Pakistan Off the Beaten Path Tips by titti

The Kargah BuddhaFew kilometres west of Gilgit, the standing Buddha carved on a cliff face. You can hike to the village of Kargah Nala, or hire a “Suzuki” for a few hours trip. Then local kids will guide you to see the Buddha and the ruins of a monastery and a stupa. The stupa is not very “interesting” (just lots of stones … if it was “the stupa”…) , but, again, good valley views, villages and people.

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Udegram Following a “Lonely Planet Pilgrimage” we were looking for the ancient Buddist town of Ora . Thanks to our kind driver we reached this very suggestive place, a vast graveyard with thousands of stones scattered up the hillside. Beside the cemetery, some remains supposed to be what we were looking for; not very interesting.

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Mahmud Ghazni mosqueWithout the help of some friendly Pakistani guys, I would have never reached the ruins of this 11th century mosque, half-hour climb from Udegram remains. Here, the mosque caretaker looks very happy to see somebody and very proud to show you the ancient mihrab, hall, washing pool... Please, try to look interested; the poor man spend days and days just waiting for few tourists. Do not forget a small tip at the end of the trip. Walking, I glimpsed some differences between Muslim and Italian men about their attitude towards women. My Italian friend hiked too fast; no matter how hard it was for me. Soon he disappeared from view … completely careless about my fate! The Pakistani guys noticed I didn’t feel so fine, climbing the hill in that scorching hot day. So, they slowed down, walked beside me, waiting for me all the time. Well, this Italian friend was so worried about the situation of women in Islamic countries…

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Takht-i-BayOn the road from Saidu Sharif to Peshawar, visit Takht-i-Bay, the ruins of an ancient Buddhist monastery, placed on a rocky hill. The place worth a visit for the impressive Gandhara’s ruins, the views across the plain and … the local caretaker, an old nice man who will show you the place, the landscape, the guest book and … the “toilet”.

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Taxila”Taxila is one of the famous archaeological site in the world.” You can stop there on your way from Peshawar to Islamabad, but I suggest to spend more than few hours. The place is quite suggestive, also if you are not a Gandhara expert. The remains consist of three distinct cities, many monasteries and stupas, over a 25 sq km area. In the pic: Sirkap city. You can stroll down its paths picturing people in the streets, families in the houses, priests in the stupas … just let your mind free …

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