Pakistan is blessed with excellent tourist spots nearly all over the country.Historical places merge into natural sights in a most appealing manner.We have historical sights worth at Banbhor,east of Karachi,with its famous museum.Makli in Sindh has the largest necropolis.Thatta is famous because of Makli.Moenjo-daro in the Indus river valley,Taxila in the north coast of Rawalpindi,Harappa near Sahiwal,the Lahore Fort,the Badshahi Mosque,Jehangir's and Nur Jehan's tombs and the Shalimar Garden sin Lahore are famous historical sights.The Khyber Pass in the Khyber-Pakhtunkwa,through which conquerors from Afghanistan and Iran entered India,is a natural sight that reflects history.Murree,Ayubia,Swat,Kaghan and Naran in the north and Ziarat in Balochistan are fresh and cool like open nature.Kalam and its famous Mahudan lake in the north are paradisiacal in natural beauty.
The Saiful-Maluk Lake is close to Naran.It is the highest lake on earth whose depth is still unknown.The beautiful mountains around it dwarf us in our human existence.
Natural beauty,in all its forms,is offered by the mountainous Khyber-Pakhtukwa,its valleys,lakes and streams.Historical and cultural sites are found in plenty in Sindh and the Punjab.
Tourists,from within the country and abroad,like to visit the northern areas most of all.Their scenic beauty and charm are comparable to the best in the world,say,in Switzerland.The Hunza valley in the north is close to the famous K-2 and Rakaposhi mountains,among the highest peaks.Tourists stay in motels and go on long walks,also attempting mountain climbing.The historical sites and cultural centers like tombs of famous saints and museums also attract a great number.We find Harappa,Moenjo-dara and Taxila,with their meuseums,are crowded most of the visiting time.Tourists also like to listen to the "qawalli" at shrines and tombs, and many take part in the Sufi rock music and singing.
Tourism in the country is managed by the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation.It has its offices in Karachi,Lahore,Islamabad and Abbotabad.It publishes tourism books,pamphlets and pictures of tourist sites.It offers useful advise and guidance to tourists in different languages.It also provides guides to visiting tourists who take them around tourist spots and explain their features.
The terrorist attacks on foreigners,especially from the western countries,has affected the tourism industry very badly.Now Pakistan ranks 103 in 124 countries offering facilities of tourism.The travel and hotel facilities at tourist sites are not very encouraging.Then the general social,political and economic conditions have not been favorable even to the citizens.Sightseeing and tourism in Swat have been seriously affected by the war-like situation.
The people should join the government in its efforts to crush terrorism.The government should improve the law and order situation in all possible ways.Then all sorts of facilities should be provided by the government in hotels and tourist homes.Traveling should be comfortably easy.With all this,there will be an upsurge in tourism.We should have the best international standards of tourism in the country.With this Pakistan will be a first-rate tourism-friendly country.
