Lahore has an unexplored cultural history where the city leaves some archaeological sites that mark the most significant city of the country. It is home to several of the most prominent historic spots in the country where Lahore leaves several monuments that will expand your knowledge about the beautiful city. If you are interested in knowing about the cultural background and the historical places in Punjab, Lahore has all the charms you need! Lahore is known for recognized and unexplored historical spots in which you may have or never heard of these places before.
Historical Places in Lahore to Leave you Unexplored in Punjab
Lahore fills with a selection of monuments including old mosques, gardens, and walking paths amongst the most important historic sites in the Eastern province. The city is famous for its range of tourism activities and historical places in Lahore. There are many famous and historical places in Lahore coming from the Muslim, Sikhs, and Hindu reigns. The city represents beautiful historical buildings from old dynasties that has preserved decades ago. Once you enter Lahore, you enjoy the beautiful sightseeing where you can capture the greatest moments to explore the historical city.
To expand your knowledge about these archaeological sites, here are the 12 historical places in Lahore to visit:
1. Lahore Fort
Lahore Fort was constructed in 1566 and has a long historical background that leaves you in awe and astonishment. Lahore Fort is also known for Shahi Qila, which means Royal Fort. The monument locates at the northern end of the Walled City of Lahore and distributes an area of 20 hectares.
Lahore Fort has the dimensions of 1400 by 1115 feet and nearby this area, there is a famous palace called Sheesh Mahal or Palace of Mirrors that marks as one of the most recognized places in Lahore Fort. Once you enter the Palace of Mirrors, you will be awed by this wondrous historical site! It was constructed during Emperor Akbar’s reign and has designed based on the various Islamic and Hindu influences.
At the time of the construction in 500 years, the Moghuls and Sikh empires have constructed additional elements of the fort. This comprises the collections of Mughal items that made it a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981. The Fort’s chambers are worth seeing when planning to visit the historical places of Lahore. Lahore Fort is one of the historical places in the city where you will enjoy the ancient architecture behind this stunning monument!
2. Masjid Wazir Khan
Wazir Khan Masjid marks as one of the historical places in Lahore where the Mughal and Sikh emperors left a lot of historic culture and heritage in the Eastern province. Masjid Wazir Khan is one of the beautiful historic buildings of Muslim architects that has constructed in the 17th century, which the masjid began in 1634 and completed in 1641.
The intricate tiling is the highlight of this historic place where you can enter the masjid and capture the beautiful shots of the masjid. It seems like this mosque was built decades ago but it took 7 years to build this masterpiece and the place has mosaic tiles called Kashi-Kari that will leave you in awe and astonishment.
The masjid was constructed during the reign of Emperor Shah Jehan. To visit a Muslim premised architecture, Wazir Khan Masjid will give you the beauty of this stunning place! When planning to visit this masjid, be sure you cover fully from head to toe and women must wear loose clothing and cover their hair. The masjid has Shahi Hummam baths that adds the majestic feel of the religious premises and surrounds it with 32 ornate cloisters. The outer dimensions of the mosque are 279 feet by 159 feet. This makes a stunning architecture to visit this beautiful mosque in the city.
3. Gulabi Bagh Gateway
Gulabi Bagh was also known for the Tomb for Dai Anga, which is the gateway that is an entrance to many gardens built during the Mughal era. Persian noble Mirza Sultan Baig built the gateway in 1655. Although the entrance has not considered a garden until 1671, the gateway has converted into a tomb. That was how the Tomb for Dai Anga has its name.
The mausoleum or tomb was built in honour of Dai Anga who was the wet nurse of Shah Jahan, the fifth Mughal Emperor and the wife of Murad Khan of Bikaner. The mosaic style of her tomb marks the most interesting site about the mysterious gateway where you will fascinate the tiled pattern. This gateway is towards GT Road and on the outskirts of the Walled City of Lahore. Gulabi Bagh Gateway marks as the oldest historical places in Lahore where the tomb occupies the centre of the property for Dai Anga. To visit the oldest historical sites in the city, you must visit the Gulabi Bagh Gateway!
