Pakistan is rich in its culture and history that leaves you in wonders to explore each historical site to know about the untold stories. The country has not left behind the historical places in Pakistan where you will visit various monuments, tombs and museums that is home to different regions representative of the nation.
Numerous historical spots in Pakistan ought to explore by everyone and has famous landmarks to present the history of each region.
We have many World Heritage Sites in the United Nations. The UN Education, Science and Culture Organization protect these places (UNESCO) and promotes tourism and unfolds the factual knowledge about each historical spot to visit.
Once you enter Pakistan, you will enjoy these cultural backgrounds and history of visiting different spots of each presenting the sense of style and harmony of each state. If you have not been to any of these historical places in Pakistan, these places will leave you in peace and enjoyment!
Other than that, Pakistan’s cultural and archaeological sites have existed around the before and after the independence which will leave you in astonishment! To pay for a visit, here is the list of historical places in Pakistan that adds to your travel diary.
Top 10 Historical Places in Pakistan to Explore and Enjoy
1. Mohenjo Daro
Mohenjo Daro has discovered in 1921 and is the largest city and the oldest settlement in the Indus Valley Civilization. The place was built around 2500 BC and the city became abandoned due to unknown reasons. Mohenjo Daro locates 80 km southwest of Sukkur and near Larkhana in Sindh.
Mohenjo Daro means ‘Mound of the Dead’ as this place has remained condemned for 3700 years and has the size of 300 hectares. This makes the iconic historical places in Pakistan where you will find the untold stories about Mohenjo Daro!
Since Mohenjo Daro has left abandoned remnants, the site represents the similarity to Harappa that located 640km to northwest Punjab. Once you visit the Mohenjo Daro, you will wonder about the leftover homes and buildings that will leave you in astonishment!
UNESCO lists these remains of the earliest civilization in the world as a World Heritage site. This has preserved with such care and honor that is open for all tourists! To plan to visit an underrated historical place that comprises abandoned monuments and buildings, you will find nothing greater than Mohenjo Daro!
2. Shalimar Garden
Shalimar Garden is also known as Shalimar Bagh has built by Mughals and is a Persian garden complex that comprises full of peace and harmony to enjoy the nature of the surroundings.
The garden marks a beautiful place that surrounds by flowers and trees to enjoy a spring tourist destination. It is has protected by the UNESCO world heritage site that leaves perseverance and beauty to visit this beautiful garden in Lahore.
The garden has known as the powerful site in the Mughal Empire, which gives the finest example of the Mughal style garden that considers a stunning site until today.
The garden locates 5km northeast of Lahore Walled City and constructed in 1641 during the reign of Shah Jahan, the fifth Mughal Emperor. The garden comprises the touch of the Persian and Islamic garden traditions to portray the Mughal design.
The Mughals transferred the ownership of these gardens to the Arain Mian family for their services. To look for a peaceful atmosphere where you will enjoy nature and beauty, Shalimar Gardens will give you a breathtaking spot to wander the beautiful flowers and trees! When you visit Lahore, be sure not to miss the Shalimar Garden!
3. Hiran Minar
Hiran Minar is the iconic tourist spot in Punjab in which the tomb locates in Sheikhupura that considers the early Mughal era that has completed in the 17th century. This is one of the most famous historical places of Pakistan. It is a tomb but constructed in a very different way.
Many tombs in Punjab belong to saints or royal families but this one belongs to the pet antelope of the fourth Mughal Emperor Jahangir.
Emperor Jahangir showed his nature and love for his beloved antelope and Hiran Minar is an example of this. It is located in a forest that afforded the Mughals a natural respite from Lahore’s lively city. You would probably wonder about a tomb for a deer! Well, yes Emperor Jahangir was very fond of antelopes, which he named his antelope Mansraj!
The building comprises four minarets, a huge pool, and the associated pavilion, constructed over an antelope. This makes an interesting tomb to bury for the love of antelopes, which is easily accessible to visit this place.
