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Some 35 km north-west of Rawalpindi, on the
way to Peshawar, lies Taxila, world famous for
its archaeological sites, dating back to the 5th
century BC. The city flourished for a thousand
years and was famous as a centre of Gandhara
art, architecture and sculpture, education and
religion in the days of Buddhist glory.
At Taxila you come face to face with the
great Buddha. He looms over you larger than
life. His serene eyes gaze at you till you find
yourself gripped by a feeling of awe.
You meet others also at Taxila. Alexander of
Macedonia, for one. And Asoka, the famous
Buddhist king. And the Emperor Kanishka, perhaps
the greatest of them all. Their imprints are
everywhere. As you, the space-age visitors, step
into Taxila you are suddenly 2,500 years
younger. for that is when one of the world's
least known but most interesting civilizations
took root and flourished in Taxila that ancient
city south of River Indus.
Once a province of the powerful Achaemenian
Empire, Taxila was conquered by Alexander in 327
BC. It later came under the Mauryan dynasty and
reached a remarkable mature level of development
under the great Asoka.
Then appeared the Indo-Greek descendants of
Alexander's warriors and finally came the most
creative period of Gandhara. The great Kushan
dynasty was established about 50 AD. During the
next 200 years Taxila became a renowned centre
of learning, philosophy and art. Pilgrims and
travelers were attracted to it from as far away
as China and Greece.
The end came in the fifth century AD when the
White Huns snuffed out the last of the
successive civilizations that had held unbroken
sway in this region for several centuries.
Exploring Taxila is a multi-dimensional
experience. You are attracted by the richness
and variety of the famed Gandhara sculpture.
There are endless images of Buddha, in stone and
stucco, and numerous panels depicting all the
important stages of the great sage's life.
Exquisitely sculpted friezes and statues of all
sizes awoke the life and times of one of the
world's most impressive men of peace: Gautama
Buddha.
Each carved bit of sculpture, from the
colossal to the miniature and there are
literally thousands of them is a collector's
item. Even if you aren't exactly a devotee of
the sculpture of the first century AD, you will
find it a challenge to trace similarities
between the Gandhara masterpieces and their
Graeco-Roman Counterparts.
Incidentally, it is these stone men and women
of Gandhara who greet you so graciously in
Taxila, or rather their craftsmen, who first
gave visual expression to Bhudda and his era.
And then there are the excavated ruins. Three
distinct cities stretch before you in a
surprisingly good state of preservation. With
your imagination aided by the carved people who
inhabit these cities, you will have little
difficulty in picturing crowds on the well laid
out streets, facilities in the spacious houses,
priests in the towering stupas and royalty in
the great palaces.
The earliest city, Bhir Mound, dates back to
the sixth century BC. Its irregular streets,
cramped houses and mediocre public buildings
indicate its primitive origins.
Sirkap, on the opposite side of the Tamara
Stream, is much newer, having been built in the
second century BC. You will find Sirkap as
well-planned city.
And as you stroll down its wide streets you
can call at the houses of the affluent and go
slumming as it were, in the more crowded
sections where dwelt the common man of the dim
and misty past. Note the fortification wall, the
long, straight and impressive main street, the
Royal Place, an Apsidal Temple and the Shrine of
the Double-Headed Eagle.
The third city, Sirsukh, is modern by
comparison. It was apparently built by the
Kushan kings in the first century AD. It has not
been fully excavated as yet it is clearly a well
fortified, well laid out city, patterned after
Central Asain cities land is complete with a
suburb.
In addition to these three major cities, many
important monasteries, stupas and palaces have
been excavated all along the Taxila valley. Many
more, surely, still lie buried awaiting
discovery.
If you can't manage all, you must at least
explore the remarkable Dharmarajika Stupa, two
miles east of the Taxila Museum. It comprises a
main building, a monastery area where the monks
lived and a series of small chapels. Sacred
relics of Buddha and a silver scroll
commemorating the relics were found in one of
the chapels. A wealth of gold and silver coins,
gems, jewellery, and other antiques were
discovered at Dharmarajika. These are all housed
in the Taxila Museums.
There is also Jaulian, another impressive
complex of chapels, stupas, quadrangles, and
monastery with assembly hall, store rooms,
refectory, kitchen and bathrooms. At five small
stupas you will see beautiful stucco reliefs of
Buddha and Buddhisatvas supported by rows of
stone elephants and lions.
Three kilometers from Jaulain is another
well-preserved monastery at Mohra Moradu. In one
of the monk's cells here was found a small stupa
with almost all the details imageless temple in
the classic Greek style, with columns and
cornices.
