The Himalayas info - Pakistan

Pakistan

Northern Pakistan is situated on the western reaches of the Himalayas.

Near Gilgit in the north, where the Gilgit River flows into the Indus, the Himalayan Mountains meet the Hindu Kush and Karakoram Range. The south of Pakistan is a very different place with the blazing hot plains of Sind and Baluchistan provinces.

The history of Pakistan goes back a long way. The valley of the Indus was the place where the highly developed Harappa- or Indus Valley civilisation blossomed more than 4000 years ago. The Gandhara era played an important role in the spreading of Buddhism in the 5th and 6th century BC. The army of Alexander the Great made its way to the banks of the Indus and the Persians under Darius as well as Gengis Khan ruled here. From the tenth century onward, the influence of Islam steadily grew. The Moghuls who originated from present day Afghanistan ruled their empire in these regions until the arrival of the British in the 18th century.

Pakistan as a country only came into being after the partition of India when independence was declared during the night of 14th of August 1947. Pakistan, the 'land of the pure', became the homeland for the Islamic peoples of former British India, with Mohammed Ali Jinnah as their leader. Recent history has brought the country to war several times with neighbouring India over the disputed region of Kashmir. After Partition, the mountainous Kashmir region became part of India although most inhabitants are Muslim. Both countries claim the territory and part of the population wants to create an independent state. The result is a maze of insurgency groups fighting the Indian government and, at times, each other. Politics in Pakistan is quite volatile as well. Coups by the military and power struggles are obstructing the development of this beautiful country.

As a result of recent events in Afghanistan relatively few tourists come to Pakistan. If you do make it here It is still an extremely rewarding travel experience. From the hot plains near Lahore and Islamabad the road climbs along the winding Indus Valley. Following the famous Karakoram Highway I visited the beautiful Hunza Valley at Karimabad and Skardu near the border with India. From Gilgit a rough journey by jeep took me to the fascinating Chitral Valley where the Kalash people live, descendants of Alexander the Great. After Peshawar we headed back towards Lahore from where we continued into India.

click the image to see a map of the region

click here for a Pakistan image gallery

much more can be found at the World2C Himalayas CD ROM

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all images on this site are available from: www.travel-pictures-gallery.com

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