UNESCO World Heritage Trail Southern Pakistan Tour

Badshahi mosque is one of the few significant architectural monuments built during Emperor Aurangzeb's long rule from 1658 to 1707, Its on UNESCO tentative list, the mosque remains the largest on the Indian subcontinent

UNESCO world Heritage Site, Lahore fort is the only place in Pakistan which represents the different phases in the development of Mughal architecture. It achieved prominence during the reign of Emperor Akbar. Afterwards his successors, Jahangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb added numerous new buildings.

It was built by the Governor (or Wazir) of the Punjab, Hakim Shaikh Ilm-ud-din Ansari. The construction of the mosque commenced in 1634.Hakim Wazir Khan, the Subedar of Lahore in the reign of the Emperor Shah Jahan,

emonies that attracts crowds from both the sides of the border,Every single day, a special retreat ceremony is held at the border, which is no less than a spellbinding event,started in 1959

Lahore is the largest museum in all of Pakistan. Founded in 1864 by the British,Museum building is a Mughal style building on the Mall, Punjab. Built in 1894,The Museum houses artifacts from many countries and regions such as Burma, Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet, Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa.The museum houses the largest collection of Gandhara Buddhist artifacts other being Peshawar Museum

Shopping day for tourist in the traditional Bazaar of Lahore

Lahore food street is famous for its exquisite sub-continent dishes,

By 2600 BCE, small Early Harappan communities had developed into large urban centers. These cities include Harappa, Ganeriwala, and Mohenjo-daro,In the 1920s, archaeologists finally began to excavate and uncover the sites of Harappa and Mohenjodaro. The long-forgotten Indus Valley

The Tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam located in Multan, Pakistan, is the mausoleum of the Sufi saint Sheikh Rukn-ud-Din Abul Fateh. The shrine is considered to be the earliest example of Tughluq architecture, and is one of the most impressive shrines in the Indian subcontinent

Tomb of Shams-i Tabrīzī or Shams al-Din Mohammad was a Persian poet, who is credited as the spiritual instructor of Mewlānā Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhi, also known as Rumi in Konya present day turkey

Sateen Jo Aastan, the tomb of seven sisters, located in Rohri,Sukkur

The Derawar Fort is a large square fortress in Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan. The fortress's forty bastions can be seen from a distance in the Cholistan Desert.Derawar fort was built by Rai Jajja Bhatti, a Rajput ruler of the Bhatti clan. The fort was built in the 9th century AD as a tribute to Rawal Deoraj Bhatti, a Rajput sovereign king of the Jaisalmer now in India ,In the 18th century, the fort was taken over by Muslim Nawabs of Bahawalpur from the Shahotra tribe. It was later renovated by Abbasi rulers, but in 1747 the fort slipped from their hands owing to Bahawal Khan's preoccupations at Shikarpur. Nawab Mubarak Khan took the stronghold back in 1804. 1,000 year-old catapult shells were found in the debris near a decaying wall in the fort.

Standing proudly in the midst of the Cholistan desert, the Derawar Fort is a famed hallmark of Bahawalpur. ... The Abbasi family was the ruling Nawab family of Bahawalpur and all of the previous ... A mosque close by is built on the design of Moti Masjid at Delhi's Red Fort

UNESCO World Heritage Sites The Tomb of Bibi Jawindi The Tomb of Bibi Jawindi is one of the five monuments in Uch Sharif, Punjab,the great granddaughter of the saint Jahaniyan Jahangasht,was known for her piety.Dating back to the 15th century the tombs were washed by the shifting river

A UNESCO world heritage site,The largest settlement of Indus Valley civilization is an absolute marvel, the city is divided in three areas, the rich colony , artisan colony and soldiers colony , the area around the stupa has a university site , the houses were double storied with there own water well,kitchen area and wash room, streets were lid by burners at night ,sewerage system in all streets and canals were covered, there was a dust bin at the corner of each street, Great bath was fed by the nearby indus river for travelers and general public,Built around 2500 BCE, Mohenjo-Daro — like the rest of the Indus Valley Civilization — went into sudden decline for unknown reasons in 1900 BCE and was subsequently abandoned possibly because of the drying up of a major Indus River