4. Begum Shahi Mosque
Begum Shahi Mosque was known for Mariyam Zamani Begum Mosque where the masjid was named for the honour of his mother. The masjid was built in the 17th century where the mosque has constructed with a mixture influenced from the Mughal period and the early Pashtun Lodi Empire. To talk about the architecture, the Mughal period was known for balconies and embellishments while the Pashtun Lodi Empire was known for wide arches and shorter domes. This makes one of the most stunning masjids to see when visiting Lahore historical places. Once you enter this masjid, you will feel peaceful and awed by the beauty of this architecture!
Jahangir was one of the early Mughal emperors where the masjid has mixed to add the combination of the Mughal and the Pashtun period to mark the iconic places in the city. In addition, the mosque was the first historic building in Lahore to utilize non-Quranic verses on the walls. To visit this earliest era of the masjid, do not forget to visit this historical place! When entering this masjid, be sure you cover it fully from head to toe.
5. The Tomb of Khan-e-Jahan Zafar Jang Kokaltash
In the Mughal period, the tomb is one of the best buildings of brickwork where this tomb was constructed in the 17th century. This marks the Mughal governor located in Mohalla Ganj in Lahore. During the reign of Emperor Aurangzeb, Zafar Jang Kokaltash was a high-ranked official that served as the Mughal Governor from 1691 to 1693.
The tomb was severely damaged during Ranjit Singh’s Era in which the grave was adorned with marble built with the octagonal platform and considers the last tomb that was built in the late Aurangzeb Era. The beautiful tomb marks the best Lahore monuments where you will wander the mysterious story about the octagonal tomb in a single dome. This is where Khan-e-Jahan was buried under this place after being dismissed by Emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir in 1693.
6. Haveli of Nau Nihal Singh
The grandson of Maharajah Ranjit Singh is Nau Nihal Singh where the Haveli locates near the gates of Mori, Bhatti and Lohari. The Haveli is a high-rise house that considers one of Lahore’s most majestic constructions where you be stunned by the glorious design of the beautiful residence.
Ranjit Singh was the founder of the Sikh Empire that has built a high-rise mansion as a personal residence, which preserves the true architecture for the Sikh culture.
The Haveli was constructed during the 1840s which the place has several chambers, lobbies, and terraces to add to the Sikh culture and architecture. The rooftops have furnished with gold paintings and mirrors and the place has decorated with glass and fake flowers to add to the beauty of the residence. Today, the Haveli has converted into Victoria Girls High School that consists of a rectangular structure with a façade that has divided into two sections. To plan to visit an unexplored place, the Haveli of Nau Nihal Singh is worth a visit that where you will enjoy each detail of the high-end mansion!
7. Shalimar Gardens
The Shalimar Gardens commonly referred to as Shalimar Bagh, leaves is a historical nature if you are seeking a relaxing atmosphere in Lahore. Shalimar Gardens locates near Baghbanpura with 5km northeast of the main city where the garden marks the most popular tourists’ attraction to enjoy the relaxing atmosphere.
Shalimar Garden comes from the Mughal dynasty and was built by Monarch Shah Jahan, the same emperor who built the Taj Mahal in 1642. This makes one of the iconic historical places in Lahore where you will enjoy the surroundings of the calming water, flowers and trees that make the best time to visit the garden during the spring and summer months. The distribution of the flowers and trees has designed based on the Kashmiri garden to represent nature and beauty for adding a peaceful atmosphere.
The garden comprises a large pool with a fountain to give the ambience for peace and has white marble construction and buildings that consider one of the most famous places in Lahore to visit for tourists. To visit a natural and peaceful atmosphere, this garden will give you an enjoyable walk! Be sure not to forget to visit the spectacular Shalimar Gardens!
8. Minar e Pakistan
Minar-e-Pakistan marks the recognized location in Lahore where Pakistan Resolution happened on 23rd March 1940. Soldiers guard around the monument to bear the commemoration for the silence of the country. This tower makes the best historical places in Lahore where the resolution gained independence in 1947. The building comprises 162 stairways inlaid with four pillars, which each belongs to Quaid-e-Azam, Fatimah Ali Jinnah, Allan’s Iqbal and Sir Syed.
Minar-e-Pakistan stands for liberty and the patriotism of the country. The 70m tall statue lies in the middle of Iqbal Park that located next to the Badshahi Mosque and the Lahore Fort. The place was built in the 1960s where the tower considers the recognized historical buildings in Lahore. Once you visit Minar-e-Pakistan, you will enjoy the beauty of the surrounding parks adding a peaceful atmosphere!
