Pakistan

I had a really good time in Pakistan despite having been quite ill (from a bug I got in Turkey). I met some really good people and the locals were probably the most hospitable I have met anywhere. There are interesting spots all over the country but it is the people and the scenery that is the best.The Pakistani food is similar to Indian but the Chinese food in Pakistan is often better than it is, in China. Many travellers found the road side butchers slightly unhygienic, no problem if its cooked well though.

Karimabad (photo 1) is an attractive town in the north of the country and is the only place in Pakistan I saw many tourists. In fact there seemed to be more there than in the rest of the country put together. With Rakaposhi (photo 1), one of the world's highest mountains looming over the town it makes an attractive setting.

Some of the most spectacular mountains I have seen are in the north of Pakistan. In Passu the Cathedral (photo 1) is an impressive jagged mountain. This area has the highest concentration of over seven thousand metre peaks in the world and is also the region with the highest concentration of glaciers away from the poles. Examples of these are the Batura (photo 2) and Passu (photo 3) glaciers. At some points there are precarious rope bridges spanning wide gorges (photo 4), the wood boards apart from being quite spaced out were often broken and rotten aswell.