For the climber three is the Glen of Giri,
about five kilometers from Dharmarajika Stupa.
Atop the highest peak of a range of hills are
two stupas and a fortress built in a cleft near
a spring of pure, sweet water. The stucco
decorations of the stupas are well worth the
climb.
No amount of description can do justice to
the Taxila ruins. To feel and understand their
full important you simply have to go there. Even
today, Taxila is a place of peace. Its pastoral
landscape is almost as inviting as its living
past. Early man know what he was doing when
2,500 years ago he choose to site his cities in
this delightful hill-edged valley.
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 Museum
The archaeological museum at Taxila is a real
treasure house. Its collection of coins,
jewellery, relics, and gold and silver caskets
alone are worth a King's ransom. But its real
glory comes from stone and stucco that exquisite
young. Its impressive collection will help you
get to know Gautama, the Lord Buddha, better.
The ivy-covered, Gothic-style museum is set
in a picturesque garden. There is in the central
hall a plaster cast of the stupa topped with
seven umbrellas found in Mohra Moradu. A relief
map of the valley pinpoints the location for the
different excavated sites.
There are rows of cases filled with the famed
sculptures, stucco reliefs, stones, plaster and
terra-cotta figures, glass tiles and such
objects as toilet articles, seats, beads, bark
manuscripts, silver utensils, carpentry tools,
surgical instruments and much else. A nominal
entry fee is charged at the museum.
Murree
and the Galis
 Murree,
at 2,240 meters (7,400 feet), is only an hour's
drive north-east of Islamabad. Its cold pine
forests, amidst magnificent mountain scenery,
make it the first choice for a day's outing from
the capital. The Galis are a string of hill
resorts along the ridge between Murree and
Abbottabad, on the Karakoram Highway.
Founded as a hill station by the British in
1851, Murree was the summer headquarters of the
government of Punjab until 1876, when the honor
was transferred to Simla. Murree remained,
however, a little bit of England, complete with
The Mall for promenading, parks, churches,
schools, clubs and cafes. Since independence,
Murree has once again become the summer retreat
of the governor of Punjab and, since Islamabad
became the capital of Pakistan in 1962, has
expanded rapidly.
Murree is lovely all year round. In summer it
is cool - even chilly in the evening - and rain
is common. In winter, the snow is piled high
along the sides of the streets.
But it is extremely popular with Punjabis
escaping the heat of the plains in summer, so is
too crowded for comfort from late May to early
September, especially at weekends. To beat the
crowds and still enjoy the walks, the best time
to go in April-May and September-October.
Murree spreads along the top of a ridge for
about five kilometres (three miles). At the
north-east end is Kashmir Point, with views
across the valley of the Jhelum River into Azad
Kashmir. At the south-west end is Pindi Point,
looking back towards Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
Between the two runs The Mall, at the centre of
which is the main shopping area, where most
people congregate. Numerous roads leave. The
Mall and either follow the contours of the ridge
or descend to the principal road. Promenading
and shopping are Murree's main amusements, or
riding in the new chair-lifts, one from Bansara
Gali (below Murree) to Pindi Point, the other to
the top of Patriata hill (on the road to Karor);
both rides cost about Rs. 50 and take half an
hour with a change from open chair-lift to the
enclosed bubble in the middle.
Good buys in Murree are Kashmiri shawls,
furs, walking sticks, fruits and nuts. Murree's
pistachio nuts are reputed to be the best in
Pakistan.
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Bhurban is a minor resort eight kilometers
(five miles) from Murree on the road leading
north-east to Kohala and the Jhelum Valley. The
golf course here is open only to members. From
near the Pearl Continental hotel you can take
one of the many delightful paved walks through
the woods.
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Nathiagali
Perhaps the most sought out is the beautiful
Nathiagali perched 2501 meters high about 32 km
away from Murree. The bracing air of the
surrounding mountains is as pure as fresh spring
water.
Ayubia
Khairagali, Changlagali, Khanspur and Ghora
Dhaka, these four mini resorts spread over an
area of 26 km have been developed into a resort
complex called Ayubia. In addition to riding
trails, hiking places and picnic spots, Ayubia
has a chair lift, which like a ski-lift, takes
you up to the summit of the nearby range for a
panoramic view of the forested hills. Ayubia is
26 km from Murree.
