The Sheesh Mahal (The Palace of Mirrors) is located within the Shah Burj block in northern western corner of Lahore Fort. It was constructed under the reign of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in 1631-32. The ornate white marble pavilion is inlaid with pietra dura and complex mirror-work of the finest quality. The hall was reserved for personal use by the imperial family and close aides. It is among the 21 monuments that were built by successive Mughal emperors inside Lahore Fort, and forms the jewel in the Fort’s crown. As part of the larger Lahore Fort Complex, it has been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981.

The sheesh mahal was built by a famous architect of mughals. It was built in the middle of Akbar’s rule. The facade, consisting of five cusped marble arches supported by coupled columns, opens into the courtyard. The engrailed spandrels and bases are inlaid with precious stones. The pavilion is in the form of a semi-octagon, and consists of apartments roofed with gilded cupolas and intricately decorated with pietra dura and convex glass and mirror mosaic (ayina kari) with thousands of small mirrors.The decorative features also include stucco tracery (munabat kari) and carved marble screens in geometrical and tendril designs. The roof of the central hall rises up to two storeys. The hall was originally decorated with fresco paintings that were later replaced with glass mosaic in different colours.

Hanna Lake a delightful picnic spot near Quetta city in Pakistan and is one of the main attractions in the city. The lake is located a little short of the place where the Urak Valley begins and 10 km from Quetta. The greenish-blue waters of the lake provide a rich contrast to the sandy brown of the hills in the background.

Golden fish in the lake comes swimming right up to the edge of the lake. There is a lakeside restaurant with picnic tables shaded by pine trees. At one end, the irrigation dam rises out of the depths like battlements of a fort.

However, in 2011 the lake re-filled and once again gave rise to flora and fauna in its environment. The turquoise waters of the lake provide a rich contrast to the sandy brown of the hills in the background. One can promenade on the terraces or hire a boat and paddle on the lake and round the island in the middle.

hanna lake quetta

Urak is a valley surrounded by mountains in the province of Balochistan in Pakistan. It is located near Hana Lake, and 21 kilometres from Quetta city.  This valley is used for growing apple trees of good quality. It has a small waterfall in the end from where the Wali Tangi valley begins.  The Pashtun owners of the apple garden are very strict about the plucking of apples from the trees; the tourists may view and purchase the apples but may not pluck them from the trees, in case they may fine the tourists more than Rs.500

The Beautiful Village in the Mountains of Hindu Raj named as “Kishmanja” in Upper yarkhun valley,Chiral. In the background Koyozoom peaks(6871 metres Above Sea Level) rising into the sky.notice the river on the right side coming from glaciers in the far.

Chitral District, situated on the western bank of the Kunar River (also called Chitral River), in Pakistan. The town is at the foot of Tirich Mir, the highest peak of the Hindu Kush, 25,289 ft (7,708 m) high. It has a population of 20,000, while the district (of 14,833 km² or 5,727 sq mi), has a population of 300,000. The altitude of the valley is 3,700 ft (1,100 m).

A beautiful view of newly constructed Karsaz Flyover which is among the beautiful flyovers in Pakistan..It was completed in a short span of  3 months . To facilitate the  population of 18 million in the largest city in Pakistan. The city is located in the south of the country, along the coastline meeting the Arabian Sea, Karachi is also known as ” city of quaid” Due to Quaid-e-Azam’s ( founder of Pakistan) birthplace and burial place .

Karsaz road karachi

Another beautiful flyover in Karachi.

This is an amazing view of a tunnel and bridge over a river on the railway track from “Rohri to Quetta”. This track passes through 20 tunnels and over 368 bridges. It’s the longest Railway gradient of world, and most scenic Railway ride of Asia.

Rohri is a town of Sukkur District, In Sindh province of Pakistan. Located on the east bank of Indus River, Rohri town is the administrative headquarters of Rohri Taluka about 380km from quetta.

Quetta railway station..

