Discover Pakistan

Cradled by the mighty Karakoram, Skardu is a high-altitude valley of turquoise lakes, cold deserts and granite spires that crown the roof of the world.

Hunza blooms twice a year — once in April when the cherry blossom paints the valley pink, again in autumn when the poplars turn molten gold.

Mountains drape themselves in emerald, rivers run jade-blue, and tin-roofed villages cling to terraced slopes — Kashmir has a way of making time slow down.

The Kunhar river writes the script here — and Naran-Kaghan obeys with one lake after another: Saif-ul-Malook of fairy-tale fame, Lulusar, Dudipatsar.

Swat is layered like a love letter — Gandhara stupas, Yusufzai villages, pine forests on Malam Jabba's slopes, and the white-water Swat River threading it all together.

A plateau of dew and wildflowers at the foot of the world's ninth-highest mountain — Fairy Meadows is what every Pakistani postcard whispers about.

The second-highest plateau on Earth, Deosai is a 3,000 sq km tapestry of wildflowers, marmots and brown bears — empty, vast, and unreal.

A 240km ribbon of jade water running between forested ridges — Neelum is Kashmir's longest, slowest indulgence.

At 4,693m, Khunjerab is the highest paved border crossing on the planet — Pakistan ends, China begins, and the air thins to a whisper.

Naltar's three lakes — Blue, Bodlok and Pari — hold colours that don't look real on first glance. Set against pine and snow, they belong on canvas.