is when Islam first came to the land now known as Pakistan. The legacies of this period are the many examples of Islamic architecture all over Pakistan, particularly from the Mughal Period.

4. Sikhism: 1469 - Guru Nanak born; 1708 - Guru Granth finalised

All of the holiest Sikh temples are in Pakistan apart from the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India. Guru Nanak was born in Nankana Sahib near Lahore and died in Kartarpur, Punjab. Other famous gurdwaras in Punjab are Panja Sahib at Hassan Abdal, Sacha Sauda in Farooqabad and Dera Sahib in Lahore.

Ancient civilisations

The Indus Valley civilisation existed in Pakistan approximately 5,000 years ago. It was larger than Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, and was also home to the first urbanisation in South Asia with municipal amenities. Remarkably, no weapons have ever been discovered from the civilisation – indicating that it existed as a harmonious society with law and order. To date, the civilisation’s mysterious script has not been deciphered. The civilisation’s ruins at Moenjodaro in Sindh have UNESCO World Heritage status.

Gandharan Buddhism

The legacy of Gandaharan Buddhism that radiated out from Taxila survives today in countries such as Japan, Korea, China, Thailand and Taiwan. Gandharan art is the largest school of ‘stone art’ in the world. Peshawar museum has the largest collection of Gandharan art in the world. The Buddhist monastery at Takht-Bahi has UNESCO World Heritage status.

Mughal Emperors and their architecture

Two masterpieces of Mughal architecture can be found in Lahore Fort, built by Emperor Akbar in 1566, and the Shalimar Gardens, built by Emperor Jehangir in 1619. Both have UNESCO World Heritage status. The tomb of Emperor Jahangir is said to be the second best preserved in Asia after that of Mumtaz Mahal at the Taj Mahal. The Badshahi Mosque built by Emperor Aurangzeb in 1674 has the largest outdoor courtyard in the world.

Mountains and glaciers

The three largest mountain ranges in the world are the Himalayas, the Karakorams and the Hindu Kush. Their junction point is in North Pakistan. The Karakoram Highway, the ancient Silk Route to China, cuts right through this junction.

Of the fourteen mountains in the world that are over 8,000m, five are in Pakistan. These include K2 and Nanga Parbat. Technically they are two of the hardest mountains on the planet to climb.

To date, approximately 4,000 people have successfully reached the summit of Mount Everest in Nepal. However, only 302 and 326 have successfully scaled K2 and Nanga Parbat respectively.

Almost half the worlds’ 100 highest mountains are in Pakistan. The country has some of the longest glaciers in the world and as a country has the most number of glaciers outside the polar regions. The longest glacier in Pakistan is the Siachen at 76km.

Wildlife

The mountains and valleys of Chitral are home to one of the rarest animals on the planet, the snow leopard. In 2006, after three years of filming, the BBC finally managed to capture some of the only footage of the snow leopard available today.

These are just some of the headlines intended to leave mouths open. There is so much more and once one starts digging beneath the surface and exploring, there are plenty more surprises to be had.

There are few countries in the world that can boast such credentials. More effort should be made to extol these virtues, both inside and outside Pakistan. Only then can the endless possibilities for tourism be maximised and the image of Pakistan start to change.

Sohail Azhar is the founder of TravelPak, a specialist tour operator for Pakistan. TravelPak was founded in 2004 and has established itself as the experts in all things Pakistan. TravelPak’s aim is not only to show people the real Pakistan, but also to help them manage their entire trip from leaving home to arriving back with memories of a lifetime. Their unique selling point is that you are accompanied by one of them, a British Pakistani, for the duration of your trip, so you can relax and let all the organising be carried out by someone else.