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Karakoram Highway

Pakistan - The Old Silk Route

Karakoram Highway

Karakoram Highway

Karakoram Highway - Baltit Fort

Road from Shimshal

Pakistan - The Old Silk Route

Key Places:
Pakistan - The Old Silk Route Cycling Holiday

Mountains and Glaciers

Gilgit

The Gilgit Valley at an elevation of 1,500m offers spectacular scenic beauty. It is surrounded by lakes, rivers, glaciers and high mountains ranges. Some of the world's largest peaks, such as Nanga Parbat (8,125m) and Raka Poshi (7,788m) are located here.

The best season to visit is from May to mid-October. The local dialect is Shina, however, Urdu and English are also spoken and understood.

Islamabad

Islamabad

The 1950s and 1960s were the era of the 'new town'; a concept first elaborated in Britain after World War II under the banner 'Homes fit for heroes to live in!' This idealism underpinned the Pakistan government's decision to construct Islamabad to replace Karachi as its capital city.

Work started in 1961 and is still far from finished. Wide Roads, detached houses and gardens contrast somewhat with the old Pakistani city.

Places of interest include Pakistan's largest mosque: Faisal Mosque and the Lok Virsa Museum where you'll see an interesting collection of folk and traditional artefacts  and green spaces. Just an hour by taxi from Islamabad is the UNESCO World Heritage site, Taxila. Meaning "City of Cut Stone" or "Takṣa Rock", Taxila is an important archaeological site where you can see remains of four early settlement sites, Buddhist monasteries, and a Muslim mosque and Madrassa.

Islamabad's' twin City Rawalapindi only 15 km apart, has crowded, narrow winding bazaars and ancient buildings huddled together.

Rawalapindi

Rawalpindi

A visit to the bazaar in the old city of Rawalpindi; wandering through the Saddar and Rajab Baazar is what visiting a Pakistani city is all about. This, as opposed to the planned wide open Islamabad, is how a traveller imagines an eastern city to be.

Experience the vibrant buzz in the narrow crowded streets with vendors selling jewellery, brass, copper and Kashmiri embroidery. In fact it is possible to buy almost anything!

Shah Faisal Mosque

Shah Faisal Mosque

You can't fail to be impressed by Islamabad's remarkable mosque; said to be the biggest in Asia with room for 100,000 worshippers.

It was designed by the renowned Turkish architect Vedat Daloky and named after the late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, who contributed most of the 50 million dollar cost.

Fly on Top of the World

Fly the Roof of the World

This flight must be one of the most exciting in the world, the small Fokker Friendship plane flies around the 8,125m (26,660ft) Nanga Parbat.

The pilot sometimes invites passengers into the cockpit to see some of Pakistan's 82 peaks over 7,000m (23,000ft), which stretch, range after range, as far as the eye can see.

The sharp triangle of K-2, the second highest mountain in the world, is clearly visible on the horizon.

If you need assistance or wish to discuss the tour, please feel free to call us on +44 (0) 1463 417707.

Alternatively, you can email us on office@redspokes.co.uk for more information on this adventure holiday.

Key Places

There are several key places on our Pakistan - The Old Silk Route cycling holiday. Please choose from the following list for more information on each key place.