Basic Touristic Information About Pakistan

The landscape of Pakistan is very diverse. In the north you will find especially many large and high mountains. Three of the biggest mountains in the world, the Hindu Kush, the Karakoram and the Himalaya Mountains, meet here.

In the southwest of the country you will find the vast plateau of Baluchistan. This area covers 44% of the total land area but has only a few inhabitants. In addition, a large part of the landscape from rivers. The Punjab and Sind-plains of the Indus River and its 5 major tributaries are very important for the country, because they argue a lot of water.

The name Pakistan is actually an abbreviation of several cities. The P comes from Punjab, A for Afghania, K for Kashmir, S for Sindh and Tan for Baluchistan. The I is added in between, so it was an easier decision. This name was coined by Choudhary Rahmat Ali in 1933. The name Pakistan means “Land of Pure.

Transportation to the country

You can easily with the plane to Pakistan because the country has good connections with the Netherlands. Pakistan International Airways takes you from the Netherlands to Pakistan. The airline flies to 73 different destinations in the Middle East, Europe and North America.

Transportation inside the country

If you would like to see much of the country, it is wise to travel by plane. Daily depart aircraft to several major cities like Islamabad. You fly over the airline, Pakistan International Airways. However, the aircraft often overcrowded or overbooked. It is also possible that the flight is canceled by the bad weather.

Another nice Where is the train. The timetable at the stations are not available in English, but the guards can tell you which train you should take and where it goes. As in the Netherlands, Pakistan has several classes where you can get tickets. Tourists and students can often with discount travel, but must be a visit to the PTDC.

A large proportion of travelers choosing to travel by bus. Please note that this is very time consuming, because Pakistan is a huge country. And from a big city can sometimes take days to travel. However, there is air conditioning in the buses and you can place books, so you know that you can use it. These tickets are 5 times more expensive rides in minibuses, but then you get a bit more luxury. The minivans have no air conditioning, little leg room and everyone is treated equally. You need not worry that you can not travel by bus, because every minute there is a bus departs from the station.

Another fun mode of transport is the rickshaw. The auto rickshaw is a small vehicle which is driven by a two or four stroke engine. The engine makes a stuttering sound and there is blue-black smoke from the exhaust, but there are rickshaws to natural gas available. The rickshaw has a blue and yellow color. Always take these taxis because others are private. Negotiate always about the price in advance. You can not drive rickshaws in Islamabad, because they are prohibited. Traveling with a rickshaw gives you much freedom and you make something of the everyday culture.

Safety

Especially Balouchistan, northern Sindh, southern Punjab, the NWFP and Kashmir are very dangerous. If you come here, you should definitely be on guard. Violent attacks are still rising in parts of the North-West Frontier Province. Even in cities like Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta are still attacks. The number of fatalities is very high every time.

The attacks are perpetrated by radical Islamic groups. Besides all these attacks threaten the Attabad Lake in Hunza valley breaking through. This could imply that a wave of 60 meters would flood the Hunza valley. In the large cities also have crime like pickpocketing, handbags steal and copy of bank data.