Know we are at bar b q tonight at proximal point of sea view and breezes are still following you at open air roof top of this delightful restaurant. One of my favorite ways to start is by asking for an appetizer which may be I form of salads whose taste is inspired by western cuisines or simple continental appetizers that would also do but one should leave enough space to take a full delightful dose and experience the culinary expertise of this marvelous restaurant as there is still a lot to be tasted that ranges form continental to western, traditional to Chinese. Traditional items like karahi,s, sikh, grilled chicken/ lamb  are there specialty and returning without experience those would be like returning  from Egypt and not seeing the pyramids.

Flagged with “A” “B” & “C”.. mapping the chain of bar b q tonight restaurants  in Karachi.

City life in old Peshawar where tonga (horse cart), donky cart & rickshaws were the important means of  transportation in narrow & crowded roads.

Peshawar is one of the historical city in south Asia, the capital city & business center of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in pakistan. The history of peshawar reveals that  Kushan king Kanishka moved the capital from Pushkalavati, now called Charsadda in the Peshawar valley to Purushapura in the 2nd century.  Today Peshawar is among the prime cities of Pakistan west of the river Indus. Here some some pictures of Peshawar city that represents the rich culture, lifestyle & infrastructure of the city.

A roadside stall of  in Peshawar. Mostly mans migrated from Afghanistan during Russian war started these types of business from 1980 to earn living.

View of GT road (grand trunk road) in 1980. The GTS buses were the main public transport vehicles for traveling from one city to another.

Ghanta ghar or Cunningham clock tower,  Amust watch for those who want to see the tourist attractions of Peshawar. This clock is more than a century world. This construction is witness to various historic even ts in Pakistan. Cunningham Clock Tower is a place that no traveler would like to miss out. That is why it is so popular among local and foreign tourists.

Khyber charsi tika, the famous bar b q & fried meat resturant in peshawar.

Nisar charsi tika. the owner of the restaurant claims that he own the real charsi restaurant, all others using the same name will be fake

Namak Mandi Peshawar, a famous place for traditional & delicious food in Peshawar.

Cinema in Peshawar. from 1980 to 1990 the cinemas culture were at high fame

Cloth market of Peshawar in sadder, shafi market is the famous place of women to buy different varieties of clothes.

Tribal Art Bus collecting commuters on the gora kabristan stop in Peshawar.

Chowk Yadgar or “The Square of Remembrance” is a famous landmark of Peshawar. Its location at the heart of the old walled city of Peshawar makes it a must see for every traveler. It is located at the convergence point of different major roads and bazaars of the old city.

Mahabat Khan mosque, The mosque was built in the seventeenth century and it is named after Mahabat Khan Mirza Lerharsib who twice governed Peshawar under Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb. Mughal building from the time of Shah Jahan.

This is the Karkhano market in Peshawar. a famous place to buy smuggled items & eat afghan rice dish from baba wali.

Islamabad the capital of Pakistan is renowned city of the world and strategic point for travel & tourism in the country. the gateway to Islamabad is Benazir Bhutto international airport whereby which foreign delegates, diplomats, economists, businessmen and investors enter the country. Unlike other airports of capitals of world this airport is legged behind in technological sophistication. Average annual airport’s passengers handling capacity is around one million but demand ranges from three to four million a year and much of these passengers comprises of above mentioned strata of people who get an irking image of country while experiencing vexing arrival and departure facilities installed at airport.

As the major metropolitan cities of the world are getting advance the modes of traveling are getting sophisticated. Major metropolitan of world are readily getting equipped with modern day’s amenities like subways, trams, modern bus terminals and astounding modern airports. In the wake of modernism and changing trends those who are or will be legging behind the race of getting advance will consequently loose the race of becoming international economic magnet.

A view of passengers waiting in long queue in order to get board to plane

Unlike other modern airports in the world, the airports in Pakistan is still not be equipped with jetties or arrow bridges which are through which passenger get easily boarded on airplane without taking any coaster and waiting for any long queues in blazing sun, sizzling hot weather or in sheer rain.

