BUDDHISM GANDHARA

Buddhismflourished in the region of present Pakistan, centuries ago. There are several places of interest throughout the country i.e. Hunza, Gilgit, Skardu, Shard, Mansehra, Rawat and even in Sind, however the area with most rich heritage is Taxila, Peshawar and lower Swat valley. We have designed a program to visit the key places in this region.

Day 01:Islamabad ndash; Peshawar ndash; Peshawar Museum(200kms/3hrs)
Drive to Peshawar and transfer to hotel on arrival.
In the afternoon, we will visit Peshawar Museum, housing a good collection of Buddhist artifact.
Later on, the city sightseeing tour would include a visit to Qissa Khawani bazaar and Masjid Mohabat Khan.

Day 02:Peshawar ndash; Saidu Shareef (Swat Valley)(170kms/5hrs)
After breakfast in hotel, we will depart for Swat Valley and on arrival transfer to hotel.
In the afternoon, we will drive to Manglore, a nearby town to visit the laregest rock cared figure of Lord Buddha at Jahanabad.

Day 03:Saidu Shareef ndash; TakhateBahi ndash; Shahbaz Garhi ndash; Khanpur(230kms/7hrs)
After breakfast, we will checkout and visit Swat Archaeological Museum, mainly with the collection of Buddhism relics and pieces of art.
We will visit the site of Butkara 1 as well, prior leaving Swat Valley. Crossing the picturesque Malakand P, we will make stop at TakhateBahi, one of the most important sites in the region.
Resuming our drive, we will visit the Ashoka Rock Inscription at Shahbaz Garhi near Mardan.
We continue our drive to Taxila and make a night stop at Khanpur, a scenic spot with turquoise green lake.

Day 04:Khanpur ndash; Jaulian ndash; Sirkap ndash; Taxila Museum ndash; Islamabad(60kms/2hrs)
After breakfast, we will check out and visit the famous site of Jaulian with a good collection of votive stupas and statues in the monastery above a hillock.
We will later visit the site of Sirkap, which was the second city of Taxila and then visit the Archaeological Museum of Taxila, which would complete the story of the tour.
We will drive back to Islamabad and drop participants at the designated spot.

End of the Tour...

Price Includes:

Private air conditioned transport
Accommodation in standard hotels
Daily breakfast
English speaking guide for complete tour
Basic First Aid kit

Price Excludes:

Late checkout, if different from standard checkout time
Personal insurance of clients/luggage
Meals other than breakfast
Laundry, beverages amp; phone calls or other expenses of personal nature
Extra expenses due to the acts of nature and political reasons etc.
Medical aid, evacuation or extra expenses in emergencies
Any item not mentioned above