In the building, a lift takes you to the highest floor to enjoy the whole view of the city and the great park below. Unfortunately, the lifts are no longer operable. Fountains and Ranjit Singh tomb are also located inside the premises of Minar-e-Pakistan, which is now, sadly, not open to tourists due to security reasons. This considers one of the most visiting places in Lahore where tons of tourists head over to this iconic tower.
9. Nankana Sahib
Nankana Sahib marks the most sacred destination for the Sikh community where the place lies around 1.5 hours and 91km west of Lahore and 75km east of Faisalabad. The place was named after Sikhism’s founder, Guru Nanak, nine prominent of the Sikh Gurdwaras are housed in the city and started preaching in this place. The place was part of the Sheikhupura district until 2005, the provincial government raised the recognition of Nankana Sahib to promote more development in the area.
It has assumed that the main one, Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, is right at Guru Nanak’s birthplace. Millions of Sikhs pilgrims visit every year and you certainly want to see if you want to walk a little outside of Lahore. To visit the holiest place of the Sikh community, this place will leave you in awe and astonishment! When visiting this place, be sure you are fully covered and women must wear appropriate clothing to avoid the exposure of the hair, legs and arms.
10. Badshahi Mosque
Badshahi Mosque was built in 1671 and considers as one of the most beautiful and historical places in Pakistan. Its architecture and the characteristic constructed during the Mughal period, marked by sculpted red sandstones with marble to add the Mughal touch of that era.
Badshahi Masjid locates on the outskirts of the Walled City of Lahore and the west of Lahore Fort and constructed by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb where it remains the largest mosque in the Mughal era. The masjid constructed under the Sikh and then the British Empire, which was used as a garrison by the troops. The mosque has damaged by these forces and restored in 1939.
Once you visit this masjid, you will wonder about the massive space for holding thousands of worshipers and enjoy the architecture behind this beautiful place. The masjid holds up to 100,000 worshipers that can stay on the huge court of the mosque, making it Pakistan’s second-biggest mosque. This marks Lahore historical place where you ought to visit this masjid. Like any other religious premises, you be fully covered from head to toe and women must cover their hair.
11. The Tomb of Cypress
The Tomb of Cypress was known for the tomb of Begum Sharf-un-Nisa, which referred to as Saruwala Maqbara. Cypress Tomb locates 200 meters north of Dai Anga’s tomb and is situated in Begumpura. The tomb was constructed in 1745 during the reign of Emperor Mohammed Shah, for the sister of Nawab Zakaria Khan. She served as the governor of Lahore during the 18th century and was buried under this tomb, which elevates 5 meters off the ground. She would climb up in this place to read the Quran in the mornings and to curtain from unrelated men. This makes Lahore historical buildings where women restrict social and freedom to curtain from men.
Saru means cypress in Urdu and is named as cypress trees that can view on the tomb’s ceramic tiles. The cypress trees located on the upper portion of the tomb with four on each side and surrounded by flowering plants. Since her tomb leaves an open arch at the front, the only way to access the place is by using the ladder. To visit this mysterious tomb, you must head over to this place!
12. Lahore Museum
Lahore Museum is 150 years old and established under British rule in Pakistan and considers one of the largest museums in Pakistan. The museum is one of the best places to learn about the unfolding stories about Lahore and different parts of Pakistan. Lahore Museum locate near Anarkali Bazaar and opened in 1856, which then moved to ‘The Mall’ during the British colonial era in 1894.
The outside of the museum is lovely which shows a variety of architectural influences. This includes paintings, sculptures, artefacts from the Mohenjo-Daro era, carpets, manuscripts, Islamic artworks, priceless Qurans, excellent Mughal and Hellenic coin collections.
Lahore Museum displays more than 20 galleries that will leave you in astonishment of knowing about these unfolding stories about each thing displayed about the overall knowledge of the country. To know about the fascinating city and the country with rich history, this museum is a must-go site!
Wrap Up
Lahore is full of rich architecture and past cultural backgrounds that make you want to visit this second largest city in Pakistan. The city is full of preserved monuments that make you want to know about the historical places in Lahore.
Once you enter these stunning places, the beauty while expanding your knowledge about the city of Punjab will awe you. Whether you visit a recognized or underrated spot, these places leave a story that makes you wonder about these stunning historical sites. Be sure not to miss these historical places in the city and enjoy the cultural backgrounds!
