PK · Curated travel guide
K2, Nanga Parbat, Badshahi Mosque and 7 more — what each one is, and why it is worth the detour.
Chosen from everything Wikidata knows about Pakistan and ranked by how many Wikipedia language editions describe them, which is about as close to "famous" as open data gets. One is on UNESCO's World Heritage list.
2nd-highest mountain on Earth
Also called Mount Godwin-Austen, the world's second-highest mountain, 8,611 metres (28,251 ft) above sea level, after Mount Everest, at 8,849 metres (29,032 ft). It stands in the Karakoram, partly in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan-administered Kashmir and partly in the Trans-Karakoram Tract, administered by China, in Xinjiang's Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County.
Photo: Zacharie Grossen, CC BY-SA 4.0
9th-highest mountain on Earth
Called Diamer in Shina, the world's ninth-highest mountain, its summit 8,126 m (26,660 ft) above sea level. It lies just southeast of the Indus River's northernmost bend, in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and is the Himalayas' westernmost major peak; if the range is taken, traditionally, to lie between the Indus and the Yarlung Tsangpo/Brahmaputra, this mountain anchors its western end.
Photo: Atif Gulzar, Copyrighted free use
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Mughal-era mosque in Lahore, Pakistan
An imperial mosque of the Mughal era in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, built by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb from 1671 to 1673, facing the Lahore Fort on the northern edge of the historic Walled City.
Photo: Ali Imran, CC BY-SA 2.5
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Highest mountain of the Hindu Kush range, located in Pakistan
The highest mountain of the Hindu Kush, 7,708 meters (25,289 ft), the 33rd-highest peak on Earth and the highest outside the Himalayas–Karakoram range, in Chitral District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
Photo: KaleemUllah550, CC BY-SA 4.0
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World Heritage
Historical fort in Dina, Pakistan
A fortress of the 16th century near Dina, in Jhelum district, Punjab province, Pakistan. Commissioned by the Sur emperor Sher Shah Suri, with Raja Todar Mal overseeing the building, it is now among the largest and most formidable forts in Punjab.
Photo: Hussain Khalid, CC BY-SA 4.0
Arid region in India and Pakistan
Also called the Great Indian Desert, a dry region in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent, spanning Pakistan and India. Covering 264,091 km² (101,966 sq mi), it is among Asia's biggest subtropical deserts.
Photo: sushmita balasubramani, CC BY 2.0
World's sixth-largest mosque in Islamabad, Pakistan
Pakistan's national mosque, in the capital, Islamabad, at the foot of the Margalla Hills; it is the sixth-largest mosque on Earth.
Photo: Ali Mujtaba, CC BY-SA 4.0
12th-highest mountain on Earth
The world's 12th-highest mountain, rising 8,051 metres (26,414 ft) above sea level, one of the eight-thousanders, in the Karakoram range, which spans Xinjiang, China, and Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan.
Photo: Kogo, CC BY-SA 3.0
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Mughal garden complex in Lahore, Pakistan
Also spelled Shalimar Gardens, a Mughal garden complex beside Baghbanpura, in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, dating from the Mughal Empire's artistic and aesthetic peak, and now one of the country's most popular tourist sights.
Photo: Muhammad Ashar, CC BY-SA 3.0
11th-highest mountain on Earth
Also called Hidden Peak, and first surveyed as K5, the world's 11th-highest mountain, 8,080 metres (26,510 ft) above the sea. It stands between Tashkurgan, in China's Xinjiang province, and Shigar District, in Pakistan's Gilgit–Baltistan region.
Photo: Dr. Olaf Rieck ( http://www.olafrieck.de ), CC BY-SA 3.0
Officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a South Asian country and the fifth most populous on Earth, with over 241.5 million people and, as of 2023, the world's second-largest Muslim population. Islamabad is the capital, and Karachi the biggest city and financial centre.
Officially The Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Based on the Wikipedia article, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0: the facts are Wikipedia's, the wording is this site's.
This guide lists 10: K2, Nanga Parbat, Badshahi Mosque and Terich Mir and others. Rohtas Fort is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
By machine, from open data, with no human ranking them and nobody able to pay for a place on the list. Everything Wikidata records in Pakistan that is a building, a landform, a protected area or a tourist attraction, has coordinates, a photograph and an English Wikipedia article, is ranked by how many Wikipedia language editions wrote about it. Provinces, cities, airports, stations and stretches of sea shared with the neighbours are filtered out.
1 of the 10 in this guide: Rohtas Fort. That is not the full count for Pakistan, only the listed sites that made this guide.
English, Urdu. The currency is PKR.
A travel eSIM is usually the cheapest way, and avoids a roaming bill. The plans suggested at the foot of this guide start at $2.33 for 2GB per day. The eSIM is data-only and sits alongside your normal SIM, so calls, texts and WhatsApp keep working on your own number.
Jazz. Your phone picks whichever has the best signal where you are, the same way a local phone does.
Maps, tickets and translation all want data, and roaming is the expensive way to get it. A Computatus eSIM eSIM connects to Jazz once you land, and installs by QR code before you leave.
| Plan | Data | Valid | Price | Order |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2GB per day Cheapest | 2 GB | 1 day | $2.33 | Get it → |
| 3GB for 15 days | 3 GB | 15 days | $4.03 | Get it → |
| 3GB per day | 3 GB | 1 day | $4.08 | Get it → |
| 3GB for 30 days | 3 GB | 30 days | $4.12 | Get it → |
| 10GB per day | 10 GB | 1 day | $6.50 | Get it → |
| 5GB for 30 days | 5 GB | 30 days | $6.80 | Get it → |
No app needed. Install by QR code before you fly, keep your own number for calls, and it connects the moment you land.
A commission on plans bought through these links is what pays for this guide. Nothing above depends on it: the places are chosen before any price is looked up.
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