Pakistan wants to open up internationally

In the gigantic salt mines of Khewra, underground galleries are open to tourists. The miners make their way among the many visitors. This is new and it is good because elsewhere in Pakistan, tourism is disappearing.

In the Edenic Swat Valley, Pakistanis discovered the joys of winter sports before the Taliban burned the Malam Jabba resort.

Among the Kalash (pagan people of the Chitral valley declared « unfaithful » by the Taliban), hundreds of curious people from the country’s major cities attended the various festivals marking the passing of the seasons.

In Lahore, tourists arriving from New Delhi finished their crossing of the Indian subcontinent by placing their steps in those of Rudyard Kipling.

Although tourism never really pulled Pakistan’s economy up, these sites played a non-negligible role. They offered Pakistan the image of a land of adventure, relieving the impression of dealing with a country under permanent tension.

Today, some places have kept their most faithful holidaymakers. Like the English before the partition, the great Pakistani families still have their summer retreat in the Himalayan heights, notably in Murree and Nathia Gali.

Other cultural and tourist sites in Pakistan are still relevant. For example, the Wagah border between India and Pakistan (see the article Ceremony without borders) is marked daily by a military procession attended by hundreds of Pakistanis and a few foreigners.

Or Taxila, a city located an hour from Islamabad, which shelters the ruins of the civilization of Gandhara.

Finally, the salt mines of Khewra, the most important in the world after those of Wieliczka in Poland, are certainly the most popular holiday resort of the moment by the middle class.