Day 1

Arrival at Islamabad. You will be met at the airport and transported to your designated hotel along with your luggage.

Day 2

RAWALPINDI- Orientation. Sightseeing of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Overnight stay at hotel in Rawalpindi.

Day 3

Visit National Ethnographic Museum, Lok Mela Folk Art and Craft Fair, Shah Faisal Mosque, one of Asia's largest and most impressive. The Rajah Bazaar is a market place of non-stop activity, color, crafts, spice, sweets and people.

Day 4

PESHAWAR- A few miles from the Khyber Pass, this "frontier" town has a mix of Pakhtun, Afghan, and Chitrali people, to name a few. The Old City has special bazaars for every kind of handmade crafts, brass, leather, jewellery, many from tribal areas of the North West Frontier Province. Excellent ethnographic museum and collection of Gandhara art. Possible to see Kathak dance performance.

Day 5

RAWALPINDI- First, morning detour to Mardan. A few miles from here are the Takht-i-Bai, Buddhist shrines dating from the 1st to 7th B.C. You are at the foot of the Hindu Kush Range near the Indus River, with time to explore a village or two. In Islamabad, the Juma Market Day is still in progress, and we can spend time also at the Lok Mela

Day 6 to 7

LAHORE- On our drive south into Punjab, there will be a stop at Rohtas Fort, a magnificent example of military architecture, the construction of which started in the mid-16th Century. The Old City of Lahore has artisan workshops and the famed Shalimar Gardens. The Sunehri Masjid (Golden Mosque) is called so because of its three golden domes and dazzling gold-plated minarets. Here also is the museum dedicated to Mohammed Abdur Rahman Chughtai, master artist and "reinventor" of Mughul and Persian painting traditions. Highlight will be a visit to the Lahore Fort, actually a palace of immense proportions. The Royal Quarters have brilliant examples of design and handicraft techniques, no longer practiced.  

Day 8

MULTAN- We head southwest towards the Mid Indus River. This town has a most distinctive structure --- the shrine of Shah Rukn-i-Alam. The Hussain Agai Bazaar also has crafts traditional to this area. Across the River and south of Dera Ghazi Khan, is Choti, the home of the chief of the Leghari Baluch tribe. This remarkable residence is a prime example of Mughul architecture and interior design. We are trying to get permission to visit the palace. East of Multan is the area of Cholistan, and we hope to meet some of the nomadic people to view their unique dress, learn about their crafts and perhaps see the "camel dancing".

Day 9

SUKKUR- Stop at BAHAWALPUR area famous for its many kinds of handicrafts and a busy bazaar. The ethnographic museum has a remarkable collection of textiles, embroideries, jewellery and costumes from Cholistan. Near KOT DIJI is the Talpurian Fort, a huge brick construction built on several levels, and MATHELO, the abode of Sindhi masters of embroidery. Embroidery on leather can be found in SHIKARPUR and KHAIRPUR.

Day 10 to 11

KARACHI- Flight to this city. Previously the capital of Pakistan, it is a busy port located at the Indus delta. We will have a city orientation, but will spend most of our time in the countryside. The town of THATTA is the site of a brick mosque with 93 domes, another remarkable example of Mughal architecture. This is an area of magnificent handicrafts, among them textiles with block printing, and bandhani. The MAKLI HILL area has hundreds of tombs, with a unique construction and ornate inscribed stonework. We may have time to visit LAKE HALEJI, the winter refuge for birds arriving daily.  

Day 12

You will be transferred from your hotel to the airport for your destination flight.