These arrow bridges directly links boarding lounge to door of aircraft thus save passengers from experiencing harsh out side environment.The slot space, where aircrafts are parked, of this airport is very meager which causes abnormal delays during flight landing and takeoffs, immense trouble to passengers and airlines as well making this airport unattractive for foreign airlines.

PIA small aircraft standing in chitral airport.

The city of Islamabad demands an airport which could cater overwhelming number of passengers, equipped with all advance amenities that other renowned airports are equipped with. This would largely improve travel experience of passengers and is eminent to strengthen tourism industry.

The good news is that currently a new airport is under construction nearby Islamabad which would replace the current airport and hopefully that airport would be temptative enough to grab attention of foreign tourists and would create a healthy image of our country as being competitive in niches of modern economies. The new airport is strategically located and eloquently designed and according to authorities would comparable to any modern airport of the world. Currently construction work is in progress at fast track and is expected to come to reality at most by end of 2012.

colorful tail of PIA aircraft

Islamabad international airport

Lounge of Islamabad Airport

Airport in karachi, the largest city of pakistan.

Airport in lahore.

Lounge of alama iqbal international airport Lahore.

Faisalabad international airport.

Lunch served during the flight in Pakistan international airline (PIA).

During the flight in PIA.

Economy class cabin in PIA

Business class cabin.

April 2nd 2009 and PIA staff with passengers ( Spanish Pakistanis and Spanish) at Islamabad Airport ahead of the first ever Islamabad-Barcelona service. 29th March 2009 a few days earliers was the first Lahore=Barcelona flight. All passengers were given PIA goody bags! source

PIA flight crew back in 1992.

Located in Kohistan district of Khyber pakhtoonkhwa, in Pakistan. Palas Valley is famous for its rich wildlife, green mountains & beautiful forest. dispute its beautiful & attractive wildlife, this place is hidden from most of the tourists due to lack of hotels & tourists residences. people across the world have limited information & awareness about it. located on the left bank of the river Indus it has its boundaries with Allai. the local population is simple & a majority of them is uneducated. forests in palas is also a site for one of the world beautiful tragopan, that makes this place extremely important for western tragopan species. After the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan, this place got special attention from several national & international NGOs & till now they have contributed a lot in rising the livelihood of the local population as well as promoting tourism for Palas valley.

Beautiful green mountains in the valley

karakoram highway… road to palas valley..

A rare & special species of Tragopan, found in the forests of Palas valley

The 560 kilometers road which is linking the main industrial & largest city of Pakistan “Karachi” with newly constructed a deep-sea port “gawadar”. If you are traveling freak & love adventure long drives, you must check craze of makran coastal highway. This highway has surely opened many opportunities about tourism in Pakistan, it helps in increasing the business and economic activities in Pakistan.

The construction of makran coastal highway short the distance between gawadar to Karachi. Where in past the transport buses used to reach Gwadar in 18 to 24 hours, while now it takes 14 to 16 hours..

Since the road is passing through deserted areas along the sand mountainous. it is therefore suggested that you must take rescue/precautionary stuff with you.. if you are traveling by your own vehicle. While driving In summers, make sure that the engine cooling system is working properly. things must to do is filling up the fuel tank, taking few canes of waters, 2 spare tyres & don’t forget to take some light food as there is near to no recreation centers on the way..

This place is called Buzi Pass, Beautiful sand mountains at Makran Coastal Highway

Khund Malir, at Makran Coastal Highway

No lube shope or fuel pump at makran coastal highway.. you can get feul from local sellers at Ormara, they are mostly selling unbranded or petrol. so risk is yours.

Beautifil view of the beach, along makran highway, you can see the cliffs of Ormara as well!

Princess of hope…

Kund Malir Beach, beside makran coastal highway..