Sheikhupura is a one-hour drive from Lahore that is easily accessible from the M2 motorway, which connects Lahore to Islamabad. To visit this unusual and historical spot in Sheikhupura, be sure you visit Hiran Minar!
4. Harappa
Harappa was another Indus Valley civilization town and was home to approximately 23,000 people. It should note that Indus Valley Civilization is used interchangeably with the term Harappan Civilization, but does not include the town itself.
The city locates 24 km west of Sahiwal in which the site has its name from a village located at Ravi bank. The current village of Harappa locates 1km from the ancient site, which considers the most underrated spot in the country.
Once you enter this place, you will be surprised by the ancientness and the abandonment of the site which people lived thousands of decades ago! No wonder Pakistan has preserved many historical and abandoned sites!
Although the village covers a period of 150 hectares from the era 2600 BC to 1900 BC, it is currently far smaller and has been seriously destroyed throughout British rule of Pakistan. The Harappan civilization was very modern where the place had urban centers, writing systems, and economic systems
To add to this, the Harappans were traders where they used to trade cotton textiles and agricultural products. When planning to visit an underrated place, be sure you visit Harappa! This marks the historical places in Pakistan!
5. Tomb of Jahangir
The Tomb of Jahangir is the most exquisite landmark in Lahore where it considers historical places in Pakistan with names. One of Pakistan’s most stunning tombs, the magnificent Tomb of Mughal Emperor Jahangir, situates in Shahdara Bagh in Lahore. The tomb finished in 1637 and took 10 years to construct.
The walls of the tomb have surrounded by lush gardens, embellished by marble inlays and beautiful floral frescoes that adds the beauty of the tomb that will leave you in awe and astonishment.
Although the site has destroyed by floods, the tomb ensures a great condition despite being 400 years old. The tomb will leave you in amazement as it leaves great architecture to unwrap the stories about Mughal Emperor Jahangir. This makes a great historical place in the country to enjoy the great tomb.
In addition, Jahangir’s son Shah Jahan mausoleum was built near the line of the Ravi River, which leaves the untold story about this beautiful location in Lahore.
Since the tomb is easy to reach, the tomb is about a 30 to 40 minutes drive from Lahore. When planning to visit the historical places in Pakistan, be sure you visit this beautiful tomb in the city!
6. Makli Necropolis
The Makli Necropolis, one of the world’s largest burial sites in the country will leave you in wonders about what makes this burial site so great to visit! The burial site holds over 500,000 tombs where it lies 10 kilometres near the town of Thatta and locates in Makli.
The tomb was built 400 years and is the place buried of the royals, the Sufis, and respected scholars. Thatta was the formal capital of medieval Sindh where the city leaves ancient artefacts and tombs that will make you want to visit this large cemetery.
The word ‘Makli’ has derived from a legend who stopped at the site and erupted into spiritual ecstasy, which he assumed, was Makkah for him. It was told the Sufi saint Sheikh Hamad Jamail has said to name the site Makli that means ‘Little Makkah’.
This Sufi gathering existed in the land of cemeteries where the Sufis and saints were buried there. The cemeteries have existed since 1981 and have been around between the 14th to 18th centuries. Later in the 14th century, Trakhan leader Jam Tamachi wanted to be buried in this place, as he was a follower of Shaikh Jamil.
That was how Makli Necropolis mark a decent tourist attraction. To visit this large cemetery in Sindh, be sure not to miss this place!
7. Wazir Khan Mosque
In 1634 the Mosque was built for Shah Jahan by a Vice-Roy of Punjab. The mosque is renowned for its stunning design
Wazir Khan Masjid is a popular tourist attraction in Lahore where the masjid was built in 1634 for Shah Jahan and was constructed by Shaikh Ilm-Uddin Ansari.
The mosque is renowned for its stunning design and architecture. Once you visit this place, you will be amazed by the design and the beautiful architecture of a religious place in Punjab!
