Islamabad to Abbottabad and Nathiagali Mountain Valley
Drive north from Islamabad into the pine-covered Galyat range to Nathiagali — the colonial hill station at 2,500 meters where walking trails through deodar cedar forest lead to viewpoints with Himalayan panoramas, continuing to Abbottabad in the Orash valley, the pleasant garrison town famous in unlikely ways as the last hiding place of Osama bin Laden.
Islamabad Lok Virsa Folk Heritage Museum
Discover Pakistan's extraordinary cultural diversity at Lok Virsa — the National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage whose museum in Islamabad houses the most comprehensive collection of Pakistani folk art, musical instruments, crafts, and regional costumes from all four provinces and the tribal areas, an essential introduction to the cultural geography of one of the world's most diverse nations.
Islamabad to Murree Hill Station Escape
Drive an hour from Islamabad to Murree — Pakistan's most popular hill station at 2,200 meters elevation in the Pir Panjal range, where the British colonial administration established a summer retreat from the Punjab plains heat, and where the Victorian-era mall road, the pine forest walks, and the cooler air still draw millions of Pakistani visitors each summer.
Islamabad Rawalpindi Old Bazaars and Cantonment
Cross into Rawalpindi — the older twin city adjacent to Islamabad, where the chaotic bazaars of Raja Bazaar, the British military cantonment with its colonial architecture, and the busy commercial districts provide the contrast of authentic subcontinental urban life that the planned capital deliberately avoided.
Islamabad Rawal Lake and Leisure Parks
Spend a day at Rawal Lake — the artificial reservoir created in 1962 to supply Islamabad's water needs that has become the most popular leisure destination in the capital, where boating, picnicking, and bird watching draw the residents of Pakistan's most planned and green city to the water's edge at the foot of the Margalla Hills.
Islamabad to Taxila UNESCO Buddhist Heritage
Day trip to Taxila — the UNESCO World Heritage Site 35 kilometers from Islamabad where the ancient city of Takshashila flourished as a great center of Buddhist learning from the 5th century BCE, and where the Gandhara civilization produced the first human images of the Buddha in a Greco-Buddhist art style that spread throughout Asia.
Islamabad Faisal Mosque and Planned Capital Architecture
Visit the Faisal Mosque — the iconic 1986 structure designed by Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay whose tent-shaped prayer hall flanked by four minarets has become the defining image of Pakistan's planned capital, then explore the modernist architecture of the city built from scratch in the 1960s to replace Karachi as Pakistan's capital.
Islamabad Margalla Hills National Park Hiking
Hike the Margalla Hills that form Islamabad's dramatic northern backdrop — the forested limestone ridge of the Margalla Hills National Park rising immediately behind the planned city, where trails through deodar cedar and pine forest lead to viewpoints over the capital, past the ruins of the Mughal-era Saidpur village, and into the wild hills where leopards still roam.