The Archaeological museum Mohenjo daro is 5 minutes walk from the actual ruins, build around 1960s it houses artifacts recovered during the excavation of Mohenjo Daro,it contains the pottery,Jewelry,toys,ivory and other artifacts

Kot Diji fort is magnificent because of its sheer size, Build atop a limestone ridge at the edge of the desert, on other side irrigated fields are well fed by the tributaries of Indus river, Build by the first Talpur Mir in 1785 to 1795 besides Kot diji village in Khairpur state The fort was apportioned into three parts among the Talpurs. One of the parts came under the rule of the Mirs in Hyderabad; the second portion went to the Talpurs of Mirpur Khas while the Talpurs of Khairpur Mirs held the third portion under control, its 1.5 hours drive from Mohenjo daro and its could not be missed.

Lal Shahbaz Qalandar was a Sufi saint, philosopher, poet who preached love and tolerance for people of all religions,regardless of ethnicity,is a muslim shrine dedicated to the 13th century Islamic mystic Lal Shahbaz Qalandar. The shrine is located in Sehwan Sharif two hours drive from Hyderabad,The shrine's dhamaal, or meditative dancing ceremony happens every day after the sunset for one hour

Bhittai was a Sindhi Sufi poet, mystic, and saint of the 18th century, renowned for his iconic collection of poetry, The complex is notable for being elaborately decorated with Sindhi tile work featuring blue and white floral themes. It is a structure covered with traditional Iranian qashani tiles, glazed in the colours such as blue and turquoise.Shah Jo Risalo. Bhit Shah is a small town near Hala about 200 kilometres from Karachi in Pakistan,The tomb of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai made the center of spiritual rites during the period of 1668-1752 A.D. People from different faiths and religions are engrossed round the year, the highlight of the visit to the shrine is to listen to a group of eight Faqirs, all clad in black, and singing stanzas from famous poetry of the poet,The tradition of Faqirs singing at the shrine is 300-year old He invented simple musical instrument “Tambooro” which is even now popular all over Sindh.

The chaukhandi (meaning four sided) tombs date more than 300 years old.about 29 kilometres north east of Karachi, tombs are remarkable for the elaboration and exquisite stone carving.These tombs impute the graves of local tribes of Baloch,Jam and Jokhis, Tombs are on UNESCO tentative list since 1993

A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981, the Makli Necropolis sits just outside of Thatta,about 100 kilometres from Karachi, Makli Necropolis is one of the largest funerary sites in the world,The graveyard spreads out into a diamond-shaped enclosure, before thinning out into the surroundings,Makli began to be used as a cemetery in the 15th century as the Samma Dynasty (1335-1520) consolidated power. With its capital at Thatta, a mere 5 kilometres to the east, Makli became the favored graveyard of kings, commoners,saints and all classes in between.The necroplois is divided in two parts old part consist tombs of Samma dynasty and new part consist of Persian,afghan and Mughul rulers , travelers will travel through a golf cart

The Shah Jahan Mosque was built in the reign of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.The 17th century Muslim emperor Shah Jahan is known around the world as the Mughal king who built the Taj Mahal Shah Jahan loved red and white in the monuments he build, for example Taj Mahal in white and Red fort of Agra in Red stones, however this mosque was build after his central Asian visits the architecture with its huge court yard is more Central Asian and Persian, use of blue tiles is considered to be the most elaborate display of tile work The Mosque was a gift to the people of Thatta by Shah Jahan when he was hiding from his father Jahangir,interestingly he was third mughal to come this far, Emperor Humayun when defeated by Sher Shah Suri was here for a short time and off coarse Emperor Akbar was born in Umerkot neat Thatta

The Mohatta Palace is a museum located in Karachi,the palace was built in 1927 in the posh seaside locale of Clifton The architect, Agha Hussain Ahmed built the palace on the model of the traditional stone palaces in Rajasthan. He used pink Jodhpur stone in fusion with the local ghizri stone, the site now has been used for museum

Abdullah Shah Ghazi was an eighth-century Muslim mystic and Sufi,the shrine is now located in posh area of Karachi in Clifton Abdullah Shah Ghazi shrine remains one of the most popular landmark in Karachi despite modifications

after breakfast head to Lahore airport for return journey