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.
- 1
Kashmir Point Viewpoint
The main viewpoint in Murree looking toward the distant Kashmir ranges — the panoramic view that gave the hill station its reason for existence, the forested ridges of the lower Himalaya visible on clear days, and the town of Murree spread along the ridge below the viewpoint.
- 2
Mall Road Murree
The colonial-era Mall Road of Murree — the pedestrianized main street lined with shops selling woolens, dried fruits, local handicrafts, and the corn-on-the-cob that is the iconic Murree snack, the Victorian-era buildings interspersed with modern commercial development along the ridge.
- 3
St. Margaret's Church
The 1857 Anglican church on the Murree Mall — built for the British garrison and summer residents, the Victorian Gothic stone building now maintained by Pakistan's small Christian community, the church interior and graveyard a quiet enclave of colonial religious history.
- 4
Pine Forest Walk
The walking trails through the deodar cedar and blue pine forest that covers the Murree ridges — the cool, scented forest paths popular with Lahore and Islamabad families escaping the summer heat, the silence broken only by bird calls and the distant sounds of the bazaar.
- 5
Pindi Point Cable Car
The cable car descending from Murree's Pindi Point into the forested valley below — the aerial view over the pine-covered ridges, the ride itself the main attraction for families, with the valley below offering picnic spots along the stream at the cable car's lower terminus.
- 6
Patriata New Murree
The newer hill development above Murree with its chair lifts and hilltop restaurants — the development extending the hill station upward to the highest accessible ridge, the views from the top extending on clear days to the Nanga Parbat massif in the distant north.