The design of the masjid has expanded the racial and religious tolerance when Mariam Zamani married Emperor Akbar. Her face accelerated the kingdom and gifted various responsibilities.
It took seven years to build and its massive Persian tile work that is known for Kashi-Kari adds the Mughal touch of the historical architecture in Pakistan. This marks sufficient evidence of the length of time required to build the entire masjid.
A look at the mosque gives you a clear and genuine picture of the past historical days; it is one of the famous landmarks of Pakistan. To visit a religious place in Lahore, you will enjoy the amazement of entering Wazir Khan Masjid!
Taxila, Rawalpindi, Punjab
There are so many historical locations in Pakistan, one of which is the lost Taxila city. It is a famous historical places in Pakistan where the city has left many abandoned sites worth seeing.
The city dates from 1000 BC; however, some remnants have estimated to be as old as 3360 BC. This might surprise you that such an old place that has left so many decades ago! Taxila locates 32km northwest of Islamabad and Rawalpindi and marks a great day trip from the capital city.
Taxila has derived from Sanskrit, which means ‘City of Cut Stone’ as the city has several ancient structures. This includes caves, monasteries, a museum and stupas that have dispersed on a wide area. Because of its crucial position right next to the Grand Trunk Road, its history has been rewritten several times.
It is interesting that the University of Ancient Taxila, although it is still debated among experts, is one of the older Universities in the world. UNESCO declared the entire city a World Heritage Site in 1980. To visit a lost and unknown city during the day, this place will leave you in astonishment!
9. Katasraj Temple
Katas Raj Temple is a Hindu temple that considers the famous places in Pakistan where it leaves history behind the Hindu community. The place is surrounded by a lake and comprises interconnected walkways for accessing multiple temples. These temples have said to build in the 7th century CE or even older.
The place is also located in Chakwal District near Kallar Kahar and 100 km away from another Hindu pilgrimage, the Tilla Jogian complex. The lake was formed by the tears of Lord Shiva who has shed his tears for the death of his wife Sati.
Unfortunately, the temples have fallen into a disarrayed state after partition and remain now in less than ideal form. The Katasraj Temples testify the most magnificent history of the subcontinent as compared to other historical buildings in Pakistan are concerned.
The lake occupies two canals with a depth of 20 feet. It has also been said by the fold legends that Guru Nanak used to visit this place a century ago.
This temple is one of the popular heritage sites in Pakistan and is located in Katas some 2 hours away from Islamabad. To search for an interesting and rare historical place, the Katas Raj Temple will leave you in a state of amazement! This marks historical places in Pakistan with information provided.
10. The Noor Mahal
Noor Mahal is a representation of beauty and class located in Bahawalpur. Nawab of Bahawalpur constructed it in 1872 during the reign of the British Raj.
In the foundation of the Mahal, you will find the map of the city and gold coins that will leave you in astonishment! The place was built for Nawab Adnan Abbasi IV for his wife who only spent one night as she used to see the graveyard from her balcony.
Many of the mahal’s magnificent furnishings acquired from Italy and England. The building construction was finished in 1875 that costs 1.2 million PKR. The mahal measures 44,600 square meters and consists of 32 rooms, of which 14 are in the basement, six verandas, and five domes.
In September 2001, the Government of the Department of Archeology classified the structure as a “protected monument,” and now it is available to the public. It also has many private Nawab items such as his old swords, old money notes, coins, ancient laws, an old piano, and old Nawab furnishings, and the list goes on.
The Nawab’s Mahal has a lot of personal objects. It also has a lengthy wall containing Nawabs’ imaginary images. This makes Pakistan historical places with information in English that marks an underrated but worth visiting place in Bahawalpur!
Wrap Up
Here are the ten historical places in Pakistan where the country has known for historical monuments and places to explore in enjoyment and awe. These places represent history, culture and beauty that have left centuries ago found in different regions. Once you visit historical sites, you will enjoy the untold story about these areas and expand your knowledge about the beautiful nation! Be sure not to miss these historical backgrounds in each state!
