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From the mighty stretches of the Karakorams in the North to the vast alluvial delta of the Indus River in the South, Pakistan remains a land of high adventure and nature. Trekking, mountaineering, white water rafting, wild boar hunting, mountain and desert jeep safaris, camel and yak safaris, trout fishing and bird watching, are a few activities, which entice the adventure and nature lovers to Pakistan.
Pakistan is endowed with a rich and varied flora and fauna. High Himalayas, Karakoram and the Hindukush ranges with their alpine meadows and permanent snow line, coniferous forests down the sub-mountain scrub, the vast Indus plain merging into the great desert, the coast line and wetlands, all offer a remarkably rich variety of vegetation and associated wildlife including avifauna, both endemic and migratory. Ten of 18 mammalian orders are represented in Pakistan with species ranging from the world’s smallest surviving mammals, the Mediterranean Pigmy Shrew, to the largest mammal ever known; the blue whale.
Northern areas of Pakistan, spread over 72,496 sq.Km. are as fascinating as its southern region. Amidst towering snow-clad peaks with heights varying from 1000 m to over 8000 meter, the valleys of Gilgit, Hunza and Skardu recall Shangri-La. The cultural patterns in this region are as interesting as its topography.
Pakistan is important for many religions of the world. The Indus Valley gave rise to one of the first great civilizations. Mahayana Buddhism also developed here as did the Sikh religion under Guru Nanak. Pakistan was created in the Indus Valley specifically to provide the Muslims of South Asia with a state of their own, and there are very few countries where religion plays such an important role in the lives of people.
Nowhere in the world there is such a great concentration of high mountains, peaks, glaciers and passes except Pakistan. Of the 14 over 8000 peaks on earth, 4 occupy an amphitheater at the head of Baltoro glacier in the Karakoram range. These are: K-2 (8611 m, world second highest), Broad Peak (8047m), Gasherbrum I (8068m) and Gasherbrum II (8035m). There is yet another which is equally great, that is, Nanga Parbat (8126m) at the western most end of the Himalayas.
In addition to that, there are 68 peaks over 7000 m and hundreds which are over 6000 m. The Northern Pakistan has some of the longest glaciers outside Polar region; Siachen (72 km), Hispar (61 km.), Biafo (60 km.), Baltoro (60 km.), Batura (64 km.), Yenguta (35 km.), Chiantar (34 km.), Trich (29 km.) and Atrak (28 km.). The lower Himalayan valleys of Swat, Kaghan and Chitral in the Hindukush range equally share the beauty and diverse culture of the Northern Pakistan.
Passion for Polo will be the highest on the world’s highest Polo ground. Every year, Shandur (3,734 meters) invites visitors to experience a traditional polo tournament between the teams of Chitral and Gilgit from 7th to 9th July. The festival also includes folk music, folk dance, traditional sports and a camping village is be set up on the Pass.
With the number of tourists coming into the country on the increase, investors from world over are most welcome to invest in tourism sector to develop hospitality industry and create necessary infrastructure for attracting the tourists to enjoy the diverse and wonderful tourist sights abundantly available all over the country.
The country has also been working on building hotels and other infrastructure facilities to promote religious tourism across Pakistan due to increasing number of religious pilgrims visiting Sufi shrines, Sikh gurudwaras and Hindu temples and for Muslims going to or returning from their Umra or pilgrimage to Mecca. Potential entrepreneurs and investors could come in and play their role in development of hospitality and tourism industry in Pakistan.
