Pakistan Holidays

Jeep Tour K2 Trek Snow Capped High Mountains Valley Travel

General info	Punjab	Islamabad	Getting there and away	Background
Geography	Sind	Karachi	Visas	Peoples
History	NWFP	Lahore	General	Languages
Archeology	Baluchistan	Peshawar	Health	Health
Cuisine	Tribal Areas	Quetta	When to go	Altitude
Language	Mountains + Valleys	Faisalabad	Weather	.
Museams	National Parks	Hyderabad	.	.
.	.	Multan	.	.

Peoples http://www.kjti.co.uk/

One of the major races in the area are the Pathans. Tall, fair and elegant, they are renowned for their hospitality, honesty and integrity, and are typical of the peoples of North Pakistan. (The Pathans have a single word for foreigner/guest). Like most Pakistanis, they are Muslim, and expect men and women to dress modestly in public. Clothes, therefore, have to keep you cool and covered up. Ideal is the Shalwaar Chemise, a unisex outfit which is basically a long shirt with loose trousers, very common in these areas. It also gives the people you visit some indication of your respect for their culture and, by the same token, you are much more likely to be invited into their everyday lives. Similarly it is offensive to a Muslim to offer any physical contact to someone of the opposite sex, although it is typical to see people of the same sex holding hands in public.

By contrast, the Kalash people of the lost valleys on the Afghan border still engage in fire worship, and the women are very much the dominant sex. Their location and their Greek appearance have led some experts to believe that the Kalash are the product of local inbreeding with Alexander the Great’s army as it came through.

The Balti come mainly from Mongolia and the exploits of Genghis Khan. Very short, with fair skin, they occasionally have oriental eyes and fine hair, and are renowned for their directness and straight-talking, whilst still being hugely hospitable.

The people of the Hunza valley are the simplest, living very long lives by subsisting from the land, their appearance being distinctly Chinese/Central Asian.