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Welcome: Pakistan
From the
mighty stretches of the Karakorams in the North to the vast alluvial delta of
the Indus River in the South, Pakistan remains a land of high adventure and
nature. Trekking, mountaineering, white water rafting, wild boar hunting,
mountain and desert jeep safaris, camel and yak safaris, trout fishing and bird
watching, are a few activities, which entice the adventure and nature lovers to
Pakistan.
Pakistan
is endowed with a rich and varied flora and fauna. High Himalayas, Karakoram and
the Hindukush ranges with their alpine meadows and permanent snow line,
coniferous forests down the sub-mountain scrub, the vast Indus plain merging
into the great desert, the coast line and wetlands, all offer a remarkably rich
variety of vegetation and associated wildlife including avifauna, both endemic
and migratory. Ten of 18 mammalian orders are represented in Pakistan with
species ranging from the world's smallest surviving mammals, the Mediterranean
Pigmy Shrew, to the largest mammal ever known; the blue whale.
Pakistan extends along either side of the
historic Indus River, following its course from the mountain valleys of the
Himalayas down to the Arabian Sea. Bordering on India, China, Afghanistan and
Iran, it is strategically located astride the ancient trade routes between Asia
and Europe. Pakistan's 796,095 square kilometers of territory include a wide
variety of landscapes, from arid deserts to lush, green valleys to stark mountain peaks.
Few Westerners know much
about Pakistan beyond media impressions of Islamic fundamentalism, communal
violence and martial law, but it contains some of Asia's most mind-blowing
landscapes, extraordinary trekking, a multitude of cultures and a long tradition
of hospitality.
Pakistan is the site of some
of the earliest human settlements, home to an ancient civilization rivaling
those of Egypt and Mesopotamia, and the crucible of two of the world's major
religions, Hinduism and Buddhism. It's far more than the last hurdle before
reaching India.
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