Dungagali
Dungagali is a picturesque small resort
situated on the slopes of the Mukshpuri hill
(2376 m.). It commands a charming view of a
series of wooded spurs projecting towards the
river Jhelum on the western side. From Dungagali
one can climb the 2813 m peak of Mukhshpuri,
which is the highest point in the range. Natural
springs abound on the slopes. It is 30 km from
Murree.
Khairagali
It is 16 km from Murree at an elevation of
2346 m and commands a panoramic view on either
side of the ridge.
Changlagali
It is 16 km from Murree at an altitude of
2559 m. There is a rest house located in the
most picturesque surroundings.
Patriata
25 km from Murree. The TDCP has developed a
new tourist resort at Patriata. There is
chairlift and cable car system which takes
visitors up to Patriata Ridge in two stages from
Gulehra Gali. The first stage is by chair lift
up to Patriata Bazaar. From here visitors
transfer to cable car gondolas for the ride up
to Patriata Ride. A restaurant has also been
established. Further plans include development
of a wildlife park at the mid-station.
 See Also:
Pictures of Murree - Nathia Gali - Kashmir Point
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Abbottabad 116 km from Rawalpindi and 217 km
from Peshawar is a small neat and clean town in
a spacious valleys surrounded by green hills. It
is a popular summer resort, located at the end
of Murree-Abbottabad hill tract at a height of
1255 meters, noted for its verdant parks,
gardens, golf course and pine covered hills.
Abbottabad, apart from being famous for its
educational institutions and Military Academy,
also serves as the gateway to almost all
beautiful places in Pakistan.
The formidable Karakoram, the enchanting
Himalayas and the deadly Hindukush, can also be
approached fro
Abbottabad. Though the importance of the city
has been diminished a little by the completion
of Karakoram Highway because, in the past, the
only track available to reach Karakoram was
through Babusar Pass, which in its turn, could
only be approached through Abbottabad.
In spite of this development, the city
continues to be a transit city for the tourists.
Abbottabad is the junction from where one can go
to places like Hunza, Gilgit, Skardu and Indus
Kohistan, of the Karakoram Range. One can reach
Swat, Swati Kohistan, Dir and Chitral of the
Hindukush Range. And one can approach Naran,
Saif-ul-Muluk, Shogran and Babusar Pass of the
Himalayan Range. Neelum, Lipa and Jhelum Valley
of beautiful Azad Kashmir are also connected
through Abbottabad.
While other hill stations are deserted during
winter this place has visitors due to the
bracing winter. The place has beautiful gardens,
Jinnah Garden, Ladies Garden and another garden
maintained by the Cantonment Board. To the
splendid stretch of turf with plenty of room for
polo, football, hockey and golf. At the back of
the station to the west is the Brigade Centre,
ideal for walks and picnic.
The Cantonment area of Abbottabad is still
very British. The European bungalows, the club,
the church and cemetery are still there.
Abbottabad is an hour's drive from Nathia
Gali, the summer capital of the North West
Frontier Province, which is from Nathia Gali to
Abbottabad is about 34 km dropping steeply
through the beautiful valleys with few trees to
the river bed.
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As the name indicates, Thandiani, is supposed
to be coldest among the hill stations of
Pakistan. the approach to Thandiani 2691 meters
above sea level, is from Abbottabad, the gateway
to almost all the beautiful places in the north.
Thandiani can also be reached from the
Murree-Nathiagali route, but it takes more time
and the road is too winding.
Thandiani is 31 km from main Abbottabad city
and 25 km from Thandiani-Nathiagali crossing.
the drive takes more or less 80 minutes from
Abbottabad with lovely views on both sides of
the road. The road spans more than 1219 m above
Abbottabad. On the way along with tall majestic
pine trees you come across groups of monkeys.
The major place on the way is Kalapani at 23 km
from Abbottabad. It has a beautiful local dark
bungalow. Hule Ka Danna is about two kilometres
north of Thandiani. It is one of the most
beautiful glades in the region.
Thandiani offers lush green lovely views. At
night the lights of Hazara District and Azad
Kashmir are clearly visible. To the east beyond
the Kunhar River, may be seen the snow covered
mountain ranges of Kashmir, to the north and
north-east, the mountains of Kohistan and Kaghan
are sighted, to the north-west are snowy ranges
of Swat and Chitral.
See Also:
Pictures of Thandiani - Ilyasi Mosque - Harnoye
Page 4 of 4 >> Go To
Bahawalpur - Multan -
Harappa |
Lahore - Badshahi Mosque
- Minar-e-Pakistan |
Islamabad -
Shah Faisal Mosque
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