Pakistan Attractions

Quetta

The capital and only place of any size in the parched, barren province of Baluchistan may be light on ancient monuments but it's fit to bursting with a vigorous blend of peoples, wide tree-lined boulevards and sterling British architecture.

Even more compelling, Pakistan's fruitbowl has a dramatic setting, with a mountainous backdrop on all sides. Don't miss the impressive Archaeological Museum of Baluchistan, the fort or the city's many colourful bazaars - great places to pick up marble, onyx and the finest carpets in Pakistan.

Karachi

Pakistan's commercial centre and largest city is a sprawling place of bazaars, hi-tech electronic shops, scurf-infested older buildings, modish new hotels and sweeping vistas over the Arabian sea. Intermittent civil unrest has impacted on the flow of tourism to the city.

Sights are spread far and wide so it's best to travel by taxi or rickshaw. A good place to start is the Quaid-i-Azam Mausoleum, a monument to Pakistan's founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah. More impressive is the white-marbled Defence Housing Society Mosque with its single dome, claimed to be the largest of its kind in the world.

Karachi has the dubious distinction of having a more visible security presence than perhaps any other Pakistani city. If your flight touches down in the middle of the night, it would be wise to wait until sunrise before catching a taxi and it may be sensible to avoid catching buses.

Nightlife in Karachi is an oxymoron.