Islamabad Highlights
A curated tour of Pakistan's planned capital, from its landmark mosque and hilltop viewpoints to the ancient Gandharan ruins of nearby Taxila.
Trip Stops
- 1
Pakistan's national mosque was designed like a giant Bedouin tent rather than a traditional dome, and was the largest mosque in the world from 1986 until 1993. It sits at the foot of the Margalla Hills and can hold up to 300,000 worshippers.
📍 Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan
- 2
This hilltop garden in the Margalla Hills offers the best panoramic view of Islamabad and the Faisal Mosque below. Wild monkeys are a common sight along the viewpoint's railings, so visitors are warned to keep food out of sight.
📍 Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan
- 3
Pakistan's third-largest national park wraps around the city and hides over 30 marked hiking trails, with Trail 3 and Trail 5 among the most popular. Leopards occasionally descend from the higher hills of Murree in winter.
📍 Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan
- 4
This Mughal-era village near Daman-e-Koh once served as a shared worship area for Hindus and Sikhs, and it still holds a temple and a gurdwara side by side. Founded in 1530, it's now known for its cafes, potters, and lantern-lit lanes.
📍 Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan
- 5
This flower-shaped national monument on the Shakarparian hills has four large petals representing Pakistan's major cultures, with three smaller petals for its minority regions. It's especially striking at night, when the granite structure is lit up.
📍 Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan
- 6
Also known as the Heritage Museum, this is Pakistan's largest museum, spanning 60,000 square feet of folk art, embroidery, jewelry, and woodwork from across the country. Life-size dioramas recreate traditional village life from each of Pakistan's regions.
📍 Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan
- 7
This 26-story glass complex is one of Islamabad's most recognizable skyscrapers, combining a shopping mall, a hotel, and residential towers. Its distinctive cross-braced facade has made it a fixture of the city's modern skyline since 2013.
📍 Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan
- 8
This artificial reservoir supplies water to both Islamabad and Rawalpindi and is a favorite spot for boating, fishing, and picnicking. The surrounding Lake View Park is home to Pakistan's largest bird cage.
📍 Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan
- 9
This 15th-century fortified caravanserai on the Grand Trunk Road once sheltered merchants and their goods on the trade route through the Pothohar Plateau. It also holds the tomb of Sultan Sarang Khan, a local Gakhar chief said to have died fighting Sher Shah Suri.
📍 Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan
- 10
This museum near Islamabad holds around 7,000 artifacts of Gandharan art excavated from the surrounding ruins, part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site that dates back over a thousand years before Islamabad itself existed. Construction began in 1918 under the direction of archaeologist Sir John Marshall.
📍 Taxila, Punjab, Pakistan
- 11
This ruined Buddhist monastery on a hilltop near Taxila was once home to one of the world's oldest universities before it was destroyed in the 5th century CE. Sunken stupas and monk cells still line the site, which is part of the Taxila UNESCO World Heritage listing.
📍 Taxila, Punjab, Pakistan
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